Luke Iksiktaaryuk was born in 1909 in the area around the Kazan River. Like other members of the Harvaqtormiut to whom he belonged, Iksiktaaryuk moved further north to the community of Baker Lake following the famine years of the late 1950s. He began carving for regular income in the 1960s, but it was not until the early 1970s that he began producing his trademark works in caribou antler depicting shamans and drum dancers surrounded by groups of on-looking figures. He also made many drawings of humans and birds at this time, some of which were translated into prints and included in the annual collections of the Sanavik Cooperative. Since his death in 1977, Iksiktaaryuk’s reputation in the South as an artist of extraordinary vision has climbed steadily. Today, he is viewed by many as one of the greatest creators of the Contemporary Period.

Iksiktaaryuk is best known for his composite caribou antler sculptures portraying shamans and drum dancers. In these semi-representational images Iksiktaaryuk brings to life the ancient beliefs and rituals associated with shamanism. In a series of well-known works a central figure wields a large skin drum, while rows of multiple figures attached to curving antler bases encircle the performer, their patterned repetition recalling the rhythmic nature of Inuit ritual. In other works, single shamans with curving wings and strong heads are fashioned from branches of elegantly twisting antler, whose vertical placement conveys a sense of soaring flight and spiritual elevation. Generally less otherworldly in theme and subject matter than his carved images, Iksiktaaryuk’s works on paper are similarly impressive. Whether they portray Arctic wildlife or humans hunting their prey, these images reveal the same combination of aesthetic purity and formal drama that features in many of his best sculptures.

Selected References

Pure Vision (1986), Norman Zepp

Vision and Form (2003), Robert Kardosh

Exhibitions

• Alaska Eskimo Dolls/Inuit Prints, Provincial Museum of Alberta, sponsored by the Alaska State Council on the Arts
• Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum
• Baker Lake Print Collection *70, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *71, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *72, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *73, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *74, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *75, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *77, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Retrospective: A Twenty Year Anniversary, The Upstairs Gallery
• Baker Lake Prints & Print-Drawings: 1970-1976, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Baker Lake Prints - Ten Year Retrospective, The Upstairs Gallery
• Baker Lake Prints: 1970 - 1982 Retrospective, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Baker Lake Sculpture, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Crafts from Arctic Canada/Artisanat de l'arctique canadien, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
• Demons and Spirits and those who wrestled with them, The Arctic Circle
• Eskimo Carvers of Keewatin, N.W.T., Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Eskimo Games: Graphics and Sculpture/ Giuochi Eschimesi: grafiche e sculture, National Gallery of Modern Art
• Eskimo Narrative, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
• Im Schatten der Sonne: Zeitgenossische Kunst der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada/In the Shadow of the Sun: Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art in Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Images of the Far North, Studio Art Gallery, State University of New York
• Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Inspiration Four Decades of Sculpture, Marion Scott Gallery
• INUA: 50 Works from the Cappadocia Collection of Inuit Art, McMaster Art Gallery
• Inuit Art in the 1970s, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre
• Inuit Games and Contests: The Clifford E. Lee Collection of Prints, University of Alberta
• Inuit Games/Inuit Pinguangit/Jeux des inuit, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• Inuit Graphics and Drawings from 1959-1990, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Graphics from the Past, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Graphics Through the Year: Rare Prints from the Arctic, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Master Artists of the 1970s, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Inuit Masterworks: Selections from the Collection of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, McMichael Canadian Collection
• Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987, Arctic Artistry
• Luke Iksiktaaryuk of Baker Lake: Sculpture in Antler/Johnnie Kavik of Rankin Inlet: Sculpture inStone, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Multiple Perspectives from Baker Lake, University of Michigan Alumni Centre
• Polar Vision: Canadian Eskimo Graphics, Jerusalem Artists' House Museum
• Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit, Norman McKenzie Art Gallery
• Qamanittuaq: The Art of Baker Lake, National Gallery of Canada
• Sculpture, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council a competition/exhibition organized as a contribution to the Centennial of the N.W.T.
• Spirits and Dreams - Arts of the Inuit of Baker Lake, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• The Coming and Going of the Shaman: Eskimo Shamanism and Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The First Passionate Collector: The Ian Lindsay Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Inuit Amautik: I Like My Hood To Be Full, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Inuit Imagination, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Inuit Print/L'estampe inuit, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the National Museum of Man
• The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art from the Art Gallery of Ontario, University of Guelph
• The People Within - Art from Baker Lake, Art Gallery of Ontario
• The Williamson Collection of Inuit Sculpture, Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, University of Regina
• The Zazelenchuk Collection of Eskimo Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Transformation, The Arctic Circle
• Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• We Lived by Animals/Nous Vivions des Animaux, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in cooperation with the Department of External Affairs
• Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection of Inuit Art, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec

Collections

• Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Kingston
• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Clifford E. Lee Collection, University of Alberta, Edmonton
• Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton
• Eskimo Museum, Churchill
• Glenbow Museum, Calgary
• Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon
• Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University, Sackville
• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife
• Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
• University of Alberta, Edmonton
• Williamson Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg