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Ken Kirkby: A Painter’s Quest for Canada (Libros Libertad, 2009)
ISBN 978-0-9810735-7-6 270 pages $27.95
"Ken Kirkby's story is a story of an artist who entered the world of the Inuit and was transformed by the experience. Goody Niosi captures the remarkable story of Kirkby's life with the Inuit. She paints the picture of the world he found, the overwhelming beauty of the northern lights, the pain of snow blindness, the danger of the hunt for food and most of all the transformation of Kirkby that allowed him "to walk through a golden door"; and become part of a culture very different from our own; one in which people are non-possessive,non-violent, supremely philosophical and live life with a quiet sense of humour. Kirkby has used his astonishing talent as an artist to change Canada's perception of the Inuit. In this beautifully written book, Niosi relates Kirkby's story from his youth in Portugal to his work as an environmentalist.";
~ Thora Howell,
bookseller and librarian
"When Ken Kirkby unveiled his painting, Isumataq in Parliament on March 28, 1992, he had to make do with a 25-foot model and the first four panels of the painting itself. The original, at 152' long and 12' high would not fit into the building.But even the model brought tears to the eyes of the 301 members of Parliamentand senators gathered there.
"Isumataq is an Inuit word meaning, "An object in the presence of which wisdom might show itself"; and refers to the manlike monuments of stone called Inuksuit that the Inuit have erected for generations to serve as travel guides and markers of good hunting and fishing. Kirkby's hope was that the enormous painting he had been working on for ten years would open people's eyes to the beauty of the north and to the plight of the Inuit in that far land. Kirkby describes Isumataq as "the portrait of the soul of a nation.";
Ken Kirkby: A Painter's Quest for Canada is the story of a remarkable man who was born in England during the Second World War and grew up in Portugal under the tutelage of an old fisherman who filled his head with visions of a land of snow, icebergs and polar bears-a land of adventure and freedom. The young boy grew into a man who was determined to see that country."
-- Publisher's promotional text
"Ken Kirkby's story is a story of an artist who entered the world of the Inuit and was transformed by the experience. Goody Niosi captures the remarkable story of Kirkby's life with the Inuit. She paints the picture of the world he found, the overwhelming beauty of the northern lights, the pain of snow blindness, the danger of the hunt for food and most of all the transformation of Kirkby that allowed him "to walk through a golden door"; and become part of a culture very different from our own; one in which people are non-possessive,non-violent, supremely philosophical and live life with a quiet sense of humour. Kirkby has used his astonishing talent as an artist to change Canada's perception of the Inuit. In this beautifully written book, Niosi relates Kirkby's story from his youth in Portugal to his work as an environmentalist.";
~ Thora Howell,
bookseller and librarian
"When Ken Kirkby unveiled his painting, Isumataq in Parliament on March 28, 1992, he had to make do with a 25-foot model and the first four panels of the painting itself. The original, at 152' long and 12' high would not fit into the building.But even the model brought tears to the eyes of the 301 members of Parliamentand senators gathered there.
"Isumataq is an Inuit word meaning, "An object in the presence of which wisdom might show itself"; and refers to the manlike monuments of stone called Inuksuit that the Inuit have erected for generations to serve as travel guides and markers of good hunting and fishing. Kirkby's hope was that the enormous painting he had been working on for ten years would open people's eyes to the beauty of the north and to the plight of the Inuit in that far land. Kirkby describes Isumataq as "the portrait of the soul of a nation.";
Ken Kirkby: A Painter's Quest for Canada is the story of a remarkable man who was born in England during the Second World War and grew up in Portugal under the tutelage of an old fisherman who filled his head with visions of a land of snow, icebergs and polar bears-a land of adventure and freedom. The young boy grew into a man who was determined to see that country."
-- Publisher's promotional text
Submitted on June 29, 2009 in By David.
