Canadian Eskimo Lithographs

加拿大愛斯基摩人的石版畫

Hela Goetz

海拉·戈也茲

Since the Eskimos of Cape Dorset began making prints in 1959, their graphics have continued to delight art lovers around the world. Interest has spread, not only in the south but to Arctic communities as well. Currently,four other Eskimo settlements are producing prints.

自從1959年多塞特角的愛斯基摩人開始創作版畫以來，他們的作品一直為全世界的藝術愛好者所喜聞樂見。這種創作的興趣已經不限于“南部”，而是遍及北極各個村落?，F在，其他四個居住地的愛斯基摩人也在制作版畫了。

Cape Dorset is probably the best known of the printmaking communities. For a dozen years, prints of consistently high quality have been produced; successful experiments with stencils, etchings and engravings have addedvariety and interest; individual artists are receiving recognition and acclaim. As modern technology encroaches upon these formerly isolated people, the prints have become a record of an earlier life style.

多塞特角可能是最有名的版畫創作之鄉了。多年來，這地方不斷出有高質量的版畫；不論蠟刻、蝕刻、雕刻，都是成果累累，作品豐富多彩，趣味橫生；各路藝人都備受重視，為人贊許?，F代技術逐漸滲入這些昔日與世隔絕的人們中間，這些版畫也就成了他們早期生括方式的寫照。

When one considers the limited means available to these artists, both in obtaining materials and being exposed to print-making techniques, their success is indeed phenomenal. Graphic images had been made by Eskimo artists prior to the advent of printmaking in the Arctic, usually in the form of incised figures and designs on ivory carvings, but the idea of reproducing an image many times on paper was totally new. James Houston, then Northern Affairs Administrator at Cape Dorset, and himself an artist, guided the Eskimo artists in their first experiment, and gradually a cooperative print shop was established.

想想這些藝術家工作受到多么大的限制——搞不到設備，不懂印刷技術，竟然能有如此成就，確實非同小可。愛斯基摩藝人在印刷術傳到北極之前，就已有各種雕像之作，通常是把人物和圖案雕刻在象牙上，但要在紙上多次復制同一圖像，卻是前所未聞。當時駐多塞特角的北部事務行政官詹姆斯·豪斯頓，本人就是一位藝術家，他指導愛斯基摩藝人初試其道，后來他們逐步建立起了一家合作性質的版畫店。

Carving of the image on to a flat stone block was a natural step for artists accustomed to producing stone carvings; drawing the images to be repro-duced was more radical. Many of the women, who were far ouf flumbered as carvers by the men, took readily to the new medium, and soon drawingsfor possible translation into prints became a major artistic activity. People began to take a great interest in recording everyday activities on paper, realistically reproducing the animals and birds which were the objects of the hunt and played such a central role in their existence, and drawing images of the spirits and strange creatures which peopled their mythology. Economic aspects played an important part, too, in the development of this new medium of artistic expression. For a people entering a new phase of civilization, it became an absolute necessity to replace the older hunting economy with a new form of subsistence. The sale of carvings had, for thepast ten years, been an increasing source of income; the development of print-making techniques promised another means to survive economically.

把圖像刻在平石板上，是制作石雕的藝術家習以為常的一個步驟：把圖像描畫下來，再復制出來，就非同尋常了。拿雕刻師來說，男人的數量本來遠遠超過婦女，但這時許多婦女也欣然從事這種新的工藝，于是描圖制版很快成為一種主要的藝術活動。大家都開始熱衷于把日常的活動記錄在紙上：他們逼真地再現了各種飛禽走獸，這些都是獵物，在他們的生活中起著簡直是核心的作用；他們還畫出了許多精靈鬼怪的形象，這些又都是棲息在他們神話里的生靈。在這種新的藝術表現手段的發展過程中，經濟方面也起了重要的作用。一個民族在進入文明的一個新階段時，勢必要用一種新的生存方式來取代舊的狩獵經濟。在過去的十年中，出售雕刻品一直是增加收入的一個財源；發展制版工藝，提供了又一種賴以生存的經濟手段。

The possibility of recording the old ways of life and the world of the spirits appealed especially to the older generation.

老一代人特別感興趣的是如今可以把古老的生活方式和鬼怪世界記錄下來了。

The recurring theme of monsters and spirits is not entirely the choice of theartists themselves. They have been encouraged to draw the old ways andto let their imagination run free in conjuring up spirits, as these subjects areintensely interesting to southerners. Still, the idea of these fantastic crea-tures is a very real part of the Eskimo's spiritual heritage, and they are asmuch a part of the old ways as was the nomadic existence in igloos andsHn tents.

精靈鬼怪的主題反復出現，并非完全出自藝術家本人的選擇。。南方人”對這類題材極有興趣，藝術家因而也受到鼓舞，情愿畫。古老的方式”，任憑自己的想像力呼風喚雨，自由馳騁。不過，構思出這批稀奇古怪的生靈，正是愛斯基摩人精神生活中的一個極為真實的傳統，它們構成了“古老的方式”的一個部分，猶如圓頂茅屋和獸皮帳篷體現了游牧生活一樣。

Strange species of birds are another favourite subject of the Cape Dorsetartists.

千奇百怪的飛禽是多塞特角的藝術家所鐘愛的又一個題材。

One of the marvellous things about carving and print maHng activities inthe Arctic is the number of artists who take part-from young children tothe very old.

在北極，從事雕刻和版畫創作活動的藝術家，下自少年兒童，上至耄耋老人，其人數之眾多，蔚為一大奇觀。

The old ways are all but gone, but the community spirit remains, support-ing new ideas and welcoming new art forms without forgetting the heritageof the past.

“古老的方式”已經消失殆盡，但他們那種群體精神今猶長存，它不斷支持新的思想，迎來新的藝術形式，而又保住往昔的傳統，并不忘本。

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