Remembering celebrated Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak
I just learned the sad news that renowned Canadian Artist Kenojuak Ashevak died on Tuesday at age 85.
Kenojuak Ashevak’s iconic images almost single-handedly came to define Arctic art in Canada. Her work has been replicated on everything from Canadian stamps to stained glass windows.
I only met her once. I was working on a documentary series titled The New Raw about the changing face of Arctic art.
Though I intended to focus on the new and mid-career artists in my series I was keen to have Ashevak’s view on the next generation of artists in the genre she came to define..
But from the moment we arrived in Cape Dorset in February 2010 I was told she was not well and would not be up to interviews.
But one afternoon I got a call that she would see us after all. We arrived at her home. Images of her work decorated the rooms. Enchanted Owl on a scarf. A framed picture of the stained glass window she designed for an Ontario church hung on the living room wall.
Once we were set up, one of her family members walked her out of a neighbouring room into an armchair and we began the interview.
Ashevak, through ill, was a remarkable presence. Her passing is a great loss.
Related Links:
VIDEO INTERVIEW: The Pioneer – Kenojuak Ashevak, 2010
DOCUMENTARY REPORT: The New Raw, 2010
Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca
