Napachie Pootoogook

Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Winnipeg Art Gallery from June 1 to Sept. 19, 2004.

Cape Dorset-born Annie Pootoogook (1969-2016) explored, celebrated, and depicted her northern community in unprecedented ways. Pootoogook belonged to a family of famed Inuit artists that included her parents Eegyvudluk and Napachie, and her grandmother, the celebrated Pitseolak Ashoona. In 1997, Pootoogook started working at the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative's Kinngait Studios, where she produced drawings in ink and crayon on a monumental scale. In addition to depicting scenes of everyday life in the North--including people watching TV, playing cards, shopping, or cooking dinnerh--Pootoogook depicted such difficult subjects as alcoholism, domestic abuse, food scarcity, and the effects of intergenerational trauma. Pootoogook's compelling drawings resulted in her national and international recognition. Author Nancy G. Campbell reveals how the strength of Pootoogook's work speaks not to what she saw but the way she saw it, and how her distinct images of nude women, spiritual encounters, and domestic scenes led the way for the works of many contemporary Inuit artists.

This is an illustrated oral biography created from recorded interviews by Dorothy Harley Eber in 1970. In these interviews, and through her drawings and prints, Pitseolak makes what Inuit call the old way come alive, reflecting on life on the land, its pleasure and trials. Her story later became an NFB animated documentary. This second edition, appearing more than 30 years after the first, contains additional drawings and prints by Pitseolak Ashoona and a new introduction by Eber that provides more information about the artist and the circumstances under which her groundbreaking oral biography came about. Pitseolak Ashoona, who died in 1983, was known for lively prints and drawings showing the things we did long ago before there were many white men and for imaginative renderings of spirits and monsters. She began creating prints in the late 1950s after James Houston started printmaking experiments at Cape Dorset, creating several thousand images of traditional Inuit life. Pitseolak Ashoona was elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1974 and was also a member of the Order of Canada.

The tiny Canadian hamlet of Cape Dorset, just south of the Arctic Circle, has been known since the late 1950s as the capital of Inuit art, thanks to the community’s many talented artists. Here, 12 female artists and writers reflect on a way of life that is now threatened. Each has a story to tell — of growing up female in a harsh environment, of adapting to new cultures and learning the nuances of familiar ways, of learning new art forms through which to portray the best, and worst, of their extraordinary lives. Interwoven with vivid images of a unique culture and a stern landscape are the women’s thoughtful comments on their creative inspirations. Each speaks her concerns with energy, channelling her passions through art that is at once subtle and bold, delicate in detail yet forceful. Two hundred illustrations, over 50 in full color, depict the artists’ striking graphics, sculpture, and jewelry.

"An outstanding set of studies that work well with each other to produce truly substantial and rich insights into the making and consuming of art in the colonial and post-colonial world."—Susan S. Bean, Curator, Peabody Essex Museum

In the 1950s, Chauncey C. Nash started collecting Inuit carvings just as the art of printmaking was introduced in Kinngait (Cape Dorset). His collection of early Inuit sculpture and prints represents a vibrant period in contemporary Inuit art. Drawing from ethnology, archaeology, art history, and cultural studies, Lutz tells the collection’s story.

Inuit--sometimes referred to as Eskimo--art is the primary art form of Canada and has a large international following, particularly in the United States, Japan, and Germany. Despite its popularity, the complete history of Inuit art has never been presented. This is the first chronological synthesis of Inuit art, following its development from prehistory, through early American and European exploration, to the recognition of Inuit art as a commercial possibility, and up to the present. There is a particular emphasis on contemporary art and artists, and the years 1950 through 1997 are each given separate, detailed treatment in regard to important shows and events. This history is appropriate both for the beginning admirer of Inuit art and for those already well immersed in it.