
Ingmars Lindbergs
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John Pangnark is well-known for his minimalist aesthetic, with many of his later works featuring mostly natural surfaces and forms with very limited carved detail (most commonly, a single human face). When viewing Pagnark's work, however, one should keep in mind the deeply rooted tradition of representation in Inuit carving. In discussing Pangnark's work and minimalism in Inuit sculpture, Ingo Hessel writes: "The inseparability of form and content in Inuit sculpture cannot be stressed enough. Inuit sculpture is always about something; while the meaning of a particular work may be obscure due to the viewer's lack of knowledge, the forms themselves are almost always intended to relay or enhance meaning. Pure abstraction does not exist in Inuit sculpture or Inuit art in general; even when form is radically simplified... it is seldom an end in itself" (Hessel, p. 78).