Inuit Women Artists: Voices from Cape Dorset

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, Japan Foundation Fellow 1991-92, and the author of
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Home and As Though Life Mattered:
Leo Kennedy’s Story.

Some art books attract a quick look and become dust-catchers. Inuit
Women Artists is a book for mind, eye, and spirit, a book to revisit
again and again, a catalyst for reflection. From the cover photo of a
lithograph by Napachie Pootoogok (“My New Accordian”) and the
spectacular title page featuring a greenstone sculpture by Ovilu
Tunnillie (“Hawk Taking Off”) to the dark greenstone sculpture at
the end by the same artist (“My Mother and Myself”), each of these
graphics and sculptures is a superbly crafted focus of power and
emotion. They record not only a threatened way of life but also
observations on its meaning and value.

The life and work of nine Cape Dorset artists are presented
chronologically, from eldest to youngest. These are Pitseolak Ashoona
(1904- 1983), Lucy Qinnuayuak (1915-1982), Kenojuak Ashevak (1927- ),
Qaunak Mikkigak (1932- ), Napachie Pootoogook (1938- ), Pitaloosie Saila
(1942- ), Oopik Pitsiulak (1946- ), Mayoreak Ashoona (1946- ), and Ovilu
Tunnillie (1949- ). The text includes a substantial essay by each of the
editors (all experts in the field of Inuit art) and essays by three
Inuit women writers: Ann Meekitjuk Hanson (“Good Memories”), Annie
Manning (“My Career Experiences”), and Minnie Aodla Freeman
(“Traditional and Contemporary Roles of Inuit Women”).

The essence of 12 Inuit women, caught here in memoir, interview, and
art, helps us understand what it was like to grow up female in a harsh
environment, to learn new ways and art forms, and to become an energetic
voice for a people. Inuit Women Artists is the fruit of knowledge,
exceptional talent, and love.