Oogeruk Inua (Walrus Spirit)

In the last years of his life, Beck made work that owed, in his words, a spiritual debt to his Eskimo roots.  The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's art writer, Regina Hackett, referred to Mr. Beck's junkyard Eskimo spirit, the fashioned masks suggesting traditional native forms using discarded industrial materials. This blend of one heritage with another resurrects memories from two sources to make them new again.