Baker Lake, Inuit Prints and Print Drawings 1970-76

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Baker Lake, 1983, softcover, published by the Winnipeg Art Gallery, 92 pages.’

Print and Print-Drawings 1970-1976

This catalogue was prepared as a part of an exhibition  in 1983, and was prepared by the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Several photographs of the original artwork  and the print prepared from that artwork  have been included in this listing.  The image on the left in a photograph is always the original artwork from which the print,  which is on the right,  was derived.

From the Introduction -----

The first Cape Dorset portfolio of prints, released in 1959, intro­duced the concept of Inuit printmaking to southern Canada. Prompted by the curiosity of Cape Dorset artist Oshoweetuk "B", and carried to fruition through the guidance of James Houston, printmaking became an established Inuit art form, first in Cape Dorset and later in other Inuit communities.! Enthused by the response which greeted their 1959 portfolio, the Cape Dorset printers quickly set to work on the next year's production. In­cluded in the 1960 portfolio were prints of two drawings by Una (now known as Jessie Oonark), which had been sent to Cape Dorset by Edith Dodds, the wife of a Northern Service Officer stationed at Baker Lake. The two prints, Tatooed Faces and Inland Eskimo Woman, were followed in 1961 by the print of a third Oonark drawing, People of the Inland. These three works drew attention to the fact that Cape Dorset was not alone as a centre of artistic talent in the Canadian Arctic.

Following the example of Cape Dorset, several brief attempts at printmaking were initiated at Baker Lake in the early 1960s. Gabriel Gely, a former arts officer, recalls the interest of several carvers who would devote their free Saturdays to experimenting with basic printmaking techniques. However, it wasn't until the arrival of artists Jack and Sheila Butler in July 1969 that a formal printmaking programme was established. Within a short but intense period of four months, a portfolio of prints was produced and presented for review to the Canadian Eskimo Arts Council. With the Council's approval, full scale production of the inaugural portfolio began. The opening exhibition, held at the Edmonton Art Gallery, presented a total of 44 images in limited editions ranging from 12 to 50 prints. Since 1970, the artists and printmakers, now organized as the Sanavik Cooperative, have released an annual collection of prints in the spring of each year. And over the years, the collection of original drawings used as sources for these prints have become historically valuable. In 1980, The Winnipeg Art Gallery had the privilege of purchasing the collection of 219 print-drawings dating from 1970 to 1976.

The current exhibition presents a selection of these original drawings shown in juxtaposition to their companion prints. This juxtaposition allows the viewer to compare both works, taking note of the changes made in translating a particular graphic image from one medium to another. Through this juxtaposition, minor, or at times radical, changes in terms of colour, texture and imagery become apparent.

The drawing by Marion Tuu'luq entitled People and Grailings, with its accompanying trial proof and final print, demonstrates the process of stonecut and stencil printing which was used in pro­ducing many of the works in this exhibition. As the trial proof shows, the printmaker must first decode the drawing, that is analyze its composition and decide how best it may be printed using one or a combination of the methods available: stonecut, stencil, silkscreen and linocut. For a stonecut print, the drawing is traced and drawn in reverse on a block of stone which is painted in white gesso. With a sharp cutting tool, the printmaker cuts away the unwanted area, leaving only the portion of the drawing to be printed in relief. Ink is rolled onto this raised surface with a brayer, and a sheet of handmade Japanese paper is carefully laid over the stone and rubbed until the inked image is transferred onto the paper. Additional colours and forms are then stenciled over this printed image, each application being carefully registered. The process is repeated in the exact manner for the entire edition.

The contents include -------

It was the intents of this exhibition to identify the relationshuip between the original drawing and the print derived from the print.

The comparisons presented in this catalogue  are as follows

The first five comparisons are presented in color.

The remainder of the comparisons, original art compared to the resultant print  are presented  in black and white.

The comparisons were for artwork prepared by the following artists -----

Luke Anguhadluq

Ruth Annaqtuusi

Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq

Marjorie Esa

Luke Iksiktaaryuk

Martha Ittulaka’naaq

Samson Kayuryuk

Hannah Kigusiuq

Janet kigusiuq

Myra Kukiiyaut

Victoria Mamnguqsualuk

William Noah

Jessie Oonark

Harold Qarliksaq

Ruth Qaulluaryuk

Armand Tagoona

Simon Tookoome

Marion Tuu’luq

Mark Uqayuittuq

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