I'm not sure if I'm ever going to post an episode of "Thursday's Things" on Thursday... but no matter, this week's "Thing" is Contemporary Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal) Art!
"Wild Yam Flower" Janet Golder Kngwarreye
"Wild Yam Flower" Janet Golder Kngwarreye I first heard about Indigenous Australian Art (IIA) from my Australian boss. I had never heard of or seen it, so I was intrigued when she mentioned that she and her husband were moderate collectors and my friend Alex's recent trip to Australia made me more curious about these beautiful paintings and the stories behind them.
Indigenous Australian Art is like the perfect melding of modern art, "ethnic" art and folklore. The amazing color work and structural complexity of many of the pieces would rival that of the most prominent western modern artists but there is a certain freedom and flow in the paintings that are definitely reminiscent of "African" art. While the pieces are visually stunning, the folklore aspect is what is most interesting to me. Art is one of the key rituals in the culture of the Indigenous Australians, and was and still is, used to mark territory, record history, and tell stories.
"Grass Seed Dreaming" Barbara Weir
One of the main themes in IAA is "Dreamtime" or "Dreaming". According to Wiki, “indigenous Australians believe in two forms of time; two parallel streams of activity. One is the daily objective activity, the other is an infinite spiritual cycle called the "dreamtime", more real than reality itself. Whatever happens in the dreamtime establishes the values, symbols, and laws of Aboriginal society.”
Many Indigenous Australians also refer to the creation time as "The Dreaming". Indigenous Australians believe that every person, in an essential way, exists eternally in the Dreaming. This eternal part existed before the life of the individual begins, and continues to exist when the life of the individual ends. Both before and after life, it is believed that this spirit-child exists in the Dreaming and is only initiated into life by being born through a mother.
Pretty cool, huh?!
I noticed that a lot of the paintings had reference to inanimate objects “Dreaming” and was a bit confused given the description above… it seems that in many stories of the Dreaming, the Ancestor Spirits came to the earth in human form and in that form they created the animals, plants, rocks and other forms of the land that we know today. Once the ancestor spirits had created the world, they changed into the trees, the stars, rocks, watering holes or other objects. These then became the sacred places of Indigenous Australian culture as the home of the ancestors due to the fact that the ancestors did not disappear at the end of the Dreaming, but remained in these sacred sites.
"Sunset Reef Dreaming" Rex Winston Walford
I obviously don’t have enough information to turn this post into a dissertation on IIA. If you’d like to learn more about IIA or just Indigenous Australian Culture in general, here are a few links.
Ok enough info... here are some more pics! All of these pics were taken from the “ARTERY” website, an Aboriginal Art Gallery. It seems like I am most drawn to clean, structural pieces but there are a ton of other styles on there as well. Enjoy!
"Women's Ceremonial Dance" Josephine Napurrula
"Bush Medicine Plant Dreaming"Gloria Petyarre
"Mina Mina Dreaming - Rock hole (Puli)" Lynette Corby Nungurrayi
Indigenous Australian Art is like the perfect melding of modern art, "ethnic" art and folklore. The amazing color work and structural complexity of many of the pieces would rival that of the most prominent western modern artists but there is a certain freedom and flow in the paintings that are definitely reminiscent of "African" art. While the pieces are visually stunning, the folklore aspect is what is most interesting to me. Art is one of the key rituals in the culture of the Indigenous Australians, and was and still is, used to mark territory, record history, and tell stories.
"Grass Seed Dreaming" Barbara WeirOne of the main themes in IAA is "Dreamtime" or "Dreaming". According to Wiki, “indigenous Australians believe in two forms of time; two parallel streams of activity. One is the daily objective activity, the other is an infinite spiritual cycle called the "dreamtime", more real than reality itself. Whatever happens in the dreamtime establishes the values, symbols, and laws of Aboriginal society.”
Many Indigenous Australians also refer to the creation time as "The Dreaming". Indigenous Australians believe that every person, in an essential way, exists eternally in the Dreaming. This eternal part existed before the life of the individual begins, and continues to exist when the life of the individual ends. Both before and after life, it is believed that this spirit-child exists in the Dreaming and is only initiated into life by being born through a mother.
Pretty cool, huh?!
I noticed that a lot of the paintings had reference to inanimate objects “Dreaming” and was a bit confused given the description above… it seems that in many stories of the Dreaming, the Ancestor Spirits came to the earth in human form and in that form they created the animals, plants, rocks and other forms of the land that we know today. Once the ancestor spirits had created the world, they changed into the trees, the stars, rocks, watering holes or other objects. These then became the sacred places of Indigenous Australian culture as the home of the ancestors due to the fact that the ancestors did not disappear at the end of the Dreaming, but remained in these sacred sites.
"Sunset Reef Dreaming" Rex Winston WalfordI obviously don’t have enough information to turn this post into a dissertation on IIA. If you’d like to learn more about IIA or just Indigenous Australian Culture in general, here are a few links.
Ok enough info... here are some more pics! All of these pics were taken from the “ARTERY” website, an Aboriginal Art Gallery. It seems like I am most drawn to clean, structural pieces but there are a ton of other styles on there as well. Enjoy!
"Women's Ceremonial Dance" Josephine Napurrula 
"Bush Medicine Plant Dreaming"Gloria Petyarre 
"Mina Mina Dreaming - Rock hole (Puli)" Lynette Corby Nungurrayi 
