Stanley Klengenberg
Settlement: Coppermine / Kugluktuk
(1951) — W2-727
STANLEY ELONAK KLENGENBERG 1964-1999 http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Holman/english/artists/index.php3#c12 Stanley Klengenberg is the third generation of an artistic family. He is the grandson of Victor Ekootak (1916-1965) and the son of Elsie and Patrick Akovak Klengenberg. By the mid-1980s, he was one of the most promising artists in Holman. He won a poster commission from Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada in 1985.1 His life was cut short by his tragic suicide. His interest in art is reflected in the following passage from an autobiography, written at the time of the poster commission: During the winter, my parents would draw pictures and I would sit beside them and watch as images of the past developed. At this season, school would be underway and drawing was always my favourite subjectÉ. When I was around ten I brought my first drawing to the Artshop. I was excited and scared at the same time. Excited because I would be getting money, and scared because they might laugh at my drawingÉ. At high school in Yellowknife, I had to take courses that were mandatory, but always there was art. Mrs. Fulton taught me shading, perspective, and things like that.2 In 1982, Klengenberg's first drawing was printed for the annual collection. By 1986 that number had increased to seven. He left the printing of his images to others, so it is relevant to see Klengenberg's work in its original form - as graphite drawings. The drawing for the artist's best known print, Cold and Hungry, was stencilled by his mother Elsie.3 This dark, unromanticized image with gaunt, starved face is one of the most unique and haunting works to be created in Holman. Klengenberg's nostalgic longing for an earlier, simpler way of life is made manifest in his autobiographical writing from 1985: The happiest period of my life I can remember are the times I was 6 to 7 years old. In those days, in the 60s, life was more simple than it is today, 1980sÉ. With the introduction of English and the Southern society, even now I would choose the time when a man must take his dogteam, be gone for days hunting, just to feed his family. The struggle of those times bonded a communityÉ. In my childhood, my father hunted for a living. In the winter he would trap for foxes and in the summer and spring he would hunt for sealsÉLiving then at Holman, times would get hard and my dad found odd jobs in town. At one time, a carpenter, and others at the Artshop. Both my mom and dad were skilled as artists. Stone cutting and carving were my dad's favourites.4 The loss of his father in 1976 had a profound effect on Klengenberg: "My father's self-inflicted death in 1976 leaves me to this day lonely and empty. To me, he is the inspiration of my work."5 Klengenberg's mother, Elsie, recalled her son's artistic abilities in an interview in 2000.6 She would often draw at home and Stanley would draw alongside her. He would be able to put his ideas down on paper more quickly than his mother. He reminded her of a snowbird, with its quick movements. The artist's drawings were inspired by the life of his ancestors, and by respect for their determined fight to survive. 1 The poster accompanied an exhibition of sculpture, Sanaugasi Takujaksat, which toured thirteen Inuit communities in 1985. It was curated by Darlene Coward Wight for Canadian Arctic Producers. 2 Unpublished autobiography. 3This print was mistakenly attributed to Mary K. Okheena in the 1986 print catalogue. 4 Unpublished autobiography. 5 Artist quoted in Annalisa R. Seagrave, "Regenerations," 7. 6 Interview with DCW, Holman, May 2000.
Collections
- Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife
