Annie Pootoogook
Annie Pootoogook (born 1969 in Cape Dorset,[1] then in the Northwest Territories, now in Nunavut, Canada) is a Canadian contemporary Inuit artist. Her influences include her mother, Napatchie Pootoogook (died 2002), and her grandmother, Pitseolak Ashoona (died 1983), both of whom were accomplished artists.[1]
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[edit] Artwork
Pootoogook began drawing in 1997, working with the disarmingly simple media of crayons and ink on paper.[1] Her works are large in scale and bold in execution. They portray contemporary Inuit life — juxtaposing intimate family scenes and home interiors with scenes of alcoholism and violence.[1]
Watching television is a recurring theme, seemingly in a matter-of-fact documentation of daily life, but tinged with the implied lack of physical or productive activity. Her titles are deadpan, e.g. "“Sadness and Relief for My Brother," "Memory of My Life: Breaking Bottles," or "Man Abusing His Partner." Living Inuit traditions do appear in her work, such as her portrayal of women tanning animals hides or families in fishing camps.[1] The passage of time figures heavily in her work, represented by a clock with hands set in different positions in different drawings.[1]
The power of her work stems from its lack of obvious judgment. Her work does not moralize; she is just an observer, recording a reality both good and bad, with no distinction between the two. "In the last 10 years of her life she did an absolutely extraordinary series of drawings where she talked about the darker side of traditional life and, in fact, did speak about things like spousal abuse," said Pat Feheley, owner of Feheley Fine Arts, a gallery in Toronto that represents Pootoogook.[2]
[edit] Art career
Pootoogook began her art career drawing for the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative in Cape Dorset.[2]
Her breakthrough came in 2006, when in November, she won the $50,000 Sobey Art Award, which is given to an artist 39 years old or younger who has shown their work in a public or commercial art gallery in Canada in the past 18 months. "Annie Pootoogook's work reflects both the current moment of a specific tradition and of a contemporary drawing practice," the curators and jury for the award said in a press release.[3] She also had a major solo exhibition in 2006 at The Power Plant in Toronto.[2]
She exhibited at the 2007 Biennale de Montréal and in the same year she had works at both the Basel Art Fair and Documenta 12. Pootoogook was the first Inuit artist to participate in Documenta, held in Kassel, Germany.[2] This combination was a first for an Inuit artist. In 2009 through 2010, the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heyes Center in New York gave her a solo exhibit.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Cotter, Holland. "Postcards From Canada’s ‘New North.’" New York Times. 23 July 2009 (retrieved 25 July 2009)
- ^ a b c d Cape Dorset artist gets prestigious invitation to German art show. CBC Arts. 2 Nov 2006 (retrieved 25 July 2009)
- ^ "Inuit artist Pootoogook wins $50,000 Sobey Art Award." CBC Arts. 7 Nov 2006 (retrieved 25 July 2009)
[edit] External links
- Nunatsiaq News, June 24, 2005 - Mother, daughter art team capture contemporary Cape Dorset - Toronto exhibit shows some of the darker realities of Inuit life
- Drawing Society of Canada - Annie Pootoogook
- Culture Clash: Annie Pootoogook captures Canada’s north-south divide, by David Balzer, with images of her work
