Qulaguli Item Number: Na928 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Helicopter over landing pad lit by nine lights suspended on a rope strung between two striped poles; rope is held by a female figure at lower side on right surrounded by six small children. Name of artist and printmaker in Inuit syllabics above Cape Dorset stylized ''red igloo'' seal at upper side on right. Pencil inscription below image from side on left: "Qulaguli stonecut and stencil 31/50 Dorset 1979 Pudlo." Canadian Eskimo Arts Council's blind embossed stamp in lower corner on right. The print is on horizontally rectangular white paper mounted with off-white matboard and framed.

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

Item History

What

Name
Qulaguli
Identification Number
Na928
Type of Item
print
Manufacturing Technique
stonecut, printed and stencilled
Overall
height 60.0 cm, width 84.0 cm
Image
height 42.0 cm, width 66.0 cm
Frame
height 79.0 cm, width 105.0 cm

Who

Culture
Inuit
Creator
Pudlo Pudlat (Maker) and Sagiatuk Sagiatuk (Technician)
Previous Owner
Guenter Adolphs
Received from
Guenter Adolphs (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada and Kinngait, Nunavut, Canada

When

Creation Date
during 1979
Collection Date
before 1983
Ownership Date
before December 15, 1983
Acquisition Date
on December 15, 1983

Other

Item Classes
works on paper
Condition
good
Accession Number
0914/0198