This is the second in a series of blog posts about the recent Kinship Communities exhibition curated for the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery’s Helen Christou Gallery. Each post provides additional background information on the communities represented in the exhibition and some of the artwork included.
Pangnirtung
Like other Inuit communities, the federal government was interested in the economic opportunity presented by arts and crafts in Pangnirtung with the collapse of the fur trade in the 1940s and 1950s and a severe distemper outbreak among the dogs in the region which resulted in the death of upwards of eighty percent of sled dogs and the caused the evacuation of most Inuit living in surrounding camps to Pangnirtung in 1962. Without their dogs, many Inuit were unable to hunt as they had previously done and had a harder time providing food for their families. Because of this, some Inuit chose to stay in the settlement where they had access to the schools and stores of Pangnirtung. Other Inuit chose to return to their camps and by 1965, dog populations were steadily increasing again. Many of those who returned to camps were moved back to the settlement by the federal government and by the 1970s, the Inuit were living year-round in government-created settlements.
Installation view, Kinship Communities (February 5 - August 27, 2021), Helen Christou Gallery.
The Pangnirtung Eskimo Co-operative, later Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts, was established in 1968 as a way to employ Inuit in the community. Though there was a larger focus on sculpture and weaving in the community, the printmaking shop in Pangnirtung was not funded until 1969, considerably later than other Inuit communities. Inuit graphic artists living in Pangnirtung are best known for their combined use of stencil or stonecut and silkscreen, as well as lithography media. Ice Fishing (1972) by Elisapee Ishulutaq, for example, is an early print done with silkscreen, a technique not frequently seen in other communities. Also typical of Pangirtung art is the thematic imagery of traditional ways of life, depicted in Ice Fishing (1972), as well as with Malaya Akulukjuk’s Ball Game (1974). While perhaps not a scene of everyday life, Annie Pitsiulak’s Her Lamp Won’t Stay Still! (1976) is playful in its subtle use of colour, also exemplifing the Pangnirtung style.
Installation view, Kinship Communities (February 5 - August 27, 2021), Helen Christou Gallery. Close up view of Annie Pitsiulak, Her Lamp Won't Stay Still! 1976, ink (stencil) on paper. From the University of Lethbridge Art Collection; gift of Dr. Margaret “Marmie” Perkins Hess, 2017.
While printmaking in Pangnirtung faced a number of challenges, the artistic community remains strong and connected. Before moving to a camp outside of Pangnirtung, Annie Pitsiulak’s husband, Lypa Pitsiulak lead the print shop for several years, and printed other artist’s works, including work by Akulukjuk, featured in this exhibtion. Ishulutaq became a recognized figure in the local art community, working with the print shop from its inception until her death in 2018 and co-founding the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts in an effort for the local community of artists to take control of their printmaking.
Prominent Pangnirtung artist, Elisapee Ishulutaq was born at the seasonal camp Kagiqtuqjuaq on Cumberland Sound in 1925 and she lived a nomadic life. Her father taught her how to do pencil drawings as a child, but it was not until Ishulutaq moved to Pangnirtung with her family in the 1960s that she began drawing in earnest. For her contributions to the cultural and economic health of her community and as a role model and mentor, Ishulutaq received the Order of Canada in 2014.
When I first saw Ice Fishing (1972), I was unsure about including it in the exhibition. Compared to the lavish colours of many of the other prints I had already chosen, I Elisapee Ishulutaq, Ice Fishing. 1972,
worried it might get lost. However, the silkscreen on paper. From the University of
simplicity of the print turned out to be a Lethbridge Art Collection; gift of Dr.
factor in my decision to select it for Margaret "Marmie" Perkins Hess, 2017.
exhibition. With the image itself – a family
surviving on the land through tasks like ice
fishing – Ishulutaq is depicting an Inuit way of life before relocations and larger community settlements. Given the complicated history of dogs in the area, it was interesting to see Ishulutaq include a dog with the family in this print: the dog is, presumably, there for hunting purposes, but Ishulutaq may also be making a social commentary. Traditionally, dogs were used by the Inuit to hunt, and in the 1950s, a distemper outbreak caused many dogs to die from the disease. Dogs also died by the involvement of the RCMP who killed thousands of sled dogs (for conflicting reasons). This print was made after these issues arose, and Ishulutaq was not afraid of addressing this and other difficult topics.. There is a sense of connection in this artwork between the balance of the human and non-human world, and the necessary relationship between the two for joint survival.
Annie Pitsiulak, Her Lamp Won't Stay Still! 1976, ink (stencil) on paper. From the University of Lethbridge Art Collection; gift of Dr. Margaret “Marmie” Perkins Hess, 2017.
I chose to feature Her Lamp Won’t Stay Still! (1976) by Annie Pitsiulak in this exhibition mostly because it is such a joyful and fun image to me. In preparing for this exhibition and researching Annie, I watched a short documentary on Lypa Pitsiulak, her husband. Although the focus of the film was on Lypa, I was focused on Annie. Born in 1950 to a family of artists, she lived and created art for several years with her husband and children in Pangnirtung, until 1977 when the family moved to a camp outside the community. From the documentary, I connected right away with Annie’s playful attitude and bright smile. While perhaps this work does not directly illustrate the theme of kinship, I found myself seeing Annie’s personality and joy in it. I felt a kinship with Annie and her work without ever even meeting her. And I think that, ultimately, is what I was trying to accomplish with this exhibition, connecting artists and their works with the viewer on a level that goes deeper than just looking at a beautiful print.
Ulukhaktok (Holman)
The art coming out of Ulukhaktok, NWT, perhaps more so than any of the other Inuit artist communities represented in this exhibition, was largely influenced by the introduction of Christianity and the arrival of missionaries. The Roman Catholic mission in Ulukhaktok was run by Father Henri Tardy from 1949 to the early 1980s. Father Tardy was looking for a way for his parishoners to earn an income after being moved into Ulukhaktok and he established the Holman Eskimo Co-operative (later Ulukhaktok Arts Centre) in 1961. After seeing a Kinngait (Cape Dorset) print in a friend’s home, Father Tardy encouraged the artists of the co-op to experiment with printmaking.
Using what was available to them, Ulukhaktok artists experimented using sealskin stencils to make their prints. They shaved the skins with Father Tardy’s own razor and used toothbrushes to apply the colour. While a handul of these early prints are kept at the Ulukhaktok Arts Centre archive, the practice was more experimental and never really widely used. After the popularization of stonecut stencils by James Houston and the Kinngait artists he worked with, the printmakers in Ulukhaktok began using similar techniques. Stonecut remained the primary method of printing in Ulukhaktok from 1965 to 1976 although other techniques, including lithography and stencil printing, and even woodcuts for a period, were briefly used.
Installation view, Kinship Communities (February 5 - August 27, 2021), Helen Christou Gallery.
These stonecut prints featured strong shapes and often only a single bold colour, often red, blue, black or brown. Artists from Ulukhaktok are known for unique detailed, naturalistic depictions produced through tonal gradations and delicate incised detail, as well as the use of spatial depth. Mona Ohoveluk’s Lively Dance (1969) employs both the use of a single, vibrant colour in addition to the intricate negative spaces that help define the image of the figures. Similarly, Agnes Nanogak’s Worshipping the Rising Sun (1972) explores similar techniques with the use of smaller intracices and few, strong colours.
Unlike many other artists in this exhibition that share a family connection, Ohoveluk and Nanogak are not familial relations, however, their involvement with the artistic community of Ulukhaktok connects them. Ohoveluk printed a number of works by local artists, including her own work featured in this exhibtion, and encouraged others in the community who wanted to learn printmaking. One such individual was Mary K. Okheena, Nanogak’s niece, who went on to become a renowned printmaker in her own right.
Agnes Nanogak, Worshipping the Rising Sun. 1972, ink (stonecut) on paper. From the University of Lethbridge Art Collection; gift of Dr. Margaret “Marmie” Perkins Hess, 2017.
Agnes Nanogak, one of the first artists in Ulukhaktok to work with drawing and printmaking is often hailed as a “historian in words and pictures.” Born in the Baillie Islands in 1925 and settled in Ulukhaktok with her family in the mid-1930s. Encouraged by her father to pursue her art, Nanogak began drawing the animals the family hunted and depicting the traditional oral stories she was fascinated by. Nanogak created many drawings and was regularly included in the print collection catalogue.
Given Nanogak’s impressive portfolio and abundant works within the ULAG’s collection, I had some trouble deciding on just one of Nanogak’s prints to include in this exhibition. I ended up choosing Worshipping the Rising Sun because of its illustration of Inuit religious belief and the connections between the human and spiritual or natural worlds. It also showcases Nanogak’s love for the traditional stories she heard growing up. Although missionaries like Father Tardy introduced Christianity to the North and many Inuit were converted by the middle of the century, extensive and diverse Inuit religions survived and continue to flourish.
The communities of Pangnirtung and Ulukhaktok have seen a number of renowned Inuit artists. The challenges each community has faced proved no match for the artists and their ability to create and inspire.
Ryley Gelinas
Collections and Research Assistant
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