Canadian Artists from World War II to the Present: A Survey  
     
     
 
Introduction :: Pre-Contact Traditions :: Post-Contact First Nations Art: An Overview :: Arctic/Inuit Traditional Arts :: Arctic/Inuit Modern and Contemporary Arts :: Plains :: West Coast :: Eastern Woodlands :: Other Selected Contemporary First Nations Artists :: Additional Resources for First Nations Artists in Canada :: HOME
  
     
   
  Arctic/Inuit Modern and Contemporary Arts  
     
  After World War II, the Canadian government, aided by southern artists such as James Houston, helped northern artists establish cooperative carving schools and also introduced new techniques that were compatible with traditional approaches, such as stoneblock printmaking. The artists, both male and female, quickly adapted the new techniques to traditional as well as new subjects, and produced both miniature and monumental works. Particularly notable were such cooperative ventures such as the Cape Dorset Print Cooperative. Critics and students have come to regard these artists as among the most talented in all of Canadian art, and works by them are collected both nationally and internationally.

It is difficult to give an overview of the many talented artists from the North. Here, though, are a few notable examples, chosen so as to represent a balance between traditional subjects and contemporary ones, as well as men and women:

Pudlo Pudlat (1916-1959, born between Cape Dorset & Lake Harbour, the site of a summer camp); Pitseolak Ashoona (1904-1983, Cape Dorset); Luke Anguhadluq, (1895-1982, from Baker Lake); Jesse Oonark (1906-1985, Baker Lake); and Kenojuak Ashevak (b. 1927-).

Kenojuak Ashevak (b. 1927)
Enchanted Owl, 1960 (National Gallery of Canada)

In some cases, old techniques have been used to convey traditional iconography, while in others new techniques have been used to convey concepts traditional to first nations cultures. An example of the latter is seen in this 1960 color stonecut by Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-), a woman Inuit artist.

Colour stonecut on laid paper
Printed by Eegyvudluk Pootoogook
55.8 x 65.7 cm
Gift of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1989
National Gallery of Canada (no. 36504)







  
     
     
 
Introduction :: Pre-Contact Traditions :: Post-Contact First Nations Art: An Overview :: Arctic/Inuit Traditional Arts :: Arctic/Inuit Modern and Contemporary Arts :: Plains :: West Coast :: Eastern Woodlands :: Other Selected Contemporary First Nations Artists :: Additional Resources for First Nations Artists in Canada :: HOME