Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration

This exhibition is a groundbreaking inquiry into Japanese influences in the early years of the Cape Dorset print studio, the oldest and most successful printmaking enterprise in Canada’s Far North. The exhibition also focuses particular attention on the late James Houston, the Canadian artist and government employee who in 1958 forged this remarkable link between printmakers in Japan and the Canadian Arctic.

Inuit material culture before 1948 bore a closer resemblance to its Thule antecedents. Carving was the primary, materially creative outlet, with content focused on shamanic figures, ritual, and the animals and lifestyles associated with the Inuit hunting economy.

James Houston first facilitated the distribution and sale of these small carvings in the late 1940s. He then introduced printmaking as a potential source of income to residents of Cape Dorset on South Baffin Island in 1957. Initial works were based on Houston’s introduction of basic printmaking skills. To learn more about the process, Houston travelled to Japan in 1959 to study woodcut printmaking with one of the world’s leading masters, Un’ichi Hiratsuka. He then introduced Japanese techniques and materials to Inuit printmakers, thereby revolutionizing the printmaking industry in the Canadian Arctic.

The remarkable story of that cross-cultural artistic encounter and its extraordinary results are shown in this exhibition in three main sections:

A Leap into the Unknown (1957-1958): Inuit printmaking in the short period before Japanese influence.

Lessons with a Japanese Master (1958-1959): Houston’s stay in Japan when he apprenticed with Japanese master, Un’ichi Hiratsuka. Drawings he created in ink and watercolor are highlighted, as well as several of his prints.

Japanese Inspiration (1959-1963): Early Inuit prints in juxtaposition with Japanese prints brought to Cape Dorset by Houston in 1959, revealing their similarities and differences. As the main focus of the exhibition, works shown are black-and-white stonecut Inuit prints inspired by Hiratsuka, rare Inuit stonecut rubbings, and stencil prints by Inuit artists Kananginak Pootoogook, Lukta Qiatsuk and Kenojuak Ashevak, among others.

Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration is a travelling exhibition curated by Dr Norman Vorano and produced by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa. An illustrated catalogue in English and French accompanies the exhibition.

The IKG would like to acknowledge the important support of the Alberta College of Art + Design, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, CADA and an anonymous donor. Gratitude is extended to Dr. Ronald Hawker, Associate Chair, School of Critical and Creative Studies.