Pitaloosie Saila

Pitaloosie Saila

RCA

Inuit

Cape Dorset, Nunavut Territory, Canada

(1942- )

“I remember how Inuit used to live, thinking of them back then, my relatives. I also recall how the clothing was made; that is what I base my drawings on when I draw people.”

Quote from “Kinngait: Riding Light Into the World”, Director: Annette Manguard.

Pitaloosie was born in 1942 on the southwest coast of Baffin Island near what is now the community of Cape Dorset. She spent her childhood years in various hospitals in Quebec and Ontario for treatment of tuberculosis. She learned English during this time, and recalls the difficulty she experienced in relearning her native language upon her return to Baffin Island in 1957. She is now one of the few of her generation who speak both English and Inuktitut fluently.

Pitaloosie began drawing in the early 1960s, and quickly established herself as a versatile and intelligent graphic artist. Over the years, she has become a familiar presence in the Kinngait Studios, and her work has been included in annual print collections since 1968. Pitaloosie is represented in the 2012 print collection by two images.

Since the late 1960s, Pitaloosie has made frequent trips to southern Canada to attend exhibitions and conferences. In 1967, she spent several weeks in Toronto while her husband, the well-known sculptor Pauta Saila, participated in an International Sculpture Symposium. Subsequently, she has visited Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa, Kansas City and Vermont. Her work has been featured in solo drawing exhibitions, and in 1977, Canada Post issued a stamp depicting her print, Fisherman’s Dream. Her 1985 lithograph entitled In the Hills represented the Northwest Territories in the centennial celebration of the National Parks of Canada. Amnesty International, the international human rights organization, selected a drawing by Pitaloosie entitled Mother and Child to use for their 1990 Christmas card. She was also one of nine featured artists in the acclaimed exhibition Isumavut: The Artistic Expression of Nine Cape Dorset Women, which opened at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in the fall of 1994 and continues to travel to other venues.

Pitaloosie’s husband, Pauta, passed away in Cape Dorset in June of 2009 at the age of 93. In 2004, both she and Pauta were appointed members of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts, in recognition of their life’s work and contributions to Canadian art.

TRANSLATED OBITUARY - Radio Canada

Inuk artist Pitaloosie Saila, whose lithographs, engravings and prints have been exhibited across Canada and around the world, died on July 24, the Winnipeg Art Gallery announced on Friday.

Born in 1942, Pitaloosie Saila was one of the pioneers of contemporary Inuit art. She went on to become one of its recognized artistic figures - then eldest, in the community of Kinngait, west of Iqaluit, Nunavut.

His works are part of the collections of several museums in Canada, including the National Gallery (NGC), the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Canadian Museum of History.

She was one of Kinngait's best artists, unique too , testifies gallery owner Patricia Feheley, who has represented her for decades with Feheley Fine Arts in Toronto.

While the first generations of contemporary Inuit artists were mainly inspired by traditional subjects and symbolic of their culture, Pitaloosie Saila stood out by also representing scenes from the South that marked her when she had to leave her community when she was 'She was young,' says Feheley.

Pitaloosie Saila spent her childhood in various hospitals in Quebec and Ontario to treat health problems. However, this uprooting allowed her to learn English, a significant asset in the communication of her work, specifies Patricia Feheley.

The Inuk artist also spoke of the difficulties she subsequently encountered in relearning Inuktitut, her mother tongue, upon her return to Nunavut in the late 1950s.

Another look

Throughout her career, Pitaloosie Saila was innovative both in the subjects and in the style of her images, she had a special place in her heart for the depictions of strong female figures as well as for the power of mother and child , wrote the Feheley Fine Arts gallery, in tribute to Ms. Saila.

His works were regularly included in the annual Cape Dorset prints collection, starting in the late 1960s.

Recognition of her work took on a whole new level when she took part in the exhibition Isumavut - The artistic expression of nine women from Cape Dorset , organized by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 1994. Pitaloosie Saila rubbed shoulders with Pitseolak Ashoona, Lucy Qinnuayuak, Kenojuak Ashevak, Qaunak Mikkigak, or Napachie Pootoogook.

The exhibition was then presented as a tonic collection of sculptures, engravings and drawings made from 1959 to [1994] illustrating the ideas of each of them by addressing problems of contemporary Inuit life.

Pitaloosie Saila's work focused more on her personal life, which contrasted with the perception that one could have of Inuit art, analyzes Christine Lalonde, Associate Curator of Indigenous Art at the NGC.

For the first time, the curators had offered the artists to write their own description, she recalls, it was revolutionary, because it allowed us to get to know them better from their own point of view, with more details than generic biographies. usual.

Pitaloosie Saila was a solid artist who was recognized and appreciated , but perhaps not commensurate with her talent, observes Lalonde. She has sometimes remained in the shadow of artists older than herself, such as Kenojuak Ashevak, a leading figure in Cape Dorset prints, explains NGC curator .

In the private sphere, Pitaloosie Saila was a very respected, generous elder who took care of her extended family, testifies Ms. Lalonde.

She was also famous for the banquets she organized with her husband [sculptor Pauta Saila], and which she continued to offer after his death in 2009.

In 2004, the Inuk artist was named a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (ARC), in recognition of her contribution to Canadian art society.