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JESSIE OONARK (1906 - 1985) |
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Jessie Oonark is widely recognized as one of Canada's most important artists. She was a prolific artist and a major force in the development of the arts and crafts program in Baker Lake where she had settled in 1958, a widow, with the last of her thirteen children still in her care. She began drawing shortly after her arrival in the settlement, and was the first adult Inuk in Baker Lake to be asked to make drawings for sale. In her enthusiasm, she filled both sides of the paper! Born and raised in the Back River area, Oonark was intimately familiar with the culture and traditions of the Utkuhikhalingmiut, as taught to her by her grandmother. The stories and legends of old, and the long-ingrained habits and skills of survival, were an integral part of her upbringing. Most importantly, she learned how to cut and sew caribou skins into warm, functional clothing: an essential task and test of womanhood. In the new settlement, she translated the skills used in making clothing onto paper and fabric, in her characteristically bold style which emphasized form, colour and design. Her early drawings, simply signed 'Una', appeared in the 1960 and 1961 Cape Dorset graphics collections; when printmaking began in Baker Lake, Oonark's work was included in each annual collection from 1970 to 1985. Her drawings and textile art quickly attracted the attention of southern galleries and collectors and have been featured in more than 100 national and international exhibitions and 15 solo exhibitions, the last mounted by the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1986 as a major retrospective and tribute to the artist. Oonark has received many awards. She was elected a Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1975 and named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1984. Her legacy lives on in her children: Janet Kigusiuq, Josiah Nuilaalik, Victoria Mamnguqsualuk, Miriam Nanerluk, Mary Yuusipik, Nancy Pukingrnak and William Noah, all of whom became, at their mother's instigation, accomplished artists.
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