John Tiktak (

Inuktitut syllabics Inuktitut syllabics ( iu, ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ, qaniujaaqpait, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik and Nunatsiavut regions of Quebec and Labra ...

: ᔭᓐ ᑎᑕ ) (1916 in Kareak camp – 1981) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Inuk Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and ...

sculptor who spent most of his artistic career in

Rankin Inlet Rankin Inlet ( iu, Kangiqliniq; Inuktitut syllabics: ᑲᖏᕿᓂᖅ or ''Kangirliniq'', ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᖅ, or ''Kangir&iniq'' meaning ''deep bay/inlet'') is an Inuit hamlet on Kudlulik Peninsula in Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest hamlet a ...

. Most of his sculptures take the human form as their subject.

Biography

Tiktak lived a traditional Inuit lifestyle until he moved to

Arviat Arviat (, syllabics: ᐊᕐᕕᐊᑦ; formerly called Eskimo Point until 1 June 1989) is a predominantly Inuit hamlet located on the western shore of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada. Arviat ("place of the bowhead whale") is ...

(then known as Eskimo Point and also called Aqviat) in the 1950s. He moved to Rankin Inlet (also known as Kangiqilniq) in 1958, where he began to work as a sculptor in 1963. His figurative work is minimal in style, and so is modern in appearance. Distinctive stylistic traits include very rounded forms and hands that are attached to the sides of the figure, so that the arms are circular in shape.

Honors

* Elected a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

, 1973

References

External links

John Tiktak biography at the Canadian Art Database
Inuit sculptors 1916 births 1981 deaths Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Inuit from the Northwest Territories People from Rankin Inlet People from Arviat Artists from Nunavut 20th-century Canadian sculptors {{Canada-sculptor-stub