Kenojuak

Dean Tudor is a journalism professor at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute and founding editor of the CBRA.

Originally published in 1981 in a limited edition of 275, this “reprint” features all of the illustrative matter and virtually all of the text of the original book. The only drawback is that references do not advance beyond 1980, the original cut-off date. The first 78 pages present Kenojuak’s autobiography, with chronologies of family life and exhibitions through 1980, followed by a series of commentaries on her techniques, subject matter, drawings, sculpture, and so forth. The last part of the book is the most vital: every print that she has produced through 1980 is here, in colour. There are 161 of these, including her first (rabbit Eating Seaweed, 1958) and her most famous (The Enchanted Owl, which was also on a postage stamp in 1970).

Kenojuak has been the subject of major exhibits around the world, including Japan, and she was one of the early (1967) winners of the Order of Canada. She continues to work well in the Cape Dorset style that she pioneered, and her latest triumph was a major three-month exhibit in the Toronto area. This art book is an excellent purchase.