Indigenous Australian art

Last updated

Gwion Gwion rock art found in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia Bradshaw rock paintings.jpg
Gwion Gwion rock art found in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia
Pictographs known as Wandjina in the Wunnumurra Gorge, Barnett River, Kimberley, Western Australia Aboriginal rock art on the Barnett River, Mount Elizabeth Station.jpg
Pictographs known as Wandjina in the Wunnumurra Gorge, Barnett River, Kimberley, Western Australia

Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving, rock carving, watercolour painting, sculpting, ceremonial clothing and sandpainting. The traditional visual symbols vary widely among the differing peoples' traditions, despite the common mistaken perception that dot painting is representative of all Aboriginal art.

Contents


Traditional Aboriginal art

There are many types of and methods used in making Aboriginal art, including rock painting, dot painting, rock engravings, bark painting, carvings, sculptures, weaving, and string art. Australian Aboriginal art is the oldest unbroken tradition of art in the world. [1] [2] [3]

Stone art

Aboriginal rock painting at Namadgi National Park featuring a kangaroo, dingoes, emus, humans and an echidna or turtle Yankee Hat art-MJC.jpg
Aboriginal rock painting at Namadgi National Park featuring a kangaroo, dingoes, emus, humans and an echidna or turtle
Painting of Baiame made by an unknown Wiradjuri artist in Baiame's cave, near Singleton, New South Wales. Notice the length of his arms which extend to the two trees either side. (1)Baiame Cave005.jpg
Painting of Baiame made by an unknown Wiradjuri artist in Baiame's cave, near Singleton, New South Wales. Notice the length of his arms which extend to the two trees either side.

Rock art, including painting and engraving or carving (petroglyphs), can be found at sites throughout Australia. Examples of rock art have been found that are believed to depict extinct megafauna such as Genyornis [4] and Thylacoleo in the Pleistocene era [5] as well as more recent historical events such as the arrival of European ships. [6]

The oldest examples of rock art, in Western Australia's Pilbara region and the Olary district of South Australia, are estimated to be up to around 40,000 years old. [7] The oldest firmly dated evidence of rock art painting in Australia is a charcoal drawing on a small rock fragment found during the excavation of the Narwala Gabarnmang rock shelter in south-western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Dated at 28,000 years, it is one of the oldest known pieces of rock art on Earth with a confirmed date. [8] It is thought this decorated fragment may have once formed part of a larger ceiling artwork, however, the shape of the original motif is unknown. [9] The oldest reliably dated unambiguous, in-situ rock art motif in Australia is a large painting of a macropod from a rock shelter in Western Australia's Kimberley region, radiometrically dated in a February 2021 study at approximately 17,300 years old. [10]

Gwion Gwion rock art (the "Bradshaw rock paintings", also referred to as Giro Giro" [2] ), initially named after Joseph Bradshaw, who first reported them in 1891, consists of a series of rock paintings on caves in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. [8] A 2020 study puts this art at about 12,000 years old. [11] [12]

The Maliwawa Figures were documented in a study led by Paul Taçon and published in Australian Archaeology in September 2020. [13] The art includes 572 images across 87 sites in northwest Arnhem Land, from Awunbarna (Mount Borradaile [14] ) area across to the Wellington Range. They are estimated to have been drawn between 6,000 and 9,400 years ago. [15] The find is described as very rare, not only in style, but in their depiction of bilbies (not known historically in Arnhem Land) [16] and the first known depiction of a dugong. [17] The art, all paintings in red to mulberry colour apart from one drawing, and in a naturalistic style, had not been described in the literature before this study. They are large, and depict relationships between people and animals, a rare theme in rock art. Bilbies, thylacines and dugong have been extinct in Arnhem land for millennia. The art was first seen by the 2008-2009 researchers, but were only studied in field research lasting from 2016 to 2018. The figures were named by Ronald Lamilami, a senior traditional owner. [14] [18] According to Tacon, "The Maliwawa back-to-back figures are the oldest known for western Arnhem Land and it appears this painting convention began with the Maliwawa style. It continues to the present with bark paintings and paintings on paper". [19] Taçon draws comparisons between the Maliwawa Figures and George Chaloupka's Dynamic Figures style, where the subject matter consists of about 89 percent humans, compared with 42% of the Maliwawa Figures. [20] There is, however, much complexity and debate regarding the classification of rock art style in Arnhem Land. [13] [21]

Other painted rock art sites include Laura, Queensland, [22] Ubirr, in the Kakadu National Park, [23] Uluru, [24] and Carnarvon Gorge. [25]

Rock engraving, or petroglyphs, are created by methods which vary depending on the type of rock being used and other factors. There are several different types of rock art across Australia, the most famous of which is Murujuga in Western Australia, the Sydney rock engravings around Sydney in New South Wales, and the Panaramitee rock art in Central Australia. The Toowoomba engravings, depicting carved animals and humans, have their own peculiar style not found elsewhere in Australia.[ citation needed ]

The rock engravings at Murujuga are said to be the world's largest collection of petroglyphs [26] and includes images of extinct animals such as the thylacine. Activity prior to the last ice age until colonisation is recorded.

William Westall (1803) Chasm Island, native cave painting, 1803, watercolour Westall Chasm Island art.jpg
William Westall (1803) Chasm Island, native cave painting, 1803, watercolour

The first European discovery of aboriginal rock paintings took place on 14 January 1803. [27] During a surveying expedition along the shores and islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, British navigator and explorer Matthew Flinders made landfall on Chasm Island.

Within the island's rock shelters, Flinders discovered an array of painted and stenciled patterns. To record these images, he enlisted the ship's artist, William Westall. [28] Westall's two watercolour sketches are the earliest known documentation of Australian rock art.

Stone arrangements

Aboriginal stone arrangements are a form of rock art constructed by Aboriginal Australians. Typically they consist of stones, each of which may be about 30 cm in size, laid out in a pattern extending over several metres or tens of metres. Each stone is well-embedded into the soil, and many have "trigger-stones" to support them. Particularly fine examples are in the state of Victoria, where some examples have very large stones. For example, the stone arrangement at Wurdi Youang consists of about 100 stones arranged in an egg-shaped oval about 50 metres (160 ft) across.[ citation needed ] The appearance of the site is similar to that of the megalithic stone circles found throughout Britain (although the function and culture are presumably completely different). Although its association with Aboriginal Australians is well-authenticated and beyond doubt, the purpose is unclear, although it may have a connection with initiation rites. It has also been suggested that the site may have been used for astronomical purposes. [29] Smaller stone arrangements are found throughout Australia, such as those near Yirrkala, which depict accurate images of the praus used by Macassan Trepang fishermen and spear throwers.[ citation needed ]

Wood carvings

Wood carving has always been an essential part of Aboriginal culture, requiring wood, sharp stone to carve, wire and fire. The wire and fire were used to create patterns on the object by heating the wire with the fire and placing it on the wood carving.

Wood carvings such as those by Central Australian artist Erlikilyika shaped like animals, were sometimes traded to Europeans for goods. The reason Aboriginal people made wood carvings was to help tell their Dreaming stories and pass on their group's lore and essential information about their country and customs. They were also used in ceremonies, such as the ilma.

Aboriginal people from the Tiwi Islands traditionally carved pukumani grave posts, [30] and since the 1960s have been carving and painting iron wood figures. [31]

Bark painting

US President George W. Bush examines a Yirrkala bark painting at the Australian National Maritime Museum, 2007 Yirrkala Bark Painting.jpg
US President George W. Bush examines a Yirrkala bark painting at the Australian National Maritime Museum, 2007

Bark painting, where painting is done using ochres on the dried bark stripped off trees, is an old tradition. The earliest European find was in a shelter in Tasmania around 1800, and other painted bark shelters were found in Victoria and NSW. These were drawn with charcoal, and then painted or scratched onto bark which had been blackened by smoke. [32] Painted bark baskets were used in death rituals on Melville and Bathurst Islands, and bark coffins and belts were painted in northeast Arnhem Land. BArk painting has continued into contemporary times. [32]

Styles in bark painting in Northern Australia, especially in Arnhem Land, include cross-hatching, or rarrk, and x-ray style. [33] [34]

Baskets and weaving

Baskets, sometimes coiled baskets, were created by twisting bark, palm-leaf, and feathers; some of the baskets were plain and some were created with feather pendants or feathers woven in the frame of the basket. The artists used mineral and plant dyes to colour the palm-leaves and bark of the hibiscus. These string bags and baskets were used in ceremonies for religious and ritual needs; the baskets might have been also used for carry things back to the village. [35]

Basket weaving has been traditionally practised by the women of many Aboriginal Australian peoples across the continent for centuries. [36] [37] [38] [39]

Jewellery

Ochre pits in central Australia where a variety of clay earth pigments were obtained AboriginalOchrePitCentralAustralia.JPG
Ochre pits in central Australia where a variety of clay earth pigments were obtained

Aboriginal people created shell pendants which were considered high value and often used for trading goods. These shells were attached to string, which was handmade from human hair and sometimes covered with a type of grease and red ochre. This jewellery would sometimes be hung around a man's neck or waist for use during ceremonies. [40]

Kalti paarti

Kalti paarti carving is a traditional art form made by carving emu eggs. It is not as old as some other techniques, having originated in the nineteenth century. [41]

Symbols and sacred aspects

Certain symbols within the Aboriginal modern art movement retain the same meaning across regions, although the meaning of the symbols may change within the context of a painting. When viewed in monochrome other symbols can look similar, such as the circles within circles, sometimes depicted on their own, sparsely, or in clustered groups.

Many paintings by Aboriginal artists, such as those that represent a Dreaming story, are shown from an aerial perspective. The narrative follows the lie of the land, as created by ancestral beings in their journey or during creation. The modern-day rendition is a reinterpretation of songs, ceremonies, rock art, body art, and ceremonies (such as awelye) that was the norm for many thousands of years.

Whatever the meaning, interpretations of the symbols should be made in context of the entire painting, the region from which the artist originates, the story behind the painting, and the style of the painting. [42]

Uluru 2.JPG
Aboriginal art at Uluru
Aboriginal art barramundi rock art.jpg
Aboriginal art showing barramundi fish

Some natural sites are sacred to Aboriginal people, and often the location where seasonal rituals were performed. During these rituals the Aboriginal people created art such as feather and fibre objects, they painted and created rock engravings, and also painted on bark of  the Eucalyptus tetrodonta trees. While stories differed among the clans, language groups, and wider groups, the Dreaming (or Jukurrpa) is common to all Aboriginal peoples. As part of these beliefs, during ancient times mythic Aboriginal ancestor spirits were the creators of the land and sky, and eventually became a part of it. The Aboriginal peoples' spiritual beliefs underpin their laws, art forms, and ceremonies. Traditional Aboriginal art almost always has a mythological undertone relating to the Dreaming. [43]

Wenten Rubuntja, an Indigenous landscape artist, says it is hard to find any art that is devoid of spiritual meaning: [44]

Doesn't matter what sort of painting we do in this country; it still belongs to the people, all the people. This is worship, work, culture. It's all Dreaming.

Story-telling and totem representation feature prominently in all forms of Aboriginal artwork. Additionally, the female form, particularly the female womb in X-ray style, features prominently in some famous sites in Arnhem Land. X-ray styles date back all the way to 2000–1000 BCE. It is an Indigenous technique where the artist creates conceptualised X-ray, transparent , images. The mimi, spirits who taught the art of painting to the Aboriginal people, and ancestors are "released" through these types of artwork.

Traditional cultural expressions

Traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions are both types of indigenous knowledge, according to the definitions and terminology used in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and by the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. [45] "Traditional cultural expressions" is used by WIPO to refer to "any form of artistic and literary expression in which traditional culture and knowledge are embodied. They are transmitted from one generation to the next, and include handmade textiles, paintings, stories, legends, ceremonies, music, songs, rhythms and dance". [46]

Leading international authority on Indigenous cultural and intellectual property, Australian lawyer Terri Janke, says that within Australian Indigenous communities, "the use of the word 'traditional' tends not to be preferred as it implies that Indigenous culture is locked in time". [45]

Vandalism and other threats

Many culturally as well as historically significant sites of Aboriginal rock paintings have degraded over time, as well as being desecrated and destroyed by encroachment of early settlers and modern-day visitors (including erosion caused by excessive touching); clearing for development of industries; and wanton vandalism and graffiti in criminal acts of destruction. Some recent examples are cited below.

In 2022, in an event which made news around the world, [47] [48] unique 30,000-year-old artwork at Koonalda Cave on the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia, which had been heritage-listed in 2014 because of its rarity, was vandalised and much of the artwork rendered unrecoverable. The site was of great significance to the Mirning people. [49]

In 2023, three large panels of rock art were removed from Murujuga in Western Australia, in order to build a new fertiliser factory. Several archaeologists have urged others to join Aboriginal voices in protesting against this type of damage to cultural sites. [50]

In late 2023 and early 2024, the Bulgandry Aboriginal art site in the Brisbane Water National Park, an ancient Aboriginal art site in New South Wales, was vandalised twice within a few months. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service closed off one walking track to the site, installed signs, and installed surveillance cameras, in a bid to prevent further damage. [51]

Traditional Torres Strait Islander art

Mythology and culture, deeply influenced by the ocean and the natural life around the islands, have always informed traditional artforms. Featured strongly are turtles, fish, dugongs, sharks, seabirds and saltwater crocodiles, which are considered totemic beings. [52]

Elaborate headdresses or dhari (also spelt dari [53] ), as featured on the Torres Strait Islander flag, are created for the purposes of ceremonial dances. [54] The dari was historically worn by Torres Strait warriors in battle. It is seen as a powerful symbol of the Torres Strait Islander people, today representing peace and harmony. World-renowned artist Ken Thaiday Snr has created elaborate dharis using modern materials in his contemporary artwork. [55]

Torres Strait Islander people are the only culture in the world to make turtleshell masks, known as krar (turtleshell) in the Western Islands and le-op (human face) in the Eastern Islands. [56]

Prominent among the artforms is wame (alt. wameya), many different string figures. [57] [58] [59]

The Islands have a long tradition of woodcarving, creating masks and drums, and carving decorative features on these and other items for ceremonial use. From the 1970s, young artists were beginning their studies at around the same time that a significant re-connection to traditional myths and legends was happening. Margaret Lawrie's publications, Myths and Legends of the Torres Strait (1970) and Tales from the Torres Strait (1972), reviving stories which had all but been forgotten, influenced the artists greatly. [60] [61] While some of these stories had been written down by Haddon after his 1898 expedition to the Torres Strait, [62] many had subsequently fallen out of use or been forgotten.

Differing traditions

Traditional symbols vary widely among different groups of Aboriginal people, which are usually related to language groups. Since dot painting became popular from the 1970s, and was further developed in contemporary Indigenous art, it has become a common perception that all Aboriginal art uses dot symbolism. New South Wales artist Shane Smithers has pointed out that roadside representations of Aboriginal art in his country do not represent his people's (Dharug and Dharawal) art and symbolic traditions, which uses lines rather than dots, which are a visual language from the Western Desert region. [63]

Contemporary Aboriginal art

Modern Aboriginal artists

Picture of Albert Namatjira at the Albert Namatjira Gallery, Alice Springs Cultural Precinct, in 2007 Namatjira0384.jpg
Picture of Albert Namatjira at the Albert Namatjira Gallery, Alice Springs Cultural Precinct, in 2007
Rainbow serpent by John Mawurndjul, 1991 Australia, arte aborigena, john mawurndjul, serprente arcobaleno cornuto, 1991.JPG
Rainbow serpent by John Mawurndjul, 1991

In the 1930s, artists Rex Battarbee and John Gardner introduced watercolour painting to Albert Namatjira, an Indigenous man at Hermannsberg Mission, south-west of Alice Springs. His landscape paintings, first created in 1936 [64] and exhibited in Australian cities in 1938, were immediately successful, [65] and he became the first Indigenous Australian watercolourist as well as the first to successfully exhibit and sell his works to the non-Indigenous community. [66] Namatjira's style of work was adopted by other Indigenous artists in the region beginning with his close male relatives, and they became known as the Hermannsburg School [67] or as the Arrernte Watercolourists. [68]

In 1988 the Aboriginal Memorial was unveiled at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra made from 200 hollow log coffins, which are similar to the type used for mortuary ceremonies in Arnhem Land. It was made for the bicentenary of Australia's colonisation, and is in remembrance of Aboriginal people who had died protecting their land during conflict with settlers. It was created by 43 artists from Ramingining and communities nearby. [69]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the work of Emily Kngwarreye, from the Utopia community north east of Alice Springs, became very popular. Her styles, which changed every year, have been seen as a mixture of traditional Aboriginal and contemporary Australian. Her rise in popularity has prefigured that of many Indigenous artists from central, northern and western Australia, such as her niece Kathleen Petyarre, Angelina Pwerle, Minnie Pwerle, Dorothy Napangardi, and many others. [70]

Papunya Tula and dot painting

In 19711972, art teacher Geoffrey Bardon encouraged Aboriginal people in Papunya, north west of Alice Springs to put their Dreamings onto canvas. These stories had previously been drawn on the desert sand, and were now given a more permanent form.[ citation needed ] The dots were used to cover secret-sacred ceremonies. Originally, the Tula artists succeeded in forming their own company with an Aboriginal Name, Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd. [71] The Papunya Collection at the National Museum of Australia contains over 200 artefacts and paintings, including examples of 1970s dot paintings. [72]

Issues

Albert Namatjira refuelling for a trip to Alice Springs, around 1948 Albert Namatjira refuelling for a trip to Alice Springs.jpg
Albert Namatjira refuelling for a trip to Alice Springs, around 1948

There have been cases of some exploitative dealers who have sought to profit from the success of the Aboriginal art movements, particularly after art sales boomed between 1994 and 1997. [73] In August 2006, following concerns raised about unethical practices in the Indigenous art sector, the Australian Senate initiated an inquiry into issues in the sector, with its report published in 2007. [74]

Aboriginal art movements and cooperatives

Australian Indigenous art movements and cooperatives have been central to the emergence of Indigenous Australian art. Whereas many western artists pursue formal training and work as individuals, most contemporary Indigenous art is created in community groups and art centres. [75] One of the main reasons the Yuendumu movement, based at Warlukurlangu Artists was established, and later flourished, was due to the feeling of exploitation amongst artists. [76]

Contemporary Torres Strait Islander art

In the 1990s a group of younger Torres Strait Island artists, including the award-winning Dennis Nona (b. 1973), started translating traditional skills into the more portable forms of printmaking, linocut, and etching, as well as larger scale bronze sculptures. Other outstanding artists include Billy Missi (1970–2012), known for his decorated black and white linocuts of the local vegetation and eco-systems, and Alick Tipoti (b.1975). These and other Torres Strait artists have greatly expanded the forms of Indigenous art within Australia, bringing superb Melanesian carving skills as well as new stories and subject matter. [56] The College of Technical and Further Education on Thursday Island was a starting point for young Islanders to pursue studies in art. Many went on to further art studies, especially in printmaking, initially in Cairns, Queensland and later at the Australian National University in what is now the School of Art and Design. Other artists such as Laurie Nona, Brian Robinson, David Bosun, Glen Mackie, Joemen Nona, Daniel O'Shane, and Tommy Pau are known for their printmaking work. [77]

In international museums

Australian Indigenous art has been much studied in recent years and has gained much international recognition. [78] The Rebecca Hossack gallery in London has been credited with "almost single-handedly" introducing Australian Indigenous art to Britain and Europe since its opening in 1988. [79]

The Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, France, which opened in 2006, has an "Oceania" collection. [80] It also commissioned paintings on the roof and ceilings of its building on the rue de l'Université, housing the museum's workshops and library, by four female and four male contemporary Aboriginal artists: Lena Nyadbi, Judy Watson, Gulumbu Yunupingu, Ningura Napurrula; John Mawurndjul, Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford, Michael Riley, and Yannima Tommy Watson. [81] [82]

Museums dedicated solely to Indigenous art outside of Australia include the following:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian art</span> Art made by Australians or in Australia

Australian art is a broad spectrum of art created in or about Australia, or by Australians overseas, spanning from prehistoric times to the present day. The art forms include, but are not limited to, Aboriginal, Colonial, Landscape, Atelier, and Contemporary art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwion Gwion rock paintings</span> Rock art in Western Australia

The Gwion Gwion rock paintings, Gwion figures, Kiro Kiro or Kujon are one of the two major regional traditions of rock art found in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia. Key traditional owners have published their own account of the meaning of the images. However the identity of the artists and the age of the art are contended within archaeology and amongst Australian rock art researchers. A 2020 study estimates that most of the anthropomorphic figures were created 12,000 years ago, based on analysis of painted-over wasps' nests. These aspects have been debated since the works were seen, and recorded, in 1891 by pastoralist Joseph Bradshaw, after whom they were named until recent decades. As the Kimberley is home to many traditional owners, the rock art is referred to and known by many different names in the local languages, the most common of which are Gwion Gwion or Kiro Kiro/Giro Giro. The art consists primarily of human figures ornamented with accessories such as bags, tassels and headdresses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bark painting</span> Australian Aboriginal art form

Bark painting is an Australian Aboriginal art form, involving painting on the interior of a strip of tree bark. While examples of painted bark shelters were found in the south-eastern states of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales in the 19th century, as well as later on bark shelters in northern Australia, it is now typically only found as a continuing form of artistic expression in Arnhem Land and other regions in the Top End of Australia, including parts of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunbalanya, Northern Territory</span> Aboriginal Australian town in Northern Territory, Australia

Gunbalanya is an Aboriginal Australian town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, about 300 kilometres (190 mi) east of Darwin. The main language spoken in the community is Kunwinjku. At the 2021 Australian census, Gunbalanya had a population of 1,177.

Susie Bootja Bootja Napaltjarri was an Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Born south-west of Balgo, Western Australia, in the 1950s Susie Bootja Bootja married artist Mick Gill Tjakamarra, with whom she had a son, Matthew Gill Tjupurrula.

Wintjiya Napaltjarri, also known as Wintjia Napaltjarri No. 1, was a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. She is the sister of artist Tjunkiya Napaltjarri; both were wives of Toba Tjakamarra, with whom Wintjiya had five children.

Takariya Napaltjarri is an Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. She has painted with Papunya Tula artists' cooperative. First exhibited in 1996, her work is held in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Parara Napaltjarri was a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Her paintings are included in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Eileen Napaltjarri is a Pintupi-speaking Aboriginal Australian artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Eileen Napaltjarri, also known as Anyima Napaltjarri, began painting for Papunya Tula artists' cooperative in 1996. She was named as one of Australian Art Collector magazine's 50 Most Collectible artists in 2008; her works are held by the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Linda Yunkata Syddick Napaltjarri is a Pintupi- and Pitjantjatjara- speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Her father was killed when she was young; her mother later married Shorty Lungkarta Tjungarrayi, an artist whose work was a significant influence on Syddick's painting.

Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri is a Walpiri-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Ngoia Pollard married Jack Tjampitjinpa, who became an artist working with the Papunya Tula company, and they had five children.

Mona Rockman Napaljarri is a Warlpiri-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Her paintings and pottery are held in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria.

Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians, that is, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people. It is generally regarded as beginning in 1971 with a painting movement that started at Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, involving Aboriginal artists such as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, and facilitated by white Australian teacher and art worker Geoffrey Bardon. The movement spawned widespread interest across rural and remote Aboriginal Australia in creating art, while contemporary Indigenous art of a different nature also emerged in urban centres; together they have become central to Australian art. Indigenous art centres have fostered the emergence of the contemporary art movement, and as of 2010 were estimated to represent over 5000 artists, mostly in Australia's north and west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardayal 'Lofty' Nadjamerrek</span>

Bardayal "Lofty" Nadjamerrek was a Kunwinjku Aboriginal artist of the Mok clan. He belonged to the Duwa moiety and spoke the Kundedjnjenghmi language. He is currently referred to by his skin and clan as "Wamud Namok", following the Kunwinjku custom of avoiding use of the name of deceased persons.

Sally Kate May, usually cited as Sally K. May, is an Australian archaeologist and anthropologist. She is an Associate Professor of Archaeology and Museum Studies at the University of Adelaide, Australia. She is a specialist in Indigenous Australian rock art and Australian ethnographic museum collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Maralngurra</span> Aboriginal Australian artist

Gabriel Maralngurra is an artist from the Ngalangbali clan Kunwinjku artist in West Arnhem Land. As an Aboriginal artist, he is well-known and respected within his community for the wide range of responsibilities he takes on. His artwork is displayed in various collections including the Australian Museum, Museum Victoria, and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia.

Owen Yalandja is Aboriginal Australian carver, painter and singer of the Kuninjku people from western Arnhem Land, Australia. A senior member of the Dangkorlo clan, who are the Indigenous custodians of an important site related to female water spirits known as yawkyawk, Yalandja has become internationally renowned for his painted carvings of these spirits, as well as his paintings on eucalyptus bark.

Malaluba Gumana is an Australian Aboriginal artist from northeast Arnhem Land, who has gained prominence through her work in painting and the production of larrakitj, the memorial poles traditionally used by Yolngu people in a mortuary ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Badari</span> Aboriginal Australian artist

Graham Badari is an Aboriginal Australian artist from the Wardjak clan in West Arnhem Land. Graham Badari belongs to the Duwa moeity and speaks the Kunwinjku dialect. At Injalak Arts, Badari is a popular figure, a tour guide, and a font of community news. Art historian Henry Skerritt describes him as possessing a "impish smile and cheeky sense of humour" and a "unique and eccentric personality"

Paddy Compass Namadbara, skin name Na-Bulanj, was an Aboriginal Australian artist and traditional healer, or marrkidjbu, from western Arnhem land. He was a member of the Alarrdju clan. Namadbara was renowned for his abilities as a healer, his bark paintings, and his skills as a mentor for younger generations.

References

  1. Collins, Ben (25 July 2019). "It survived ice-ages and the rise and fall of oceans – how has Indigenous rock art lasted so long?". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 Worms, Ernest Contemporary and prehistoric rock paintings in Central and Northern North Kimberley Anthropos Switzerland 1955 p. 555
  3. "Aboriginal Art of Australia: Understanding its History". ART ARK. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  4. Masters, Emma (31 May 2010). "Megafauna cave painting could be 40,000 years old". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  5. Akerman, Kim; Willing, Tim (March 2009). "An ancient rock painting of a marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex, from the Kimberley, Western Australia". Antiquity . Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  6. Middleton, Amy; AAP (2 August 2013). "Aboriginal rock art may depict first sea arrivals". Australian Geographic. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  7. Rock Art Archived 1 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Aboriginal Art Online, retrieved April 2008.
  8. 1 2 Doring, Jeff Gwion Gwion: Chemins Secrets Et Sacrés Des Ngarinyin, Aborigènes D'Australie (Gwion Gwion: Secret and Sacred Pathways of the Ngarinyin Aboriginal People of Australia) Könemann 2000 ISBN   9783829040600 p. 55
  9. David, Bruno; Barker, Bryce; Petchey, Fiona; Delannoy, Jean-Jacques; Geneste, Jean-Michel; Rowe, Cassandra; Eccleston, Mark; Lamb, Lara; Whear, Ray (May 2013). "A 28,000 year old excavated painted rock from Nawarla Gabarnmang, northern Australia". Journal of Archaeological Science. 40 (5): 2493–2501. Bibcode:2013JArSc..40.2493D. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.08.015.
  10. Finch, Damien; Gleadow, Andrew; Hergt, Janet; Heaney, Pauline; Green, Helen; Myers, Cecilia; Verth, Peter; Harper, Sam; Ouzman, Sven; Levchenko, Vladimir (22 February 2021). "Ages for Australia's oldest rock paintings". Nature Human Behaviour. 5 (3): 310–318. doi:10.1038/s41562-020-01041-0. PMID   33619375. S2CID   232020013.
  11. Finkel, Elizabeth (February 2020). "Mysterious Australian rock art may depict the chaos following rising seas". Science . doi:10.1126/science.abb1842. S2CID   213266262.
  12. Weule, Genelle (6 February 2020). "Australian rock art dated using wasp nests". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  13. 1 2 Taçon, Paul S. C.; May, Sally K.; et al. (30 September 2020). "Maliwawa figures—a previously undescribed Arnhem L and rock art style". Australian Archaeology. 86 (3). Informa UK Limited: 208–225. doi:10.1080/03122417.2020.1818361. ISSN   0312-2417. S2CID   224849841 via Taylor & Francis Online.
  14. 1 2 S.C.Taçon, Paul; May, Sally K. (30 September 2020). "Introducing the Maliwawa Figures: a previously undescribed rock art style found in Western Arnhem Land". The Conversation. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  15. Nichele, Amelia (1 October 2020). "A missing part of the rock art gallery". Cosmos .
  16. Taçon, Paul S. C. (2 October 2020). "Maliwawa Figures: Ancient Aboriginal art 'unlike anything seen before'" (video). Videography by Isabelle Rodd. BBC News. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  17. Weule, Genelle (1 October 2020). "'Bilbies', thylacines and dugongs among stunning Maliwawa rock art documented in Arnhem Land". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  18. Taçon, Paul S.C.; May, Sally K. . (1 October 2020). "Arnhem Land's Maliwawa rock art a remarkable glimpse into Indigenous life almost 10,000 years ago". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  19. Marshall, Deborah (1 October 2020). "Arnhem Land Maliwawa rock art opens window to past". Griffith News. Griffith University. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  20. Johnston, Rae (1 October 2020). "Unique 'missing link' 9000-year-old rock art uncovered in Arnhem land". National Indigenous Television. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  21. Johnston, Iain G.; Goldhahn, Joakim; May, Sally K. (2017). "6. Dynamic Figures of Mirarr Country: Chaloupka's four-phase theory and the question of variability within a rock art style". In David, Bruno; Taçon, Paul S.C.; et al. (eds.). The Archaeology of Rock Art in Western Arnhem Land, Australia. Terra Australis, 47. ISBN   9781760461621 . Retrieved 4 October 2020 via ANU.
  22. "Rock Art Sites & Tours". Quinkan & Regional Cultural Centre. 2009. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  23. "Ubirr art site". Australian Government, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  24. "Rock art sites". Australian Government, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  25. "Pre-history of Carnarvon Gorge". Australian Nature Guides. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  26. Department of Environment and Conservation (6 February 2013). "Creation of Western Australia's 100th National Park – Murujuga National Park". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  27. McCarthy, Frederick D.; Australian Museum (1960). The cave paintings of Groote, Eylandt and Chasm Island. Sydney, N.S.W.: Australian Museum. OCLC   271765347.
  28. Findlay, E. (1998). "Arcadian quest [The works of William Westall]". National Library of Australia News. 9 (1): 3–7.
  29. Morieson, J., 2003, "Solar-based Lithic Design in Victoria, Australia", in World Archaeological Congress, Washington DC, 2003
  30. Frangos, Seva (2015). Timothy Cook, Dancing with the Moon. ISBN   9781742584980. OCLC   889871251.
  31. "Tiwi Sculpture | Sell Tiwi Sculpture | Tiwi Carving | Tiwi artefact". Aboriginal Bark Paintings. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  32. 1 2 "Aboriginal bark painting". aboriginalartonline.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  33. Linklater, Scott (31 December 1969). "Aboriginal Art Styles". Artlandish Aboriginal Art. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  34. "What is Rarrk?". personally-selected-aboriginal-art.com. 13 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  35. Thomas & Neale 2011, p. [ page needed ].
  36. "About weaving". Maningrida. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  37. "History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander textiles". archive.maas.museum. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  38. Mills, Vanessa (21 July 2011). "Weaving magical baskets and sharing Aboriginal knowledge". ABC Kimberley. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  39. "Ngarrindjeri basket weaving". Sustainable Communities SA. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  40. Morphy, H.; Rosenfeld, A.; Sutton, P.; Keen, I.; Berndt, C. H.; Berndt, R. M.; ... Cavazzini, F. (2003). Aboriginal Australia.
  41. "Kalti Paarti: Carved emu eggs". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  42. "Rebecca Hossack: The wonders of Aboriginal Australian art". Ted Talks TedxOxford. February 2020.
  43. "Recording the Dreamtime: Lecture by Rebecca Hossack". The Arts Society. 17 June 2020 via YouTube.
  44. Hossack, Rebecca (12 August 2005). "Wenten Rubuntja". The Independent . Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  45. 1 2 Terri Janke and Company; Janke, Terri; Sentina, Maiko (2018). Indigenous Knowledge: Issues for Protection and Management: Discussion paper (PDF). Commissioned by IP Australia & the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  46. Zuckermann, Ghil'ad; et al. (2015), ENGAGING – A Guide to Interacting Respectfully and Reciprocally with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, and their Arts Practices and Intellectual Property (PDF), Australian Government: Indigenous Culture Support, p. 7, archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2016
  47. Enking, Molly (27 December 2022). "Vandals Destroy 30,000-Year-Old Indigenous Cave Drawings in Australia". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  48. Armstrong, Kathryn (21 December 2022). "Ancient South Australia cave art destroyed by vandals". BBC Home. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  49. Rachwani, Mostafa (21 December 2022). "Ancient Aboriginal rock art destroyed by vandals in 'tragic loss' at sacred SA site". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  50. "where is the outrage?". Murujuga's rock art is being destroyed. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  51. Proust, Keira (12 January 2024). "Bulgandry Aboriginal art site vandalised for a second time in Brisbane Water National Park at Kariong". ABC News. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  52. "Art in the Torres Strait Islands". Japingka Aboriginal Art. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  53. Whitford, Maddie (13 April 2020). "Producers reflect on profound experience walking with Indigenous artists on country". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  54. "Dance machines & headdresses". Awakening: Stories from the Torres Strait. Queensland Government. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  55. "Dr Ken Thaiday Senior". Australia Council. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  56. 1 2 "Art Sets. Art of the Torres Strait Islands". New South Wales Art Gallery. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  57. Brij V. Lal; Kate Fortune, eds. (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. p. 456. ISBN   978-0-8248-2265-1.
  58. Alfred Cort Haddon, along with one of his daughters, the pioneers in the modern study of Torres Strait string figures
  59. A string figure bibliography including examples from Torres Strait.
  60. Lawrie, Margaret Elizabeth (1970). Myths and Legends of the Torres Strait/collected and translated by Margaret Lawrie. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press.
  61. Lawrie, Margaret Elizabeth (1972). Tales from Torres Strait. St Lucia Qld: University of Queensland Press.
  62. Alfred Cort Haddon; W. H. R. Rivers; C. G. Seligman; A. Wilkin (1901–1935). Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits. Cambridge University Press. NLA   458355.
  63. King, Tynan; Fisher, Jack; Gartry, Laura (4 October 2024). "The fight for authentic Aboriginal visual language". ABC News. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  64. Morphy (1999), p. 264.
  65. McCulloch (2006), p. 4.
  66. J.V.S. Megaw and M. Ruth Megaw, 'Painting country: The Arrernte watercolour artists of Hermannsburg', in Kleinert and Neale (2000), p. 199.
  67. Morphy (1999), p. 265.
  68. J.V.S. Megaw and M. Ruth Megaw, 'Painting country: The Arrernte watercolour artists of Hermannsburg', in Kleinert and Neale (2000), pp. 200–204.
  69. Caruana, Wally (2003). Aboriginal Art (2nd ed.). London: Thames & Hudson. p.  226. ISBN   978-0-500-20366-8.
  70. "Warlayirti Artists". balgoart.org.au. Archived from the original on 15 June 2005. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  71. "Papunya Tula Artists". Papunyatula.com.au. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  72. Papunya Collection Archived 7 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine , National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  73. "Aboriginal works and artful dodgers". The Age . 20 September 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  74. Senate Standing Committee on the Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (20 June 2007). Indigenous Art: Securing the Future – Australia's Indigenous visual arts and craft sector. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. ISBN   978-0-642-71788-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  75. Wright, Felicity and Morphy, Frances. (1999-2000). The Art & Craft Centre Story. Canberra: ATSIC (3 vols).
  76. "Warlukurlangu Artists". warlu.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2005. Many of the artists who played crucial roles in the founding of the art centre were aware of the increasing interest in Aboriginal art during the 1970s and had watched with concern and curiosity the developments of the art movement at Papunya amongst people to whom they were closely related. There was also a growing private market for Aboriginal art in Alice Springs. Artists' experiences of the private market were marked by feelings of frustration and a sense of disempowerment when buyers refused to pay prices which reflected the value of the Jukurrpa or showed little interest in understanding the story.
  77. Robinson, Brian (2001). "Torres Strait Islander printmaking" . Retrieved 7 January 2020 via Centre for Australian Art: Australian Prints + Printmaking. Conference paper, [from] Australian Print Symposium. Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 1987 – ongoing
  78. Caruna, W. (2003) Aboriginal Art, Thames and Hudson, London, iiii p. 7
  79. McKenzie, Janet (24 October 2018). "Damien Coulthard Songlines XXX, Adnyamathanha Yarta". Studio International New York.
  80. "musée du quai Branly: Oceania". Quaibranly.fr. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  81. "Aboriginal works on the roof and ceilings". Musée du quai Branly. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  82. "Musée du Quai Branly Australian Aboriginal Art Museum at the Aboriginal Art Directory. View information about Musée du Quai Branly". Aboriginalartdirectory.com. 15 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  83. "The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection". Campaign for the Arts at the University of Virginia . August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  84. "The Museum of Australian Aboriginal Art "La Grange"". Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  85. Eichenberger, Isabelle (23 October 2012). "Aboriginal art in the home of absinthe". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  86. "Home". AAMU. August 2013. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  87. "The End of AAMU at News Aboriginal Art Directory. View information about The End of AAMU". Aboriginal Art Directory News. Retrieved 15 October 2024.

Sources

Further reading