Biography Lipa Pitsiulak
LIPA PITSIULAK (LABAN; LYPA; PITSEOLAK)
Born: April 21, 1943
Male E6-436
Resides: Pangnirtung; also lived in Igloolik
Sculpture, Drawings, Prints
Lipa, who has spent much of his life on the land, has been the vice-president
of the board of directors of the Pangnirtung co-operative. His prints often reflect the old oral tradition of Inuit songs and stories.
EXHIBITIONS:
August – Sep 1968 Eskimo Sculpture, Eskimo Prints and Paintings of Norval Morrisseau. Art Association of Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A (illustrated catalogue)
May – June 1969 Eskimo Sculpture ‘ Robertson Galleries Ottawa, Ontario (illustrated catalogue)
1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, Pangnirtung Print Collection
1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, (annual collection)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1995 (illustrated catalogue)
April 1973 First Collection of Prints from Pangnirtung
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
1975 Pangnirtung Print Collection (printmaker)
(annual collection)
(illustrated catalogue)
April 1976 Baffin Island Sculpture Exhibition
Baffin Regional School
Iqaluit, Northwest Territories
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)
August 1978 Inuit Games and Contests: The Clifford E.
Lee Collection of Prints
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
(illustrated catalogue)
November – 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)
July 1979 – May 1980 Inuit Art in the 1970s
Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development, and the
Agnes Etherington Art Centre
Kingston, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
November – Dec 1979 In Celebration of the Arts of the Canadian
Eskimo of Pangnirtung, N.W.T.
Inuit Art Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
January – Feb 1980 Inuit Master Artists of the 1970s
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
April 1980 Whalebone Carvings and Inuit Prints
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Art Gallery
St. John’s, Newfoundland
(illustrated catalogue)
May – June 1981 Pangnirtung – Recent Sculpture
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
June 1981 Transformation
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
(illustrated brochure)
July – August 1981 Eskimo Games: Graphics and Sculpture/
Giuochi Eschimesi: grafiche e sculture
National Gallery of Modern Art
Rome, Italy
(illustrated catalogue)
July – September 1983 Baffin Island
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
Nov 1983 – March 1985 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)
February – March 1984 Canadian Inuit Art
City Hall
Nuuk/Godthab, Greenland
Feb 1984 – June 1986 Arctic Vision: Art of the Canadian Inuit
Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development and Canadian
Arctic Producers
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
March – June 1984 The Oral Tradition
National Museum of Man
Ottawa, Ontario
April 1984 Games of the Inuit
Northern Images
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
November – Dec 1984
Pangnirtung 1984: Eskimo Print Collection
and Sculpture
Images of the North
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
(illustrated brochure)
November – Dec 1984 50 Inuit Prints
Canadian Arctic Producers in
coordination with the Hudson’s Bay
Company Inuit Art Marketing Service,
held at Simpson’s
Toronto, Ontario
(illustrated brochure)
1985 – 1986 Sanaugasi Takujaksat: A Travelling
Celebration of Inuit Sculpture
Presented by Canadian Arctic Producers
Ltd., with the assistance of
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada,
Ottawa
(tour)
(illustrated brochure)
Feb 1985 – April 1986 Die Kunst aus der Arktis
Department of Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada, Ottawa,
presented by Commerzbank
Frankfurt, Germany
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
June 1985 Alaska Eskimo Dolls/Inuit Prints
Provincial Museum of Alberta,
sponsored by the Alaska State
Council on the Arts
Edmonton, Alberta
(tour)
June 1985 – Sep 1987 Chisel and Brush/Le ciseau et la brosse
Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1986 Pangnirtung Print Retrospective: 1973-1986
Organized by Pangnirtung Eskimo Co-operative
Limited, Pangnirtung, at Inuit Gallery of
Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
February – June 1987 The Lindsay and Swartz Collections:
New Acquisitions
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
July – November 1987 Useful Bits of Bone
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
October 1987 A Preference for Bone
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
Dec 1987 – Feb 1988 Inuk, Inuit: Art et tradition chez les
esquimaux d’hier et d’aujourd’hui
presented by L’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai,
at Musee des Beaux-arts d’Arras
Arras, France
(illustrated catalogue)
Dec 1987 – Mar1989 Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Guelph, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
April 1988 [L’art inuit]
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Palais de L’Europe, Le Touquet
France
July 1988 [L’art inuit]
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Chapelle de la Visitation, Thonon
France
November 1988 [L’art inuit]
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Les Martres-de-Veyre
France
Dec 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)
Dec 1988 – Jan 1989 Exposition thematique sur l’ours
L’iglou art esquimau,
Galerie de l’ours
Bourges, France
January 1989 Cold Stones, Warm Hearts: Inuit Art
from the Northwest Territories
University of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.
March – April 1989 [L’art inuit]
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Autre Regard, Paris
France
June 1989 Masters of the Arctic: An Exhibition
of Contemporary Inuit Masterworks
Presented by the Amway Corporation
at the United Nations General Assembly
New York, New York, U.S.A.
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
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 Art Inuit, Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie La Poutre, Marseille
France
Jan – Sep 1990 Arctic Mirror
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Hull, Quebec
Nov – Dec 1990 Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape
Dorset 1990
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Centre Culturel Canadien
Paris, France
Dec 1990 – Jan 1991 A Family Tradition: Inuit Art
from Canada’s Arctic
Presented by Arctic Inuit Art at the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.
Jan – Feb 1991 Pangnirtung Woven Tapestries
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
February 1991 Animals of the Arctic
Arctic Inuit Art
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.
February – June 1991 Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture
Exhibition (first exhibition)
Vancouver Inuit Art Society
Vancouver, British Columbia
March – April 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Le Theatre
La Ciotat, France
April – May 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Palais de l’Europe
Le Touquet, France
April – June 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie La Tour des Cardinaux
L’Isle sur la Sorgue, France
May – June 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at La Halle aux Bles
June – July 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Ombre et Lumiere
Ensisheim, France
July 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Chapelle de la Visitation
Thonon, France
July – August 1991 Glaciopolis: Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Maison de Pesey
Les Arcs, France
Aug – Sep 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Akenaton
Troyes, France
Oct – Dec 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Maite Aubert
Le Havre, France
Nov – Dec 1991 Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape Dorset 1991
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Le Colombier
Ville D’Avray, France
February – April 1992 Art Inuit
Presented by l’Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Montador
Dieppe, France
Nov 1993 – Jan 1994 Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Muscarelle Museum of Art
College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
Sep – Oct 1994 Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo’s
Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum
Huis Hellemans
Edegem, Belgium
(illustrated brochure)
March – July 1995 Immaginario Inuit
Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi
Galleria d’Arte Moderna
e Contemporanea
Verona, Italy
(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)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
April – May 1979 Sculpture and Prints by Lypa Pitsiulak
of Pangnirtung
The Upstairs Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
Sep – Oct 1983 Lipa Pitsiulak
Gallery Phillip
Don Mills, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
April – May 1991 Lypa Pitsiulak
Gallery Indigena
Stratford, Ontario
COLLECTIONS:
Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada, Michigan, U.S.A.
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Art Gallery, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland
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.
Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
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
Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS:
1971 Participated in the Pangnirtung experimental graphic workshop from 1970
to 1971.
1977 Lipa’s print ‘Disguised Archer’ was reproduced as a twelve cent stamp
and was issued November 18,1977.
1984 Received an Explorations grant from the Canada Council to write a comparison
of past and present Inuit lifestyles.
1988 The National Film Board of Canada produced a film about Lipa Pitsiulak
entitled “Lypa.”
SELECTED REFERENCES:
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.
MASTERS OF THE ARCTIC: An Exhibition of Contemporary Inuit
Masterworks. Ada, Michigan: Amway Corporation, 1989.
Browne, Evan
INUIT CULTURE GETS STAMP OF APPROVAL. North/Nord, vol. 24, no.
6, November/December, 1977. pp.32-33.
CEAC [Canadian Eskimo Arts Council]
TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW WITH LIPA PITSIULAK: Interviewed by
Sharon van Raalte with translation by Annie Pitsiulak in May,
1985 in Pangnirtung, N.W.T. Ottawa: Canadian Eskimo Arts
Council in collaboration with the Inuit Art Section, INAC, and
the Natiional Film Board of Canada, 1985.
Canada. Dept. of Indian Affairs
CONTEMPORARY INDIAN AND INUIT ART OF CANADA/L’ART CONTEMPORAIN
DES INDIENS ET DES INUIT DU CANADA. Ottawa: Department of
Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1983.
Canada. Indian and Northern Affairs
CANADIAN INUIT SCULPTURE. Ottawa: Inuit Art Section, 1992.
Canada. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
CHISEL AND BRUSH = LE CISEAU ET LA BROSSE. Ottawa: Indian
Affairs and Northern Affairs Canada, 1984.
Canadian Arctic Producers
LIPA PITSIULAK. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers Cooperative
Limited, 1983.
Canadian Arctic Producers
PANGNIRTUNG: Recent Sculpture. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic
Producers Cooperative Limited, 1981.
Collinson, Helen
INUIT GAMES AND CONTESTS: The Clifford E. Lee Collection of
Prints. Edmonton: The University of Alberta Collections, 1978.
Houston, John
ART & SOUL: A roaring fire destroyed their home, but not their
dreams. A story of the steel spirit and true heart of arctic
art. EQUINOX: No. 81; June 1995, pp. 70-85.
Jackson, Marion E.
CONTEMPORARY INUIT DRAWINGS. Guelph, Ontario: Macdonald Stewart
Art Centre, 1987.
Lipton, Barbara
ARCTIC VISION: Art of the Canadian Inuit. Ottawa : Canadian
Arctic Producers, 1984.
McGrath, Robin
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: The Clothing Motif in Inuit Legends
and Art. Inuit Art Quarterly: Vol. 8, No.4, Winter 1993, pp.
16-23.
McMichael Canadian Collection
THE MCMICHAEL CANADIAN COLLECTION. Kleinberg: McMichael
Canadian Collection, 1979.
Muehlen, Maria
DIE KUNST AUS DER ARKTIS. Federal Republic of Germany:
Commerzbank, 1985.
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 Film Board of Canada
LYPA. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada for
D.I.A.N.D.; directed by Sharon van Raalte and Shelagh
Mackenzie; (c)N.F.B, 1988.
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.
Pangnirtung Eskimo Co-operative
PANGNIRTUNG PRINT RETROSPECTIVE: 1973-1986. Pangnirtung:
Pangnirtung Eskimo Co-operative, 1986.
Pioneer Woman – Na’amat Organization of Canada
POLAR VISION: Canadian Eskimo Graphics from the Margaret P.
Hess Collection, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jerusalem: Jerusalem
Artists’ House Museum, 1978.
Robertson Galleries
ESKIMO SCULPTURE ’69. Ottawa: The Robertson Galleries, 1969.
Routledge, Marie
INUIT ART IN THE 1970s/L’ART INUIT ACTUEL: 1970-79. Kingston,
Ont. : The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1979.
Upstairs Gallery
SCULPTURES AND PRINTS BY LYPA PITSIULAK OF PANGNIRTUNG.
Winnipeg: The Upstairs Gallery, 1979.
Verona. Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
IMMAGINARIO INUIT: ARTE E CULTURA DEGLI ESQUIMESICANADESI.
Commune di Verona: Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di
Palazzo Forti, 1995.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
BAFFIN ISLAND. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1983.
(c) Inuit Art Section, INAC 1995
