Fish Weir at Shartowetok

Contemporary Inuit prints were first produced at Cape Dorset in 1957. Although precursors to printmaking can be seen in women's skin applique work and in men's incising of ivory, stone and bone, the impetus for printmaking was as a commercial venture. This venture was established jointly by Inuit artists and John Houston, the civil administrator for Cape Dorset. Other Inuit communities quickly followed the commercial success of Cape Dorset's West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative. Printmaking developed as a communal activity following a Japanese, rather than a Western, model of serigraph production. Each year the cooperatives produce a series of limited edition prints which are sold in the retail art market. In 1965, the Canadian Eskimo Arts Council was established from the Canadian Eskimo Art Committee to ensure high standards were maintained. Printmaking, along with stone carving, provide cash income for communities which have undergone rapid and significant change, during the late 20th century, from traditional hunting based societies to settled communities dependent on consumer goods. The prevalent images depicted in Inuit art are of traditional life, arctic animals and mythology. Recently, contemporary subjects have been depicted by a minority of artists.

contemporary art

Print depicting a stone weir with 21 fish on the left-hand side. On the right-hand side is a tent, four figures with gaffs, three dogs, and two stone cairns. The image is bordered by a black line, and the two sides are divided by a rough black line. Below the image is written, "Fish weir at Shartowetok StoneCut 30/50 Dorset 1976 Jamasie." The name of the printmaker is printed in Inuit syllabics along with the Cape Dorset stylized red igloo seal at the lower right-hand side with the artist's name written in Inuit syllabics below. The Canadian Eskimo Arts Council's blind embossed stamp is in the lower right-hand corner.