2008 Pangnirtung Print Coll...

Join our partners and friends at the Houston North Gallery as they introduce
the highly anticipated 2008 Pangnirtung community print collection,
including this untitled print by Jolly Atagoyuk, Adventure Canada
staffer. A reception with scrumptious food and beverage will feature
the new collection. Admission is free and feel free to bring a friend.
If you are unable to attend the event the collection will be release on
the Houston North website on the 20th of June.

Click here for the Houston North Gallery website.

Inuit printmaking is more atypical than carving in that it does not have
substantial historical precedents. Carving materials such as stone,
bone, antler, wood and ivory were available locally, but paper and
drawing tools were unknown until introduced by early explorers and
missionaries. The favoured print technique in the early decades was
that of the stonecut, which evolved through experimenting with such
material as bone, wood and linoleum. The stonecut is a relief
technique, similar to the woodcut. The stencil technique was a logical
progression from the traditional inlay designs that women employed to
adorn skin garments. Engravings and etchings were also produced, and
later serigraphy and lithography were added - techniques that are
particularly adaptable to colour. Printmaking requires special skills
and refined equipment to compete in an international market. In fact,
since an experimental print program was first attempted in Cape Dorset
(1957) with promising results, only 4 other communities - Povungnituk
(1962), Holman (1965), Baker Lake (1970) and Pangnirtung (1973) - have
been able to produce print collections in a consistent manner and over
the long run.

Inuit prints are generally not released for sale
individually but as an annual collection portfolio, although many
individual prints have been released as special commissions. The number
of prints per edition is controlled. The first prints were usually
issued in series of 30; today the size of the edition varies but the
norm is 50.

Date: Friday June 20, 2008
Time: 7-9 pm
Location: 110 Montague Street, Lunenburg Nova Scotia


To learn more about Inuit art and printmaking travel north this year with
John Houston on our Baffin Expedition. For more information please click here