The Snow-Blind Item Number: Na858 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Print depicting a kneeling hunter in three-quarter view at right with a drawn bow and arrow. Beside the hunter are a knife, mittens, and seven arrows in a quiver. The hunter is behind a hunting blind that is made of blocks of snow. Left of the hunter are two caribou: one is on the ground with an arrow through its shoulder, and another through its rump; the other caribou is standing with an arrow in its shoulder. Below the image is written, "The Snowblind lithograph 17/30 Dorset Kananginak 1976," and the name of artist in Inuit syllabics. The Cape Dorset Cooperative's blind embossed stamp is in lower right-hand corner.

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
The Snow-Blind
Identification Number
Na858
Type of Item
print
Manufacturing Technique
lithographed and printed
Overall
height 44.5 cm, width 59.0 cm
Image
height 43.0 cm, width 59.0 cm

Who

Culture
Inuit
Creator
Kananginak Pootoogook (Maker)
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 1976
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
0914/0128