MYRA KUKIIYAUT
(KOOKEEYOUT; KOOKIEMUT; KUKEEYOUT; KUKIYAUT; KUUKIYAUT; COOKIEMUT)
Born: 1929 Female E2-210
Resides: Baker Lake
Drawings, Prints, Printmaking, Sculpture, Wallhangings
"Myra Kukiiyaut was born in Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada,
where her father worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but was raised
on the land where she lived a traditional nomadic existence subsisting on
caribou and fish, living in an igloo in winter and a caribou skin tent in
summer. Kukiiyaut, along with her young daughter and newborn son, moved
permanently to Baker Lake in 1957 after her husband, artist Luke Argna'naaq,
became ill with tuberculosis and was evacuated from their camp. He was
hospitalized in the South, where he remained for the next three years, leaving
Kukiiyaut and her children dependent on government relief.
To supplement her income Kukiiyaut sewed traditional clothing for sale to
local white people. She experimented with art making for the first time in
1960, when the federal government established an arts and crafts program in
Baker Lake. She made small carvings and crafts. Her sculpture was included in
the exhibition, 'Eskimo Fantastic Art,' mounted in 1972 at Gallery 111 in
Winnipeg, Manitoba. She also made a tentative attempt at drawing in 1967 but
did not pursue this medium in earnest until artists Jack and Sheila Butler,
advisors for the arts and crafts program, arrived in 1969. Over the years
Kukiiyaut has developed primarily as a graphic artist and printmaker but has
also experimented with wallhangings and weaving in recent years.
From the outset Kukiiyaut favored depicting abstract concepts--'The Wind'
(1971), 'Dreaming'(1972), 'As It Is Given, So We Accept'(1973) are the
subjects of her early prints. Her subject matter is derived from memories of
traditional songs, legends, and beliefs, as well as from her own astute
observation of the world around her. According to Kukiiyaut, the enchanting,
flowing, rhythmic forms characteristic of her work originate from the fluid
shapes found in nature--cloud formations floating across an expanse of clear,
blue sky; wind-swept figures and their shadows, spilled juice on the linoleum
floor.
Kukiiyaut draws in a subliminal fashion: 'I just start drawing and then it
becomes different from what I thought I was going to draw.' The Butlers
encouraged this freedom of expression, and under their nuturing eye Kukiiyaut
developed a distinctive, highly personal style."
Marie Bouchard
In "North American Women Artists
of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical
Dictionary" 1995.
Myra's husband is Baker Lake sculptor Luke Arngna'aaq; their daughter is
printmaker Ruby Arngna'aaq.
EXHIBITIONS: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, Baker Lake Print Collection
1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, (annual collection)
1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, (illustrated catalogue)
1987, 1990
January - March 1972 Eskimo Fantastic Art
Gallery 111, School of Art,
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
May - September 1972 Baker Lake Drawings
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
1973 - 1974 Baker Lake Prints and Drawings:
1970-1973
Winnipeg Art Gallery,
Extension Services
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(tour)
(catalogue)
January - February 1973 Baker Lake Eskimo Drawings - Six Artists
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
December 1973 Drawings by Anguhadluk, Annaqtussi,
Kigusiuq, Kukiiyaut of Baker Lake, N.W.T.
Robertson Galleries
Ottawa, Ontario
December 1973 Baker Lake Drawings
Robertson Galleries
Ottawa, Ontario
February 1974 Baker Lake Drawings
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
October 1974 Kathleen Fenwick Memorial Exhibition
Gallery Pascal
Stratford, Ontario
October - Nov 1974 Eskimo Art
Queens Museum
Flushing, New York, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
1976 - 1982 Shamans and Spirits: Myths and Medical
Symbolism in Eskimo Art
Canadian Arctic Producers and the
National Museum of Man
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
Jan 1977 - June 1982 The Inuit Print/L'estampe inuit
Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development and the
National Museum of Man
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
March - June 1978 The Coming and Going of the Shaman:
Eskimo Shamanism and Art
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
August 1978 Inuit Games and Contests: The Clifford E.
Lee Collection of Prints
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
(illustrated catalogue)
Nov - Dec 1978 Polar Vision: Canadian Eskimo Graphics
Jerusalem Artists' House Museum
Jerusalem, Israel
(illustrated catalogue)
March - April 1979 Canadian Eskimo Art: a representative
exhibition from the collection of Professor
and Mrs. Philip Gray
Fine Arts Gallery, Montana State
University
Bozeman, Montana, U.S.A.
(catalogue)
Nov 1979 - Oct 1984 Shamans and Spirits: Myths and Medical
Symbolism in Eskimo Art
Arts and Learning Services Foundation
(this is a duplicate of the C.A.P. and
National Museum of Man exhibition of
1976-1981)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.
(tour)
1980, 1981, 1986, 1987 Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker)
(annual collection)
(illustrated catalogue)
April - May 1980 The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit
Art from the Art Gallery of Ontario
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
November 1980 Baker Lake Prints - Ten Year Retrospective
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
April 1981 - March 1982 Inuit Art: A Selection of Inuit Art from
the Collection of the National Museum of
Man, Ottawa, and the Rothmans Permanent
Collection of Inuit Sculpture, Canada
National Museum of Man, Ottawa and
Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Ltd.
Toronto, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
Mar 1982 - Jan 1983 Inuit Myths, Legends and Songs
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
February - April 1983 Baker Lake Prints & Print-Drawings:
1970-1976
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
May 1983 - April 1985 Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from
the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art
Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
Nov 1983 - Mar1985 Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art of Canada
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development, Ottawa, presented at the
General Assembly Building, United Nations
New York, New York, U.S.A.
(tour)
(illustrated brochure)
June 1984 Demons and Spirits and those who
wrestled with them
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
November 1986 Inuit Graphics Through the Year: Rare
Prints from the Arctic
Arctic Artistry
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.A.
May - June 1987 Inuit Graphics from the Past
Arctic Artistry
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.A.
November 1987 Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987
Arctic Artistry
Hartsdale, New York, U.S.A.
Dec 1987 - Mar 1989 Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Guelph, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
June - September 1988 Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art
from the Collection
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
October 1988 Baker Lake: Persistence of Old Memories
Brandon Allied Arts Council
Brandon, Manitoba
(illustrated brochure)
December 1988 - 1989 Im Schatten der Sonne:Zeitgenossische Kunst
der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada/In the
Shadow of the Sun:Contemporary Indian and Inuit
Art in Canada
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
February - March 1989 [L'art inuit]
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at St. Marcellin
France
March - April 1989 [L'art inuit]
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Autre Regard, Paris
France
March - April 1989 [L'art inuit]
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Palais de l'Europe, le Touquet
France
June - July 1989 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Sanguine, La Rochelle
France
August 1989 Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux
du Canada
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Chapelle de la Visitation,
Thonon
France
October 1989 Baker Lake Print Retrospective:
A Twenty Year Anniversary
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
December 1989 Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Les Chiroux, Centre Culturel de la Wallonie,
Liege
Belgium
January 1990 Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Centre d'Action Culturelle du Bassin
Houllier, Lorrain, Saint Avold
France
January - Sep 1990 Arctic Mirror
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Hull, Quebec
February - March 1990 Beeldhouwkunst van de Inuit (Canada)
by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai, France
at Amphora Finippon pvba, Sint Andries,
Brugge, Belgium
June - September 1990 Inuit Graphics and Drawings from 1959-1990
Arctic Artistry
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.
October - Nov 1990 A Woman's Vision
Art Space Gallery
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
February - March 1991 Inuit Drawings
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
March - April 1992 Selections from the McMaster Art Gallery
Collection
McMaster Art Gallery
Hamilton, Ontario
Nov - Dec 1993 Women Who Draw: 30 Years of Graphic
Art from the Canadian Arctic
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
Nov 1993 - Jan 1994 Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Muscarelle Museum of Art
College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
Aug 1994 - Apr 1997 Qamanittuaq: Where the River Widens
Drawings by Baker Lake Artists
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Guelph, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
May - September 1995 Keeping Our Stories Alive:
An Exhibition of the Art and Crafts
from Dene and Inuit of Canada
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
February 1996 The Spirit World - 1977 to 1990: Baker Lake
Clyde River and Pangnirtung Prints.
A retrospective collection exhibited at
selected commercial galleries, organized by
Canadian Arctic Producers
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
COLLECTIONS: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec
Clifford E. Lee Collection, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.A.
Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario
McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS:
1974 Attended Arctic Women's Workshop in Toronto 1980 Attended Printmaker's Workshop at York University in Toronto. SELECTED REFERENCES:
ARTS OF THE ESKIMO: PRINTS: /Ed. by Ernst Roch. Texts by
Patrick Furneaux and Leo Rosshandler. Montreal: Signum Press in
association with Oxford University Press, Toronto, 1974.
IM SCHATTEN DER SONNE: Zeitgenoessische Kunst der Indianer und
Eskimos in Kanada. [In the Shadow of the Sun: Contemporary Art
of the Indians and Eskimos in Canada]. Stuttgart: Edition
Cantz. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1988.
Blodgett, Jean
CHRISTIANITY AND INUIT ART. The Beaver, Autumn, 1984. pp.16-25.
Blodgett, Jean
GRASP TIGHT THE OLD WAYS: Selections from the Klamer Family
Collection of Inuit Art. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983.
Blodgett, Jean
THE COMING AND GOING OF THE SHAMAN: Eskimo Shamanism and Art.
Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1979.
Canadian Arctic Producers
SHAMANS AND SPIRITS = CHAMANS ET ESPRITS: Myths and Medical
Symbolism in Eskimo Art = Les mythes et le symbolisme medical
dans l'art esquimau. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers and the
National Museum of Man, c1979.
Collinson, Helen
INUIT GAMES AND CONTESTS: The Clifford E. Lee Collection of
Prints. Edmonton: The University of Alberta Collections, 1978.
Driscoll, Bernadette
INUIT MYTHS, LEGENDS AND SONGS. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art
Gallery, 1982.
Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
KEEPING OUR STORIES ALIVE: An Exhibition of Art and Crafts from
Dene and Inuit of Canada. Santa Fe, N.M.: Institute of American
Native Arts Museum, 1995.
Jackson, Marion E.
CONTEMPORARY INUIT DRAWINGS. Guelph, Ontario: Macdonald Stewart
Art Centre, 1987.
Muehlen, Maria
SOME RECENT WORK BY WOMEN OF BAKER LAKE. Inuit Art Quarterly,
vol. 7, no.3, Summer/Fall, 1992, pp. 30-35.
Muscarelle Museum of Art (Williamsburg)
CONTEMPORARY INUIT DRAWINGS: The gift collection of Frederick
and Lucy S. Herman. Williamsburg, Va.: The College of William
and Mary in Virginia, 1993.
National Museum of Man
THE INUIT PRINT = L'ESTAMPE INUIT: A Travelling Exhibition... =
Une exposition itinerante... Ottawa: National Museum of Man,
National Museums of Canada, 1977.
Vastokas, Joan M.
CONTINUITIES IN ESKIMO GRAPHIC STYLE. artscanada, vol. 27, no.
6, December-January, 1971. pp.69-83.
Wight, Darlene
BUILDING ON STRENGTHS: New Inuit Art from the Collection.
Tableau, vol. 1, no.5, 1988. p.4.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
BAKER LAKE DRAWINGS. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1972.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
BAKER LAKE PRINTS & PRINT-DRAWINGS 1970-76. Winnipeg: The
Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1983.
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