Honouring Kenojuak Ashevak 1927-2013 (Cape Dorset)
“I just take these things out of my thoughts and out of my imagination and I don’t really give any weight to the idea of its being an image of something. In other words, I am not trying to show what anything looks like in the material world... that is just my style and that is the way I started and that is the way I am today.” Kenojuak, in an interview with Jean Blodgett, 1980
Kenojuak achieved worldwide recognition as one of Canada’s prominent icons of modern Inuit art and maintains a position of high esteem and value among Inuit art collectors and art galleries. Born in an igloo on Baffin Island in October 1927, she was the first woman to be involved with the print making co-operative at Cape Dorset.
Extremely versatile in the use of different art media, she produced a large collection of desired drawings, stonecut prints and etchings. In recognition of her creativity, she became the subject of a National Film Board documentary by producer John Feeney titled Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak, in 1963. She was a recipient of several awards including the Governor General’s Award in Visual and media Arts in 2008. A number of her prints have been reproduced on Canadian postage stamps.
Northern Expressions
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