Kelsey Smith

Sarah Tancred

Non-Western Art

October 5, 2021

Essay #1: Kenojuak Ashevak and Modern Inuit Art

Kenojuak Ashevak was a Native Alaskan printmaker who lived from 1927 to 2013. She

was born in the Ikirisaq camp area in south Baffin Island, and grew up travelling between camps

in south Baffin Island and Nunavik. She began experiencing hardships related to colonialism and

racism at an early age, as her father, an Inuit shaman, was assassinated by Christian converts

when Kenojuak was only six years old. In 1946, she married an Inuit hunter named Johnniebo

Ashevak, whom she had several children with. Unfortunately colonialism reared its ugly head

once again in 1950, as Kenojuak was taken against her will to one of Canada’s Indian hospitals,

which were racially segregated hospitals meant for isolation of individuals with tuberculosis.

This isolation of TB-positive Natives was based on the white population’s fear that Natives

carried a stronger, more dangerous form of tuberculosis that would pose a greater threat to white

people. During her three-year hospital imprisonment, several of Kenojuak’s children passed

away. Once she was freed from the hospital, Kenojuak moved to Cape Dorset.

The difficulties Kenojuak faced in her past led to her Native artwork carrying incredible

cultural significance. While living in Cape Dorset she experimented with a variety of media,

such as graphite, colored pencils, felt-tipped pens, watercolors, acrylics, and even soapstone.

Eventually she was introduced to the art form of printmaking, and this medium allowed her

artistic success to flourish. Her artistic curiosity led to her becoming one of the very first Inuit

women in Cape Dorset to draw and make prints, which gave her works an added level of
uniqueness and exclusivity that collectors desired. Her success led her to be commissioned by

government organizations such as Canada’s Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and to

even have her works printed on stamps and Canadian currency.

One of Kenojuak’s most iconic prints, and the one that initially propelled her career

forward, is titled Rabbit Eating Seaweed. Rabbit Eating Seaweed was created in 1959 using a

skin stencil. The piece depicts a blue rabbit at the upper left corner of the piece, with a large,

abstract blob of blue seaweed taking up the rest of the artwork. The seaweed’s form is pinched

up into a point underneath the rabbit’s snout, implying that it is being pulled into the rabbit’s

mouth and consumed. Both the rabbit and the seaweed are depicted simply, in a single color and

as solid forms with no interior details added. It is almost as if the forms are silhouetted against a

bright light, preventing the viewer from seeing more details.

Rabbit Eating Seaweed features incredible cohesiveness between all aspects of the piece.

For example, the shape of the rabbit’s ears and snout is mimicked in the shape of the seaweed at

the bottom left corner. Both have a similar oblong shape, with two smaller oblong shapes

extending from the upper edge. The three longest strands of seaweed on the right side of the

artwork, as well as the three shorter strands closest to the rabbit, also mimic the shape of the

rabbit’s body. The ends of these strands of seaweed are thick with gently curving contours,

matching how the robust body of the rabbit curves downwards towards the center, almost

creating a bean shape. Color also unifies the rabbit and the seaweed, as they are both printed in

the same shape of blue.

As I am not of Native Inuit descent I cannot fully understand the significance behind the

imagery used in this piece, but I can do my best to interpret it. To me, the simplicity of the

background in this artwork could imply a frozen tundra, which is the type of climate that
Kenojuak would be living and working in. Because of the extreme climate, vegetation could be

hard to come by for herbivorous creatures such as rabbits, which would explain why the rabbit is

eating seaweed instead of plant matter that grows on land. The work feels tranquil to me, as if

this rabbit has finally found a moment of peace within its harsh surroundings. This tranquility

could symbolize a moment of peace or reflection in Kenojuak’s personal life. She had lost so

much family, love, and time in her past, and these losses must have been incredibly painful. To

deal with such tragic losses is difficult, so a meditative process such as creating a print could

have provided Kenojuak with a moment of calm.

Kenojuak Ashevak, Rabbit Eating Seaweed. 1959.

Although Rabbit Eating Seaweed is the artwork that originally propelled Kenojuak into

the public eye, her most popular work is The Enchanted Owl. Created in 1960, The Enchanted

Owl is a stonecut print on paper, measuring 21 ⅛ inches by 26 inches. The piece is dominated by

the figure of an owl with large, abstract feathers sprouting from its head and sprawling out in all

directions. The owl’s tail is made up of similar feathers, curving upwards toward the top of the

sheet of paper. The owl is printed in a beautiful gradient of ink, changing from light orange on its
left side to dark blue on its left. The bird stares straight at the viewer with wide open eyes, while

the rest of its body faces the viewer’s right side. With one foot raised, the owl appears to be

mid-walking, which allows the viewer to imagine its long feathers bobbing up and down with

every step that the owl takes.

Just like Rabbit Eating Seaweed, The Enchanted Owl also demonstrates Kenojuak’s

mastery of repetition and minimalistic forms. The feathers that sprout from the owl’s head form a

halo of repeating teardrop shapes, giving the owl an almost spiritual or holy appearance. The five

tail feathers have the same type of repetition, in that they all share a similar shape and all follow

the same upward curve. The rounded, graceful shapes of these feathers contrast starkly with the

sharp, powerful-looking talons that the owl possesses.

Again, as I am not of Native Inuit descent I cannot fully understand, nor am I qualified to

understand, the significance of the imagery that Kenojuak chose in this work of art. Despite this,

I can do my best to come up with my own interpretation of the work. For me, my interpretation

is that this owl symbolizes the simultaneous beauty and ferocity of nature. While the viewer may

easily become mesmerized and drawn in by the owl’s flowing halo of feathers, the owl still

possesses an incredibly sharp beak and ferocious talons. This beauty and ferocity commands

respect of the owl, and therefore respect for the natural world.
 Kenojuak Ashevak, The Enchanted Owl. 1960.

In conclusion, the works of Kenojuak Ashevak are masterpieces not only because of their

quality craftsmanship, but also because of their cultural significance. Kenojuak made incredible

leaps forward in promoting the art of Native women, especially because of her bravery in

becoming the first Native woman in Cape Dorset to draw and create prints. She paved the way

for other modern Inuit artists to have their work seen as fine art, not just as craft. While there is

still much work to be done in promoting the visibility of Native American artworks, Kenojuak

Ashevak’s contributions were a vital step forward.

 Works Cited:

Alaska Native Artist Directory. https://www.ciri.com/shareholders/resources/artistdirectory/

Alaska State Council on the Arts Silver Hand Program and Application.

https://arts.alaska.gov/Media/ArtsCouncil/pdf/silver_hand_application.pdf

“Kenojuak Ashevak.” Dorset Fine Arts. http://www.dorsetfinearts.com/kenojuak-askhevak

“Kenojuak Ashevak.” Inuit Art Foundation.

https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/profiles/artist/Kenojuak-Ashevak

“Kenojuak Ashevak.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenojuak_Ashevak

“The Enchanted Owl.” Brooklyn Museum.

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/2454