Artwork copyright Lawrence Beck. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2016.

Artwork copyright Lawrence Beck. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2016.

Artwork copyright Lawrence Beck. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2016.

Poktalaruk 'huk shuk, 1978

Lawrence Beck
American Chnagmiut Yup'ik (born 1938, died 1994)

Location: Highline College, Des Moines

About the Artwork

Poktalaruk 'huk shuk by Lawrence Beck (Chnagmiut Yup'ik) explores balance, line, and materials. It also references Beck's Native Alaskan Yup'ik heritage, representing whale bones and serving as an inukshuk (meaning “sculptural presence”). Nomadic Yup'ik people traditionally used whale bones to build simple temporary houses, and they created inukshuk with piled stones to mark places while traveling. Beck notes that “It is what you perceive it to be; it is what you bring to it."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Highline College.

About the Artist

Beck grew up in Seattle. His father was American, and his mother was Norwegian and Alaskan Yup'ik. He attended Ballard High School and the University of Washington in Seattle, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (1964) degree in painting and a Master of Fine Arts (1965) degree in sculpture. In the mid 1970s, Beck visited the Alaskan coast and discovered that he understood the Yup'ik culture. He started making art influenced by Yup'ik culture, eventually focusing on the spirit masks.