MARC ALIKASWA (1928-2008) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Mother and Child, c. 1969-70

Marc Alikaswa is too often overlooked in discussions of Arviat sculpture. He was a prolific artist for four decades; most of his works are charming but are usually small and unassuming. His early works, however, and several of his later monumental pieces are undeniably powerful and evocative sculptures. Alikaswa’s early style is distinguished by its relative naturalism in the handling of clothing, anatomy, and facial details. Mother and Child is a masterpiece of this period and easily holds its own against the greatest early works of Tasseor, Pangnark, Nutaraaluk, Attok, and Uyauperq. Here Alikaswa’s woman is a commanding presence. We love the way her breasts echo the bulging shoulders of her amautiq. Her sensuous mouth seems open in song; it’s a subtle trademark of his early style and a reminder that Alikaswa was a famed drummer who was often accompanied by seated women a-ja-ja singers. [1]

1. For contemporaneous works see Bernadette Driscoll, Eskimo Point/Arviat (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1982), cat. 3; Walker’s Auctions, 15 Nov. 2014, Lot 92; and Walker’s Auctions, 16 Nov. 2016, Lot 135.

References: For other fine early sculptures by Alikaswa see Bernadette Driscoll, Eskimo Point/Arviat (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1982), cat. 3. See also Walker’s Auctions, 16 Nov. 2016, Lot 135, and 15 Nov. 2014, Lot 92.

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MARC ALIKASWA (1928-2008) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)

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