June 10 – September 6, 2021
Itee Pootoogook: Hymns to the Silence
ᐊᐃᑏ ᐳᑐᒍᖅ: ᐱᓰᑦ ᓂᖃᑐᓕᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ
The first retrospective of Itee Pootoogook (1951–2014), this exhibition gathers more than 60 drawings from the late artist’s body of work. As one of the key members of the third generation of Inuit artists from Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Itee contributed to the transformation of the creative traditions inherited from his elders at the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative’s Kinngait Studios. The son of artists Ishuhungitok and Paulassie Pootoogook, cousin of Annie Pootoogook and nephew of Kananginak Pootoogook, he began his artistic practice in the 1970s with an experiment in film animation, later adopting drawing as his medium of choice. By the late 1990s, he was actively involved in his newfound career as a graphic artist at Kinngait Studios.
Known as a meticulous draftsperson and an inventive landscapist, Itee looked primarily to contemporary Northern life for his subject matter. Although he produced his compositions from a combination of memory and imagination, Itee also based many of his drawings on photographs, an aspect of his artistic process that further highlights his contemporaneity. Featuring a minimum of incident, these understated images celebrate the mundane moments that make up the everyday but also the flashes of unrivalled natural beauty that are the delight of all who live in the North.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully bilingual (English and Inuktitut) publication, which includes texts by guest curator Nancy Campbell as well as responses to Pootoogook’s work from prominent contemporary artists and art historians.
ᐅᓇ ᐃᓚᖓᑦ ᖃᑕᖑᑎᖓᑦ ᑖᒃᑯᐊᑦ ᐱᖓᔪᒋᓕᖅᑕᖓᓂᑦ ᐊᓈᓇᑦᓯᐊᒃᑯᖏᑦ ᐊᑖᑕᑦᓯᐊᒃᑯᖏᑦ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᑎᕕᓃᑦ ᐃᓅᐃᑦ ᑭᓐᖓᓂᑦ, ᐳᑐᒍᖅ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᑭᓱᕈᖅᑎᑦᑎᓯᒪᒐᒥ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐋᕿᑦᑎᐊᖅᓯᒪᓕᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᓴᓇᑦᑎᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᒻᒪᕆᐋᓘᐃᑦ ᐃᒻᒪᑲᓪᓚᓂᑦ ᑕᐃᒪᓗ ᑲᔪᓯᑦᑎᐊᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᓯᒪᔭᓂ ᐊᑐᖅᑕᐅᓗᑎᒃ 20-ᖏᓂ ᐃᓅᓕᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᒍᐃᔅ ᐸᕕᑦ ᐃᔅᑭᒨ ᑯᐊᑉ, ᑭᓐᖓᓂ ᑎᑎᖅᑐᒐᕐᕕᒃ. ᐃᕐᓂᖓ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᑎᑦ ᐃᓱᕼᐅᖏᑐᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐸᐅᓗᓯ ᐳᑐᒍᖅ, ᐱᔭᕆᐅᖅᓴᖃᑦᑕᓕᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᔭᖅᖢᓂ, ᐱᒋᐊᓕᓵᖅᑐᑦ ᑕᕐᕆᔭᖅᑕᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᖢᒋᑦ ᑕᐃᒪᖓᓂᑦ 1970-ᓂ, ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑕᐅᑦᑎᖏᓐᓇᖅᑐᖅ ᑖᒃᑯᑎᒍᑦ ᒍᐃᔅ ᐸᕕᓐ ᐃᔅᑭᒨ ᑯᐊᑉ ᐊᑖᓂ 1990-ᓂ.
ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᐅᔾᔪᑎᒋᓚᐅᖅᑕᖓ ᓴᕿᑎᑦᑎᒍᓐᓇᑦᑎᐊᓚᐅᕐᒪᑦ ᑭᓱᖑᐊᓕᒫᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᑯᒥᓇᖅᓯᑎᑦᑎᐊᖅᖢᒍ ᓄᓇ, ᐳᑐᒍᖅ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᒫᓐᓇᐅᔪᖅ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐃᓅᓯᕐᓂᒃ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᔭᖅᖢᒋᑦ. ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇᐅᒐᓗᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᐃᓚᖏᑦ ᓴᕿᑎᓯᒪᔭᖏᑦ ᑭᓱᖑᐊᑦ ᑲᑎᖓᔪᑦ ᐃᓱᒪᒋᔭᒥᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᖑᐊᕋᔭᖅᑐᓂᒃ, ᐳᑐᒍᖅ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᔭᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᕐᒥᔭᒋᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ, ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᐊᔪᖏᑦᑎᐊᓕᕈᑎᒋᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐱᔭᕆᐅᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᑦᑎᐊᖅᖢᓂ ᓴᕿᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᒫᓐᓇᓕᓴᐅᒋᔭᓂ. ᓴᕿᔮᖅᑐᑦ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᔪᕕᓂᕐᓂᒃ ᐱᓯᒪᓗᐊᕋᑎᒃ, ᐅᑯᐊ ᓴᕿᑦᑎᐊᖅᖢᒋᑦ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒍᑎᒋᔭᓂ ᐃᖃᐅᒪᔭᒥᓂᒃ ᐊᑐᖅᑕᐅᔪᑦᑕᐅᖅ ᖃᐅᑕᒫᑦ.
ᐅᓇ ᓴᕿᔮᖅᑎᑕᕗᑦ ᐃᓚᖃᕐᓂᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᐅᖃᓕᒫᒐᕐᒥᒃ. ᐅᑯᐊ ᐅᖃᓕᒫᒐᐃᑦ ᑎᑎᕋᖅᓯᒪᓂᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᒪᕐᕉᖕᓂᒃ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᕐᓂᒃ (ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ) ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓚᖃᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᑎᑎᖃᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᖃᐃᖁᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕕᖕᒥ ᑲᒪᔨᐅᔪᖅ ᓈᓐᓯ ᑳᒻᐳ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑭᐅᓯᔾᔪᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᐳᑐᒎᑉ ᓴᓇᔭᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᔪᖏᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᓂᑦ ᒫᓐᓇᐅᔪᖅ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᑎᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑎᐅᔪᓂᑦ ᐃᑦᑕᓂᑕᓂᒃ.
Itee Pootoogook
Untitled (man with hoodie and sunglasses) 2012, coloured pencil and graphite on paper 49.5 × 64.8 cm, collection of christopher bredt and jamie cameron, l2018.60.2
Exhibition Organizer:
This exhibition was organized and circulated by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and guest curated by Dr. Nancy Campbell.