Distance: 1 mile
David Ruben Piqtoukun (Canadian, Inuit, b. 1950), Bear in Shamanic Transformation,
ca. 1991, Steatite, bone, alumium and paint.
Ciwt likes many of the pieces from the de Young's modern Inuit collection.
Here's what the de Young signage has to say about this sculpture: As a young child, the artist of this piece was sent to a distant boarding school, which he calls his 'education in forgetting.' ' The rules were very straight forward for every Inuit or Indian, do not speak your language or even whisper your original language to yourself or anyone elso around you.'
Piqtoukun learned stone carving from his brother, Abraham Anghik Ruben. He describes this as 'an education in remembering' and collects Inuit mythologies and stories as sources of inspiration. This work depicts the Bear-Man, a mighty sham symbolic of the spiritual power that humans sometimes lack.
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