Atala Kivliktwok Okitun Dukik

Description: Made from flat sheets of steel, Lawrence Beck’s bright yellow sculpture refers to his one-quarter Inuit heritage.  The long name is in Yukik, a Malamute dialect, and means “Just like the Golden Shiny Money Moon.”  A large round shape on the left at top with rectangular shape below, both sections are joined by thinner sheets of steel at the bottom of sculpture and circular shape leading to a horizontally oriented shape towards mid-height and a thin sheet of steel leading up to the right. His Sculpture also includes primitive drawings applied with a welding rod. These figures, which the artist has named “Eskiglyphs,” are spontaneous doodles ranging from simple designs to Eskimos fishing and hunting seals and walrus.

Artist Statement: The sculpture is an ‘innukshuk,’ an Eskimo word for an object with sculptural presence. Both Alaskan Eskimo and Indian art were inspirational in the forms used for the sculpture.  My intent was to combine these forms with a contemporary twist, i.e., the steel fabrication and use of color.  The Eskiglyphs are from my Eskimo heritage but visually were used to break up the flat forms/shapes of the work to create a positive/negative surface interest.

Location: Golden Gardens Park, 8498 Seaview Place Northwest, Seattle WA 98117