Annie Pootoogook
| Annie Pootoogook | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 11, 1969 Cape Dorset (Kinngait), Nunavut, Canada |
| Died | September 19, 2016 (aged 47) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality |
Inuk Canadian |
| Awards | Sobey Art Award 2006 |
Annie Pootoogook (May 11, 1969 – September 19, 2016) was a Canadian Inuk Artist known for her pen and coloured pencil drawings. In her art, Pootoogook often portrayed the experiences of those who lived in her community of Cape Dorset (Kinngait), in Northern Canada and occurrences that she herself experienced.
Annie Pootoogook was born on May 11, 1969 in Cape Dorset (Kinngait), Canada. Pootoogook grew up in a middle class family whose wealth came primarily from their artistic practices. Her family worked in multiple mediums and styles and Pootoogook became interested in art at an early age. Her mother Napachie Pootoogook was an Inuk draftswoman and her father Eegyvudluk Pootoogook was a printmaker and stone sculptor. Pootoogook was the granddaughter of Pitseolak Ashoona a renowned graphic artist, the niece of printmaker Kananginak Pootoogook and the cousin of draftswoman Shuvinai Ashoona.
Pootoogook received a basic education, attending school until she received a high school diploma. It is unknown what field of work Pootoogook participated in until she began making art at the age of 28 in 1997.
Pootoogook is known for her drawings created in pen and coloured pencils that depict contemporary Inuit life. Inuit life and experiences influenced her career immensely, providing her with the subject matter that she would later render. Her work primarily focused on three subject types: the everyday experiences of women living in the Canadian North, the hardships faced by Northern communities and the impact of technology on traditional Inuit life. In addition, her work often juxtaposes intimate home interior scenes with scenes of alcoholism, violence, and domestic abuse – lessening the safety of the home.
Her work is largely inspired by her mother Napachie Pootoogook and her grandmother Pitseolak Ashoona, both of whom are well known Inuit artists. Like her mother and grandmother, Pootoogook worked in the Inuit tradition of sulijuk which means “it is true.” This means that she depicted life as she saw it without adding too much of her hand into the composition.
Pootoogook is noted for titling her work for exactly what they depict, e.g. “Man Abusing his Partner”, where a man is shown abusing his wife.
Very little is known about Pootoogook’s early work and no compositions survive to this day. Literature focusing on Pootoogook’s work often begins by addressing work that she created beginning in the 1990s.
Pootoogook began making art at the age of 28 in in 1997. She worked with the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative (previously known as Kinngait Studios) in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. In her early career with the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative she was not given any artistic freedom. Nevertheless, her work brought a new artistic viewpoint to contemporary Inuit art, leaving behind historical treatments, styles, and symbols that had long been depicted in traditional Inuit art.
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