Oopik Item Number: Na885 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Print depicting an Arctic owl with its body in profile and its head front-facing. Below the image is written, "Oopik Lithograph 37/50 Dorset 1977 Kananginak," with the name of the artist written in Inuit syllabics. The name of the printmaker is printed in Inuit syllabics along with the Cape Dorset Co-operative stylized red igloo seal on the bottom right-hand side. The Canadian Eskimo Arts Council and Cape Dorset Cooperative blind embossed stamps are in the bottom 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
Oopik
Identification Number
Na885
Type of Item
print
Manufacturing Technique
lithographed and printed
Overall
height 38.5 cm, width 47.5 cm
Image
height 30.5 cm, width 41.0 cm

Who

Culture
Inuit
Creator
Kananginak Pootoogook (Maker) and Pitseolak Niviaqsi (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 1977
Collection Date
before 1983
Ownership Date
before December 15, 1983
Acquisition Date
on December 15, 1983

Other

Item Classes
works on paper
Condition
excellent
Accession Number
0914/0155