Tunirrusiangit
Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak
Published on 19. June 2018
Book
Hardback
160 pages
978-1-77310-091-3 (ISBN)
Description
Two generations of Inuit artists challenging the parameters of tradition.
Kenojuak Ashevak shot to fame in 1970 when Canada Post printed The Enchanted Owl, a print of a black-and-red plumed nocturnal bird, on a postage stamp. She later became known as the magic-marker-wielding "grandmother of Inuit art," famous for her fluid graphic storytelling and her stunning depictions of wildlife. She was a defining figure in Inuit art and one of the first Indigenous artists to be embraced as a contemporary Canadian artist.
Ashevak's legacy inspired her nephew, Timootee (Tim) Pitsiulak, to take up drawing at the Kinngait Studios. In his relatively short career, he became a popular figure, known for drawing animal figures with a hunter's precision and capturing the technological presence of the South in Nunavut.
Tunirrusiangit, "their gifts" or "what they gave" in Inuktitut, celebrates the achievements of two remarkable artists who challenged the parameters of tradition while consistently articulating a compelling vision of the Inuit world view. Published to coincide with a major exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, opening on 16 June and continuing until late August, Tunirrusiangit features more than 60 reproductions of paintings, drawings, and documentary photographs. Completing the book are essays by contemporary artists and curators Jocelyn Piirainen, Anna Hudson, Georgiana Uhlyarik, Koomuatuk Curley, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, and Taqralik Partridge that address both the past and future of Inuit identity.
Kenojuak Ashevak shot to fame in 1970 when Canada Post printed The Enchanted Owl, a print of a black-and-red plumed nocturnal bird, on a postage stamp. She later became known as the magic-marker-wielding "grandmother of Inuit art," famous for her fluid graphic storytelling and her stunning depictions of wildlife. She was a defining figure in Inuit art and one of the first Indigenous artists to be embraced as a contemporary Canadian artist.
Ashevak's legacy inspired her nephew, Timootee (Tim) Pitsiulak, to take up drawing at the Kinngait Studios. In his relatively short career, he became a popular figure, known for drawing animal figures with a hunter's precision and capturing the technological presence of the South in Nunavut.
Tunirrusiangit, "their gifts" or "what they gave" in Inuktitut, celebrates the achievements of two remarkable artists who challenged the parameters of tradition while consistently articulating a compelling vision of the Inuit world view. Published to coincide with a major exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, opening on 16 June and continuing until late August, Tunirrusiangit features more than 60 reproductions of paintings, drawings, and documentary photographs. Completing the book are essays by contemporary artists and curators Jocelyn Piirainen, Anna Hudson, Georgiana Uhlyarik, Koomuatuk Curley, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, and Taqralik Partridge that address both the past and future of Inuit identity.
Reviews / Votes
"A strong step towards a resurgence of Indigenous artists, thinkers and makers ... providing a caring and attentive opportunity to reflect on these influential artists." * <i>Canadian Art</i> * "Tunirrusiangit beautifully showcases the legacy of these trailblazing Inuit artists while opening a door for the next generation pushing modern Inuit art forward." * <i>NOW Toronto</i> *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Fredricton
Canada
Product notice
With printed dust jacket
Illustrations
90 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 271 mm
Width: 269 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
1168 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-77310-091-3 (9781773100913)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Anna Hudson is a professor of Canadian art history and curatorial studies at York University. Jocelyn Piirainen is Associate Curator, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization, at the National Gallery of Canada. Georgiana Uhlyarik is Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art, and co-lead of the Indigenous + Canadian Art Department at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She works collaboratively with artists and curators from across the Americas and Europe and teaches art at York University and the University of Toronto. Her publications include Moving the Museum: Indigenous + Canadian Art at the AGO, Magnetic North: Imagining Canada in Painting 1910-40, Tunirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak, Rita Letendre: Fire & Light, Picturing the Americas: Landscape Painting from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic, and Florine Stettheimer: Painting Poetry. Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013), an Order of Canada recipient, is known as the "grandmother of Inuit art," Famous for her fluid graphic storytelling and stunning use of magic markers, she quickly became a defining figure and one of the first Indigenous artists to be embraced as a Canadian contemporary artist. Ashevak's legacy inspired her nephew, Timootee (Tim) Pitsiulak (1967-2016) to take up drawing at the Kinngait Studios. In his relatively short career, he became a popular figure, known for drawing animal figures with a hunter's precision and capturing the technological presence of the South in Nunavut.