ANNIE POOTOOGOOK: CUTTING ICE
New book looks at life of late Inuit artist
Annie Pootoogook: Cutting Ice Nancy Campbell Goose Lane Editions
A red bra, a pair of scissors and a set of bagpipes are some of the unexpected images included in Cutting Ice, the new book on the life and work of the late Inuit artist Annie Pootoogook.
Each item is meticulously rendered in coloured pencil and ink: The red bra hints at romance, the scissor blades are poised for use and the pipes make a delightful study of curved form and playful detail.
They’re among the objects that caught Pootoogook’s eye during a career that brought her from her home in the Far North to the top of the international art world before crashing down on the streets of Ottawa, where she struggled with addiction issues. She died in 2016 at the age of 47. Her body was found in the Rideau River.
Written by curator Nancy Campbell, with text in English and Inuktitut, the hardcover book was published as a companion to a retrospective of Pootoogook’s work that recently ended its run at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, north of Toronto. More than 50 of her drawings are featured in the book, along with a handful of photographs and a chapter on other noteworthy Inuit artists.
To Campbell, who knew Pootoogook well and spent many hours with her between 2004 and 2010, the book is like a photo album. “The pictures really tell the story of her life, and her legacy, and life in the North in general,” the author said in an interview. “You see the things that are still maintained, like country food, camping and berry picking, as well as things like watching Jerry Springer and buying a red bra.”
Campbell, whose doctoral dissertation focused on contemporary Inuit drawing in Cape Dorset, first encountered Pootoogook’s art when it was exhibited at a Toronto gallery. She was working at another Toronto gallery and proposed a solo show for Pootoogook, a bold move at the time.
Campbell writes that she was captivated by Pootoogook’s “clarity, astute composition, and honesty. I felt strongly that it should be seen by as many people as possible.”
That big-city solo show took place in 2006, and captivated viewers, too.
“People were genuinely intrigued and somewhat shocked,” says Campbell, describing the public’s reaction to the modern conveniences depicted in Pootoogook’s drawings. “‘Oh, they have TVs,’ It was that basic.”
Pootoogook went on to win the $50,000 Sobey Art Award despite resistance from some jury members, which is also detailed in the book. She was invited to exhibit abroad and travelled to Germany and Scotland, where she drew the bagpipes. It was a whirlwind time, and she decided to make her home further south, landing in Montreal and then Ottawa.
Moving to Ottawa was “a tremendous cultural leap that left her vulnerable,” Campbell writes, sharing the concern of friends and family members who believed Pootoogook would have had a better life if she had returned home. Her mental health and addiction issues were difficult to battle without the support of her community.
In the book, Campbell touches on the struggles Pootoogook faced, which are evident in the artist’s own work, particularly in drawings such as Man Abusing His Partner and Drinking Beer in Montreal.
Pootoogook represented the third generation in a family of artists. Her grandmother, the renowned artist Pitseolak Ashoona, was born on the land and was moved, by the government, into a community. Her mother, Napachie Pootoogook, was also born on the land, but lived in a community most of her life. Annie was born in a community, but loved going out on the land.
In three generations, the Inuit experienced momentous changes, shifting from a nomadic way of life to one that involved houses, shopping, television, frozen food and other modern trappings.
Pootoogook depicts signs of this upheaval in her drawings of everyday life in the Arctic. “That’s why you see so many televisions, interiors, kids watching seal hunting on TV,” says Campbell. “It is a very accelerated culture.”
Also included in Cutting Ice are drawings that show Pootoogook accepting the Sobey Award, facing a media scrum and visiting with former governor general Michaelle Jean in Ottawa. There’s a short history of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, a poignant essay on Pootoogook’s life and a discussion of her legacy.
“Her drawings and her legacy depict a community in transition, one that respects its past and is negotiating its future,” Campbell writes.
In the end, the book not only celebrates the work of Pootoogook, but also examines it in the context of truth and reconciliation, colonization and cultural globalization.
“She was such an important artist,” Campbell says, “not that there haven’t been other important Inuit artists, but I think that she has opened the door for another generation of artists to actually participate in a larger conversation about contemporary art.”
As for the red bra, Campbell once asked Pootoogook why she drew it. Her answer was simple: “Because I have one and I like it.”