Artist following footsteps of Elders
Carroll Macintyre
Northern News Services
Arviat (Nov 06/00) - Art must gain its strength from authentic and every day experience.
The older carvers have always followed that manner of carving. However, time passes and so do the elder carvers. The new generation of young carvers has a hard road to follow.
Robert Pugoutag Hallauk is one of the new generation who follows in the footsteps of the elders.
Hallauk was born and raised in Arviat - the first Inuit settlement on Hudson Bay.
Hallauk has been carving since the age of 14 under the careful guidance of his mother Joy, until her passing in February of this year.
Now, at age 23, Robert has a distinctive style of his own and a product that will soon be swept up by collectors, galleries and the general market in the south.
The young carver is the son of the late Luke and Joy Hallauk, who were both prominent carvers in their own right.
Joy, in particular ,was extremely well-known for her carvings of faces and mother and child, while her husband carved faces and kayaks.
Today, Hallauk specializes in drum dancers, with the skill and ability that allows him to follow in his parents' footsteps. Of any stylistic similarities between himself and his parents, he says he "would like to market carvings of my own designs."
Inuit carvers prefer to work outdoors, or if the weather is bitter, in a small carving tent or shack.
Breathing soapstone dust over a long period of time can be very hazardous to one's health, and most carvers cough and wheeze excessively.
Hallauk can be found at his back doorstep everyday, working with the basic tools of his trade: hand axe, hacksaw, and an assortment of wood rasps.
Today, protective goggles, as well as a face mask containing filters, help protect him from the dust of his trade.
Power tools, which he recently purchased, assist him in speeding up the process of carving without destroying his own creativity and the ways of the old masters.
