Northern Rock Susan Gustavison (1999)First i look at the stone and try to imagine a form that could be made from that particular stone. i often make a Taleelayu ... because I really like that legendary figure. I use axes, chisels and also grinders or electric tools. the only problem is that the electric tools tend to chip off too much in some areas when i don't want them to. it's better to use axes when you are trying to pierce the stone. i have more control with the hand tools. I like to make figures that are happy, that show they have a lot of self-confidence. I like to show that they feel good about themselves.--------------------------Cape Dorset Suclpture: Derek Norton & Nigel Readinga son of the great sculptor and graphic artist Niaksiak and the graphic artist Kunu. trained as a printmaker, possibly through the influence of his older brother, Qiasuq.as a sculptor, Pitseolak has a talent for using positive and negative space that imbues his work with a light-ness and fluidity reminiscent of te work of the two great masters Osuitok Ipeelee and Lukta Qiatsuk.His work a wide range: graceful interpretations of wildlife, particularly birds ; family carvings, which often rep his whife and children; and depictions of the sea goddess.------------------------------------son of Niviaksiak (Niviaksie) and Kunu, brother of Qiatsuq Niviaqsiis one of the mainstays of the litho shop, where he has been a major participant in the Cape Dorset litho program since ists beginnings in the early 70s. he has produced hundreds of prints, mainly lithos, although he occasionally is involved with other techniques. (Note: because his chop is the smae as that of Pitseolak Ashoona, the female print artist, the two "Pitseolaks" are sometimes confused. this is especially so with lithographs which carry only the chop of the printer. the artist's name is pencilled in syllabics and English, but the artist's chop is not used). also uses image of a pigeon [as signature]syllabic signa is blind embossed as of 1992 collection----------------------"Pitseolak was born to artists Kunu and Niviaksiak, both of whom contributed to the early [Cape Dorset] print collections. He was probably introduced to lithography by his elder brother, Qiatsuq, who started working in the printshop in the early seventies. Pitseolak's aunt and uncle are well-known artists Lucy and Tikituk Qinnuayuak. He participated in the lithography program since its inception in the early seventies, initially as an assistant to Pee Mikkigak, his brother, Qiatsuq, and Bob Patterson, who was acting arts advisor at the time. His name appears on 205 prints in sixteen annual collections, more than half of which are lithographs. In 1977, Pitseolak, Wallace Brannen, then supervisor of the litho shop, and Jimmy Manning, assistant arts advisor, travelled to Holman Island to introduce lithography to the resident printers."-Jean Blodgett,"In Cape Dorset We Do It This Way", Kleinburg, ON: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1991, page 137Although Pitseolak stopped carving briefly in 1991 to build his own house, he quickly resumed the art, and has continued to develop as a versatile, prolific and talented artist. His sculpture is often relatively large in size, highly polished, and displays flowing forms and exquisite detail. His subject matter ranges from fanciful birds to sensitive portrayals of a mother with her children.----------Artist Bio: Pitseolak Niviaqsi: Male artist (prints, sculpture), born January 22,1947, lives in Cape Dorset. In 1977 he introduced lithographic technology to Holman Island printmakers, with the help of Wally Brannen and JimmyManning. One of his sculptures was given to a Japanese prince for his wedding by the Canadian Abassador to Japan. His work has been exhibited in Canada and the USA.--------------Pitseolak Niviaqsi is probably the most versatile artist in this collection. In addition to being a master carver, he is an accomplished printmaker having joined the Cape Dorset print studio at the inception of its lithography program in the early 1970's. Pitseolak's sculpture is remarkable for its delicacy and detail. He seems to dare the stone to break as he carves it into impossibly thin wings and elegant limbs.----www.elcalondon.comCollectionsCanadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, QuebecCanadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, QuebecCape Dorset Annual Print Collection 1959-1999, Cape Dorset, NU, CanadaMcMAster University Art Gallery, Hamilton, OntarioMcMichael Canadian Art Collections, Kleinburg, OntarioMusee d'art Inuit Brousseau, Quebec City, Quebec, CanadaMuseum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British ColumbiaNational Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, OntarioPrince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest TerritoriesWinnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg ManitobaCredits1994 Travelled to the opening of the Arctic Spirit exhibition at the Frye Museum, Seattle, WA1992 Pitseolak participated as a speaker and panelist at the Inuit Art Conference held at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON1984 One of Pitseolak's sculptures was presented as a wedding gift to a Japanese prince by the Canadian ambassador to Japan.Exhibitions2003 Then and Now- Inuit Prints form 1962-2002, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver Ltd., Vancouver, BC2001 Living Arctic, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC2001 Nuliajuk: Mother of the Sea Beasts, Houston North Gallery, Lunenberg, NS2000 Arctic Spirit - Canadian Inuit Sculpture, Boise State University, Boise, ID2000 Small Sculptures by Great Artists 2000, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1999 Pitseolak Niviaqsi: Facing Dorset; Exhibition by John Reeves, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1998 - 99 Canadian-Inuit-Dene-Metis- Arctic Art, Canada Place, Arctic Art Museum, Vancouver, BC1998 Cape Dorset Annual Graphics Collection, Dorset Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1998 Arctic Art: Master Works, Arctic Art Museum, Vancouver, BC1998 Sculpture from the Canadian Arctic, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1997 Nunavut/Nunavik: Sculpture in the Time of Change, Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, BC1997 Singing & Dancing & Playing, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1996 Small Sculptures by Great Artists V, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1996 Emerging Spirit, The Banff Centre, Organized by Northern Art Impressions Inc., Banff, AB1996 New Visions, Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, BC1996 Sculpture Inuit, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, QC1995 Sedna: Spirit of the Sea, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1995 Inspiration: Four Decades of Sculpture, Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC1995 Pitseolak Niviaqsi, Canadian Guild of Handicrafts Quebec, Montreal, QC1994 Arctic Spirit, 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA1994 Iyola Kingwatsiak and Pitseolaq Niviaqsi, Houston North Gallery, Halifax, NS1994 Small Sculptures by Great Artists III, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1993 Sculpture Inuit et Retrospective Pudlo Pudlat, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, PQ1993 The Treasured Monument, Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver, BC1993 Small Sculptures by Great Artists II, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1992 Pangnirtung Print Collection, Pangnirtung, NU1992 Sculpture Inuit, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, PQ1992 Small Sculptures by Great Artists I, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON1991 - 92 In Cape Dorset We Do It This Way: Three Decades of Inuit Printmaking, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON1991 Animals of the Arctic, Arctic Inuit Art, Richmond, VA1991 Cape Dorset Sculpture, McMaster Art Gallery, Hamilton, ON1991 Cape Dorset Stone Sculpture: Masters and the Next Generation, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC1991 Sculpture Inuit, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, QC1988 Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art from the Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB1987 The Lindsay and Swartz Collections: New Acquisitions, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB1987 Cape Dorset Sculpture, Eskimo Art Inc., Ann Arbor, MI1983 - 84 Inuit Art at Rideau Hall, Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, ON1983 Bering Sea to Baffin Bay, The Arctic Circle, Los Angeles, CA1981 - 83 The Murray and Marguerite Vaughan Inuit Print Collection, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB1977 - 82 The Inuit Print, National Museum of Man, Ottawa, ON1975 - 95 Cape Dorset Annual Print CollectionPublications2005 Cape Dorset Sculpture FEATURED PAGE 32, 38, 84Teaching1993 Taught one week sculpture workshop to non-inuit students at the Ottawa School of Art.----------------Date of Birth/Date de naissance22/01/1947Community/CommunautéCape DorsetCollectionsCanadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, Quebec  Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec  McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario  McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario  Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia  National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario  Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories  Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba ReferencesBlodgett, Jean  IN CAPE DORSET WE DO IT THIS WAY: THREE DECADES OF INUIT PRINTMAKING: Jean Blodgett/with essays by Heather Ardies, Leslie Boyd and Linda Sutherland. Kleinburg, Ont. : McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1991. Canada. Dept. of Indian and Northern Affairs  ABOUT ARTS AND CRAFTS. Ottawa : Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, 1977. Marion Scott Gallery  THE TREASURED MONUMENT: An Exhibition of Small-scale Inuit Sculpture. Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1993.

Exhibitions

• Animals of the Arctic, Arctic Inuit Art
• Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum
• Bering Sea to Baffin Bay, The Arctic Circle
• Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art from the Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Cape Dorset Graphics *83, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Graphics *92, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Graphics *94, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *75, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *76, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *77, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *78, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *79, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *80, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *83, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *84, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *85, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *86, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *87, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *88, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *89, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *90, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *91, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *92, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *93, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *94, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Print Collection (printmaker) *95, (annual collection)
• Cape Dorset Sculpture, Eskimo Art Inc.
• Cape Dorset Sculpture, McMaster Art Gallery
• Cape Dorset Stone Sculpture: Masters & the Next Generation, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• In Cape Dorset We Do It This Way: Three Decades of Inuit Printmaking, McMichael Canadian Art Collection
• Inspiration Four Decades of Sculpture, Marion Scott Gallery
• Inuit Art at Rideau Hall, Presented by Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• Iyola Kingwatsiak and Pitseolaq Niviaqsi, Houston North Gallery
• Pangnirtung Print Collection (printmaker) *92, (annual collection)
• Pitseolak Niviaqsi, Canadian Guild of Handicrafts Quebec
• Sculpture Inuit, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Sculpture Inuit, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Sculpture Inuit et Retrospective Pudlo Pudlat, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Sedna: Spirit of the Sea, Feheley Fine Arts
• Small Sculptures by Great Artists I, Feheley Fine Arts
• Small Sculptures by Great Artists II, Feheley Fine Arts
• Small Sculptures by Great Artists III, Feheley Fine Arts
• The Lindsay and Swartz Collections: New Acquisitions, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Murray and Marguerite Vaughan Inuit Print Collection, Beaverbrook Art Gallery
• The Treasured Monument, Marion Scott Gallery

Collections

• Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg

Publications

• AGGRESSION: — Tutuyea Ikidluak of Cape Dorset., Author: Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art, Publication: Toronto: Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art. (1987)
• ANNIE NIVIAXIE (SALA)(1930-1989), Author: Craig, Mary, Publication: In North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary/ Garland (1995)
• BAKER LAKE 1979, PRINTS= ESTAMPES, Author: Sanavik Co-operative Association, Publication: Baker Lake: Sanavik Co-operative Association (1979)
• CAPE DORSET — A Decade of Eskimo Prints and Recent Sculpture = Dix ans d'estampes esquimaudes et sculptures recentes, Author: National Gallery of Canada, Publication: Ottawa: The National Gallery of Canada (1967)
• CROSSROADS OF CONTINENTS — Cultures of Siberia and Alaska, Author: , Publication: Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press (1988)
• FINE AMERICAN INDIAN ART, Author: Sotheby Parke Burnet Inc., Publication: New York: Sotheby Parke Burnet Inc. (1989)
• FROBISHER BAY JEWELLERY SHOP--INUIT ARTISTS CREATE EXCLUSIVE NORTHERN JEWELLERY., Author: Souchotte, Sandra, Publication: Northwest Explorer 9 (3):41-45. (1985)
• IN MEMORIAM: MARY KUDJUAKJUK (1908-1982)., Author: Bies, Ernie, Publication: Edmonton, Alta. : Inuit Art Enthusiasts Newsletter November 9-10. (1982)
• MOVING TOWARDS AN INUIT MUSEUM., Author: Brummel, Janett, Publication: (1986)
• RUTH ANNAQTUUSI TULURIALIK'S TOUR., Author: Evaluarjuk, Deborah, Publication: Ottawa : Inuktitut (64): 51-53, Fall. (1986)
• SURVIVAL: Life and Art of the Alaskan Eskimo., Author: Lipton, Barbara, Publication: Newark: Newark Art Museum. (1977)
• THE ART OF CANADIAN ESKIMOS INTRODUCED TO THE PARISIAN PUBLIC, Author: Gachon, Jean, Publication: Montreal, P.Q. : La Presse, May 17. (1956)
• THE PEOPLE WITHIN = LES GENS DE L'INTERIEUR., Author: Art Gallery of Ontario, Publication: Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario. (1976)
• THREE INUIT WOMEN SPEAK: SURVIVING IS WHAT COUNTS — [by} Carmen, Loie and Nootura with Kristin Colwell, Author: Carmen, Loie and Nootura, Publication: in: NATIVE WOMEN, Volume 10, numbers 2 & 3, Summer/Fall (1989)
• TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE SWINTON. — Interviewed by Peter Millard on May 20, 1985 in Morrisburg, Ontario., Author: CEAC [Canadian Eskimo Arts Council], Publication: Ottawa : Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (1985)
• TUU'LUQ/ANGUHADLUQ., Author: Blodgett, Jean, Publication: Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery (1976)