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Annie Pootoogook, (1969-2016)
Watching the Simpsons on TV, 2003
Ink, crayon, and pencil on paper
Private Collection
Artist Annie Pootoogook came from a family of well-known Canadian Inuit artists. The seeming simplicity of her colored-pencil drawings belies their pointed social commentary on contemporary Inuit life. She did not shy away from depicting alcoholism, domestic violence, and other social ills wrought by colonization.
Watching the Simpsons on TV shows a young child watching The Simpsons while a man helps a woman remove a baby from the hood of her parka. The picture is a reminder of the dominance of American popular culture throughout much of the world.