Itee Pootoogook

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Winner, 2021 Melva J. Dwyer Award
Itee Pootoogook belonged to a new generation of Inuit artists who are transforming and reshaping the creative traditions that were successfully pioneered by their parents and grandparents in the second half of the 20th century.

A meticulous draughtsman who worked with graphite and coloured pencil, Itee depicted buildings in Kinngait that incorporated a perspectival view, a relatively recent practice influenced by his training as a carpenter and his interest in photography. His portraits of acquaintances and family members similarly bear witness to the contemporary North. Whether he depicts them at work or resting, his subjects are engaged in a range of activities from preparing carcasses brought in from hunting to playing music or contemplating the landscape of the North.

Itee was also an inventive landscapist. Many of his finest Arctic scenes emphasize the open horizon that separates land from sky and the ever-shifting colours of the Arctic. Rendering the variable light of the landscape with precision, he brought a level of attention that contributed, over time, to his style.

Featuring more than 100 images and essays by curators, art historians, and contemporary artists, Itee Pootoogook: Hymns to Silence celebrates the creative spirit of an innovative artist. It is the first publication devoted exclusively to his art.

AUTHOR

Nancy Campbell

Nancy Campbell is an independent curator of Inuit and Canadian contemporary art. She has curated exhibitions for the Liverpool Biennial, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, and McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Her books include Shuvinai Ashoona: Life & Work, Annie Pootoogook: Cutting Ice, and Itee Pootoogook: Hymns to the Silence.

Reviews

Itee Pootoogook (1951-2014) was a man of few words, but his drawings speak eloquently about the North. A meticulous draughtsman who trained as a carpenter, he worked with graphite and coloured pencil, depicting the buildings of Kinngait, the open horizon, and the ever-shifting colours of the Arctic landscape. Gerald McMaster writes about the stillness of his drawings that give “viewers the sense that they had just landed on some lonely planet.” Sarah Milroy describes his compositions as “a kind of fine visual joinery, worthy of the artist-builder.”

In this volume, a celebration of the creative spirit of this innovative artist, Nancy Campbell has assembled a host of Canadian artists, curators, and writers to bear witness to Itee Pootoogook’s legacy and the power of his work.