Mary K. Okheena

Last updated
Mary K. Okheena in 1977, at Holman (Ulukhaktok) Mary K Okheena.png
Mary K. Okheena in 1977, at Holman (Ulukhaktok)

Mary Kapbak Okheena (also goes by Memorana, Krappak, Kappak) [1] is an Inuvialuit [2] graphic artist [3] known for her stencil prints including "Musk-ox Waiting for the Tide to Cross Water" (1986) and "Shaman Dances to Northern Lights" (1991), drawings and embroidery. [4] She is part of the third generation of organized graphic artists in the Canadian Arctic. [5] Okheena has five children [6] with her husband Eddie [7] and she currently lives in Inuvik where she practices embroidery and makes wall hangings. [4]

Contents

Biography

Early life

Okheena was born in 1957 in Holman (Uluqsaqtuuq), King’s Bay, Victoria Island, Northwest Territories. Her father Jimmy Memorana was a sculptor and printmaker and helped found the Holman Island Eskimo Co-operative. Her mother, Nora Memorana, was an expert sewer. [7] Both Jimmy and Nora were respected drum dancers in their communities. [1] Okheena grew up watching her father and her aunt Agnes Nanogak Goose make prints for the Holman Print Shop (part of the Holman Island Eskimo Co-operative) [5] inspiring her career in printing.

Career

Mary K. Okheena started drawing in her teens and at the age of nineteen. [7] In 1977 she sold her first drawing. [8] She was invited by the Roman Catholic missionary, Father Henri Tardy, OMI (born on 28 November 1917, [9] in Vidalon-lès-Annonay, today a hamlet in the commune of Davézieux, Ardèche, France where the Montgofier family manufactured paper since 1534; he died February 7, 2004, in St. Albert, Alberta, aged 86 [10] [11] ), to help with stencil printing after she made a large embroidery design for his church. [3] Father Tardy, who introduced printmaking to Holman and then co-founded the Holman Eskimo Co-operative in 1961 (renamed the Ulukahaktok Arts Centre following the change of the community name), [12] [13] taught Okheena how to make waxed-paper stencils. [6] She started printing in 1977 when John Rose, the Holman Print Shop manager, asked her to come and learn printmaking. [8] [14] Okheena began her professional printing career by printing other artists’ images, which are included in annual Holman print collections from 1979 and 1980-1981. [15] In 1986, Okheena began printing her own works at the Holman Print Shop [5] after her prints were rejected by the Canadian Eskimo Council in 1984. [8] Between 1977 and 1982, Okheena intermittently worked at the Holman Print Shop during the birth and infancy of her eldest children. [3] Okheena worked for the Holman Print Shop longer than any artist currently working there. [1]

She eventually left the print shop partly because of health problems caused by printmaking chemicals and set up a home studio. [7] Okheena also spends her time crocheting, quilting, carving, making wall hangings, and sewing clothing for her family. [7]

Okheena has also illustrated John Bierhorst’s 1997 children’s book called The Dancing Fox: Arctic Folktales. [16]

Artwork

Print

Mary K. Okheena uses a specific stencil technique in her prints to achieve subtle and luminous gradations of colour. Okheena abstracts formal qualities of animal and human forms. [3] She is often inspired by children’s facial expressions, [4] and often uses culturally symbolic images in her work such as the inukshuk. [1] She has created her own form of storytelling, [3] by reflecting the dual traditions of Holman Inuvialuit families and those of the resident Copper Inuit (as seen in Shaman Dances to Northern Lights). [2] She combines an Inuit aesthetic with influence from Southern culture and uses Western artistic devices. [3]

Over her career, she has had 74 of her drawings made into prints, and 36 she printed herself. [14] She has also printed 31 works from other artists’ designs. [4] In 1988, Mary K. Okheena was commissioned to create a print for the cover of the Northwest Territories Telephones’ telephone directory.

Major exhibitions

Public collections

A number of museums and galleries that have her prints in their permanent collections include the Canadian Museum of History, [20] Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife, [15] Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. [21]

Resources

  1. 1 2 3 4 WAG, The Winnipeg Art Gallery (2002-04-15). "Holman: 40 Years of Graphic Art -- An exploration of the graphic art of Holman, Northwest Territories, Canada". www.virtualmuseum.ca. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
  2. 1 2 Engelstad, Bernadette Driscoll (2009). Sanattiaqsimajut: These Things That Are Finely Made, "Shamanism in Ulukhaktok Graphic Art: Hidden Worlds, Ecstatic Displays". Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Carleton University Art Gallery. pp. 192–193.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mary K. Okheena (b.1957)". contemporary arts americas tbc... 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Mary Okheena | NWT Arts". nwtarts.com. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
  5. 1 2 3 "Songs of Animals (1986) by Mary Okheena, Inuit artist (C40402)". Spirit Wrestler Gallery. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
  6. 1 2 Roy-Sole, Monique (March 2005). "Art in the Bones". Canadian Geographic.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Kelley, Caffyn (1991). Wild Things: The Wisdom of Animals. North Vancouver, B.C., Canada: Gallerie Publications. pp. 15–17. ISBN   0-9693361-4-4.
  8. 1 2 3 "Portrait of a New Inuit Artist: Mary Okheena". Northern Review 1.2. Winter 1988.
  9. "Family tree of Henri Tardy".
  10. Piché, Monique (October 2017). "In Memory of Henri Tardy OMI" (PDF). Meditatio. pp. 18–19. Retrieved Nov 27, 2023.
  11. "Henri TARDY Obituary (2004) - Edmonton Journal".
  12. "Art Gallery of Sudbury puts on new exhibit featuring Inuit prints".
  13. "History of Print Making in the Northwest Territories".
  14. 1 2 3 Winnipeg Art Gallery. (2001). Holman : forty years of graphic art. Wight, Darlene., Winnipeg Art Gallery., Canadian Museum of Civilization., Glenbow Museum. [Winnipeg]: Winnipeg Art Gallery. ISBN   0-88915-206-3. OCLC   46627030.
  15. 1 2 Heller, Jules; Heller, Nancy (1995). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary . United States of America: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. ISBN   0-8240-6049-0.
  16. The Dancing Fox: Arctic Folktales
  17. "Contemporary Inuit Drawings" . Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  18. Gautsche, Nancy (1993). "Inuit Art: Tradition and Regeneration: At the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec". Inuit Art Quarterly. 8 (2): 28–31.
  19. Foundation, Inuit Art. "Mary Okheena | Inuit Art Foundation | Artist Database". Inuit Art Foundation. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  20. "Mary K. Okheena work". Canadian Museum of History Collection. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  21. Okheena, Mary K. (1992). "Bear Tracks, 1992". Winnipeg Art Gallery Collection. Retrieved 2020-01-17.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Oonark</span> Inuk artist

Jessie Oonark, was a prolific and influential Inuk artist of the Utkuhiksalingmiut Utkuhiksalingmiut whose wall hangings, prints and drawings are in major collections including the National Gallery of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulukhaktok</span> Hamlet in Northwest Territories, Canada

Ulukhaktok and known until 1 April 2006 as Holman or Holman Island) is a small hamlet on the west coast of Victoria Island, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Kalvak</span> Inuk graphic artist

Helen Kalvak, (Kalvakadlak) was a Copper Inuit graphic artist from Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inuit art</span> Art created by Inuit of the Arctic

Inuit art, also known as Eskimo art, refers to artwork produced by Inuit, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive. Historically, their preferred medium was walrus ivory, but since the establishment of southern markets for Inuit art in 1945, prints and figurative works carved in relatively soft stone such as soapstone, serpentinite, or argillite have also become popular.

Agnes Nanogak Goose was an Inuk artist from Holman (Ulukhaktok), Northwest Territories, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Kigusiuq</span> Inuit artist

Janet Kigusiuq was an Inuk artist.

Pitaloosie Saila was a Canadian Inuk graphic artist who predominantly made drawings and lithograph prints. Saila's work often explores themes such as family, shamanism, birds, and her personal life experiences as an Inuk woman. Her work has been displayed in over 150 exhibitions nationally and internationally, such as in the acclaimed Isumavut exhibition called "The Artistic Expression of Nine Cape Dorset Women". In 2004, Pitaloosie Saila and her well-known husband and sculptor Pauta Saila were both inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Lucy Qinnuayuak (1915–1982) was an Inuit graphic artist and printmaker.

Sheila Butler is an American-Canadian visual artist and retired professor, now based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a founding member of Mentoring Artists for Women's Art in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the Sanavik Inuit Cooperative in Baker Lake, Nunavut. She is a fellow of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Victoria Mamnguqsualuk (1930-2016) was one of the best-known Canadian Inuit artists of her generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulayu Pingwartok</span> Inuk artist

Ulayu Pingwartok was a Canadian Inuk artist known for drawings of domestic scenes and nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts</span> Arts centre

Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts is an arts centre that was established by the Uqqurmiut Inuit Artists Association in 1990, in Pangnirtung, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The Centre includes a Tapestry Studio, a Craft Gallery, and Print Shop. In spite of its remote location and small population, numerous Inuit from Pangnirtung have successfully marketed their prints, carvings, sculptures, and textile arts, such as woven wall hangings, to southern collectors. Starting in the 1970s, limited edition prints from the original Print Shop were published annually as the Pangnirtung Prints Collection through the then-Eskimo Co-operative. In 1970 a weaving studio was established and over time the tapestries attracted an international market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq</span> Inuk textile artist

Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq (1916–2003) was an innovative Canadian Inuk textile artist active from the 1970s to early 2000s. Angnaqquaq's work explores textile creations while experimenting with non-traditional methods. Her style has been described as painterly for the way in which she fills the space between her figures and animals with embroidery.

Eleeshushe Parr was an Inuk graphic artist and sculptor, from the Kingnait area, who produced over 1,160 drawings. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States, and Sweden.

Ikayukta Tunnillie was an Inuit artist in the fields of printmaking and drawing. Tunnillie was born in Nunavut and traveled for much of her life. Tunnillie's work in drawing and printmaking focused on animals and life in the North. She was one of the oldest printmakers to work with the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative.

Elisapee Ishulutaq was a self-taught Inuk artist, specialising in drawing and printmaking. Ishulutaq participated in the rise of print and tapestry making in Pangnirtung and was a co-founder of the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts, which is both an economic and cultural mainstay in Pangnirtung. Ishulutaq was also a community elder in the town of Pangnirtung. Ishulutaq's work has been shown in numerous institutions, including the Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver, the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada.

Ohotaq (Oqutaq) Mikkigak was a Cape Dorset based Inuk artist from southern Baffin Island. Mikkigak was involved with Cape Dorset printmaking in the program's early years, providing drawn designs for printing. Many of his works were printed and featured in the studio's annual collections, including Eskimo Fox Trapper and three pieces used in the Cape Dorset Studio's 40th anniversary collection. Mikkigak's work has also been included in of over twenty group exhibitions and was the subject of multiple solo exhibitions, including a show held by Feheley Fine Arts called Ohotaq Mikkigak: Imagined Landscapes.

Innukjuakju Pudlat (1913–1972), alternatively known as Inukjurakju, Innukjuakjuk, Inujurakju, Innukjuakjuk Pudlat, Inukjurakju Pudlat, Innukyuarakjuke Pudlat, or Innukjuarakjuke Pudlat, was an Inuk artist who worked primarily in drawing and printmaking. During her artistic career she worked with the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative in Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiakshuk</span> Inuit artist from Canada

Kiakshuk was a Canadian Inuit artist who worked both in sculpture and printmaking. Kiakshuk began printmaking in his seventies and, is most commonly praised for creating “real Eskimo pictures” that relate traditional Inuit life and mythology.

Sharni Pootoogook (1922–2003) was an Inuit printmaker from Cape Dorset, Nunavut.