Old Women Speak of Owl

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 black owl with wings spread perched on a harpoon with a line at one end and skin float at the other. Above the owl two women and a dog each stand on a mound. The owl has white patches on its chest. Stamped at the upper left are the names of the artist and printmaker as well as the Cape Dorset Co-operative stylized red igloo. Above the stamped names is a short sentence in Inuit syllabics that has been written in pencil. Below the image is written, "Old women speak of owl stonecut 25/50 Dorset 1974 Pitseolak." The Canadian Eskimo Arts Council's blind embossed seal is stamped at the lower right-hand corner.