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George Tataniq

Load Photo Gabriel Gely

Biography

George Tataniq was born in the Kazan River area in 1910. He lived a traditional life on the land hunting foxes and caribou and fishing in local rivers and lakes. In the early 1960s he travelled south tuberculosis treatment in a sanatorium. [1] When he returned to the North he settled in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU, where other artists had recently taken up carving as part of an arts program organized by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Tataniq began carving soon after he arrived in Qamani’tuaq. He was hesitant to carve at first, as he would have rather been on the land hunting, but persistent arts officers encouraged Tataniq to create works as they saw promise in his early carvings. [2] His work quickly became sought after and collected by individuals and institutions in the South.

Over the course of his career, Tataniq came to be known for his transformation scenes and tender depictions of mothers with children. And though he had never seen a muskox, he was compelled to carve them because of buyer’s demand. So, he based his muskox carvings on descriptions and photographs from others to create polished muskoxen with smooth curves.

His Fox Woman (c. 1973) depicts a figure from a story he had heard from his mother. In the story a fox takes the shape of a woman to find a husband, but her plan is foiled as she leaves fox footprints in the snow. In Tataniq’s composed sculpture an upright fox wears a woman’s amauti. The figure rests on the tips of its toes and with head turned, looks to the left. Tataniq’s has rendered the figure carefully and the sloping line of the figure’s back leading one’s eyes around the dynamic composition.

Tataniq stopped carving in the mid-1980s due to poor health and passed away in Qaman’ituaq in 1991. His work can be found in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, Museum of Anthropology, the Winnipeg Art Gallery and many more.



This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada.

George Tataniq, sculpteur, a commencé sa carrière artistique à Qamani’tuaq au début des années 1960. Ses premières œuvres étaient prometteuses et ont immédiatement attiré l’attention des agents artistiques locaux, qui ont encouragé l’artiste à créer malgré sa résistance initiale. Ses œuvres ont rapidement été recherchées et collectionnées par des particuliers et des institutions du Sud. Au fil de sa carrière, Tataniq a été reconnu pour ses scènes de transformation et ses représentations tendres de mères avec leurs enfants. Ses œuvres se retrouvent dans les collections du Musée des beaux-arts de l’Ontario (Toronto), du Musée des beaux-arts du Canada à Ottawa (Ontario), du Musée d’anthropologie de Vancouver (Colombie-Britannique) et du Musée des beaux-arts de Winnipeg (Manitoba).
ᔪᐊᔾ ᑕᑕᓐᓂᖅ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᖅᑎᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᖃᒪᓂ’ᑐᐊᒥ 1960 ᐱᒋᐊᓕᓵᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ. ᑕᑕᓐᓂᐅᑉ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐹᖏᓐᓂ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᖏᑦ ᑕᑯᑎᑦᑎᔪᑦ ᐱᓪᓚᕆᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᑯᒥᓇᕆᔭᐅᓪᓚᕆᒃᑐᑎᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᒥ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᖅᑎᓄᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᑎᔨᓂᑦ ᐱᖁᔨᓯᒪᔪᒃ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᖅᑎᒧᑦ ᓴᖅᑭᑎᑦᑎᓂᐊᕐᓗᓂ, ᐊᖏᖅᓯᒪᙱᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᑐᓂ. ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᖏᑦ ᐃᓱᒪᒋᔭᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑲᑎᖅᓱᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐃᓄᓐᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓯᓚᑦᑐᖅᓴᕐᕕᓐᓂ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑦ ᓄᓇᙵᓂᑦ. ᓴᓇᙳᐊᖅᑎᐅᑎᓪᓗᒍ, ᑕᑕᓐᓂᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᐅᓕᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᓯᙳᖅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᖏᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓱᒪᒃᓴᖅᓯᐅᖅᓯᒪᓂᖓ ᐊᓈᓇᐅᔪᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓄᑕᖅᑲᓂᒃ. ᑕᑕᓐᓂᐅᑉ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᖏᑦ ᓇᓂᔭᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᑐᑦ ᑲᑎᖅᓱᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᐃᑦ ᑕᑯᒐᓐᓈᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ ᐋᓐᑎᐅᕆᔫ, ᑐᕌᓐᑐᒥ, ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᑕᑯᒐᓐᓈᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ ᐋᑐᕙ, ᐋᓐᑎᐅᕆᔫᒥ, ᑕᑯᒐᓐᓈᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ ᐃᓕᖅᑯᓯᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᕚᓐᑯᕗ, ᐳᕆᑎᔅ ᑲᓚᒻᐱᐊᒥ, ᕕᓂᐲᒃ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᐃᑦ ᑕᑯᒐᓐᓈᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ ᒫᓂᑐᐸᒥ.

Artist Work

About George Tataniq

Medium:

Graphic Arts, Sculpture

Artistic Community:

Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), Nunavut, Inuit Nunangat

Date of Birth:

Artists may have multiple birth years listed as a result of when and where they were born. For example, an artist born in the early twentieth century in a camp outside of a community centre may not know/have known their exact date of birth and identified different years.

1910

Date of Death:

Artists may have multiple dates of death listed as a result of when and where they passed away. Similar to date of birth, an artist may have passed away outside of a community centre or in another community resulting in different dates being recorded.

1991
Exhibition

10 Major Sculptures, 2016

Public Collection

Art Gallery of Ontario

Edit History

December 16, 2019 Profile edited by IAQ
March 7, 2019 Publication History and Exhibition History added by Michael Olender