#pitseolak

Hawk, Peter Pitseolak, 1977

“This stone cut shows man and the birds moving in a perfect and exciting rhythm, for in Pitseolak’s mind, Earth’s creatures are not utterly separated. Sometimes men have the ability to understand the gabbling of geese, and sometimes geese may turn into men.”

The late Canadian Inuk artist Annie Pootoogook’s domestic scenes are sometimes tranquil, sometimes violent, but this portrait drawing of her grandmother, the artist Pitseolak Ashoona, radiates calm. (On view at the National Museum of the American Indian through Jan 8th). Annie Pootoogook, A Portrait of Pitseolak, colored pencil and ink on paper, ’03 - ’04.

Pitseolak (1904-1983). Safe In The Tent. Felt pen, 1970

Pitseolak (1904-1983). This is how we played tennis. Felt pen, 1970

“Pitseolak shows herself in a gay dream sequence as the small central figure in a sealskin women’s boat. She is accompanied by a harpooner, and two creatures from the other world.”