Fox in Camp Item Number: Na816 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Complex of eight igloos in landscape; nine silhouetted human figures, some carrying snow beaters, central figure wears sunglasses. Profile fox near lower left; large smiling yellow fox face in upper right. Names of artist and printmaker above Cape Dorset stylized red igloo seal at upper right. Pencil inscription below image from lower left: "Fox in camp" stonecut and stencil 18/50 Dorset 1975 Pudlo. Canadian Eskimo Arts Council's blind embossed stamp in lower corner on right.

History Of Use

Contemporary Inuit prints were first produced at Cape Dorset in 1957. Although precursors to printmaking can be seen in women's skin applique work and in men's incising of ivory, stone and bone, the impetus for printmaking was as a commercial venture. This venture was established jointly by Inuit artists and John Houston, the civil administrator for Cape Dorset. Other Inuit communities quickly followed the commercial success of Cape Dorset's West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative. Printmaking developed as a communal activity following a Japanese, rather than a Western, model of serigraph production. Each year the cooperatives produce a series of limited edition prints which are sold in the retail art market. In 1965, the Canadian Eskimo Arts Council was established from the Canadian Eskimo Art Committee to ensure high standards were maintained. Printmaking, along with stone carving, provide cash income for communities which have undergone rapid and significant change, during the late 20th century, from traditional hunting based societies to settled communities dependent on consumer goods. The prevalent images depicted in Inuit art are of traditional life, arctic animals and mythology. Recently, contemporary subjects have been depicted by a minority of artists.

Cultural Context

contemporary art