Reference no: EM133724211

Option 1: Aesthetic Philosophies and the Function of Market Art in the Arctic

Throughout the Arctic culture area, unemployment rates are as high as 72%. As many as 30% of Inuit people derive part-time income from carving, sculpting, masks, or printmaking. While consumers of the art may not be familiar with the subtle and encoded symbolic nuances of Inuit art pieces, Western consumers of art have been particularly drawn to Inuit art due to its 'unpretentious' style and general aesthetic appeal. Though, this is not to say that 'high art' and 'fine arts' collectors have neglected indigenous art forms. To the contrary.

Western interests in an Arctic art market stem back to the late 1700s. By the late 1800s, the Alaskan Gold Rush attracted miners from the south, many of whom sought out Eskimo-made art to take home as souvenirs. In response to the new demands, many Eskimo men applied their traditional crafting skills to 'non-traditional' art expressions including salt and pepper shakers, cribbage boards, miniature tools, and even a genre of art since referred to by the preeminent Arctic art scholar, Dorothy Jean Ray, as "six-legged bears" - or erotic art depicting men and women in sexual positions ( Ray 1977:48).

As Inuit art has risen in popularity ever since, the subjects, materials, and expressions of indigenous Arctic aesthetics have become more diverse and new ways have become 'traditional' while principles associated with 'traditional art' have influenced newer art forms, now including Billikens, pop music, and film making.

Many have been very critical of newer traditions in art, seeing Inuit market art as not being authentic, and perhaps eroding the traditional values of Arctic artists. On the other hand, many argue that most of those people who are critical of the 'new traditions' (whether Native or non-Native) are hypocritical in that they celebrate (or at least readily accept) the commercial success of Western artists while disparaging commercialization of indigenous art. Those advocates also point out that monies earned by Inuit artists have been substantial and have often gone to helping sustain other, 'more traditional' lifeways, "the income allows them to buy rifles and ammunition, boats and motors, snowmobiles and gasoline, so that they can continue to fish for food" (Anderson 2004:60).

Some Inuit artists have argued that since the Inuit have historically lacked mainstream media avenues to represent their culture, that market art has a) encouraged and afforded many artists to devote more time to making their art more masterful in technique and observation of traditional appeals; and b) that the art market has served as its own effective medium for representing the lives and interests of Arctic peoples. However, we have also read in King that some groups have positively received such legislation as the 1990 Indian Arts and Crafts Act and other imposed measures to limit commercial art production, even when it has excluded real indigenous peoples from creating real indigenous art.

Tell us more about the particular social, economic, or political functions it serves in an ethnographic sense.

Share an example or two of it using embedded images or videos

Examine its application today in either 'traditional use' or as market art

Finally, assess how the aesthetics of this genre or art form is affected by material and social life in the arctic today.

It will help here to keep your focus specific and local to some community or another. Try not to over-generalize. Think of this as a case study. Remember to draw on and cite both in-class and outside sources.