Description
Transforming by Levi Alasua Pirti Smith from Povungnituk (Puvirnituk)
Levi Alasua Pirti Smith (1927–1986) was a well known Inuit carver a lso known by his disc number E9-1326. He is best known for his distinctive, highly polished, and often abstract “mythological” and transformation sculptures. Smith was born in Cape Smith (an abandoned camp north of Puvirnituq) and took his surname from his birthplace to differentiate himself from others sharing his given name. He began carving at the young age of 11. In the 1950s, following a tuberculosis epidemic that forced the abandonment of Cape Smith, he and much of the population relocated to Puvirnituq. Smith spent about a year in a southern hospital receiving tuberculosis treatment.
Unlike many men of his generation in the community, Smith dedicated himself more fully to art than to hunting or fishing once established in Puvirnituq. His wife, Bertha Ajappatu Pirti, is also an Inuit carver.
Levi Smith’s artistic style and evolution began in the 1950s with large, roughly finished stone sculptures which progressed into realistic, highly polished styles before shifting toward abstraction. He is renowned for fantastical and spiritual transformation figures (such as animals turning into spirits or humans), characterized by minimal, clean lines that evoke a powerful psychological presence. When asked about his eerie or striking figures, Smith described them as malevolent spirits threatening to people.
This small carving titled Transforming by Levi Alasua Pirti Smith has come to us through the secondary collector’s market.
Its dings and roughness hints at the carving dating from the early 60’s and is actually in e remarkable good condition.
