Contemporary Aboriginal Art : A Guide to the Rebirth of an Ancient Culture

by Sue Mcculloch

Since the renaissance of traditional Aboriginal art began at the small central Australian desert community of Papunya in 1971, Aboriginal art has become the most dynamic of Australia's visual arts. The crosshatched bark paintings from Arnhem Land, the multi-layered "dot" paintings from central Australia, the ochre paintings of Western Australia's west Kimberley painters, the bright "naif" watercolours of the Fitzroy Crossing artists from the east Kimberley and the widely divergent individual expressions of urban artists are only some of the prolific expression of this rich, evolving tradition. But how has this art come about? What is the cultural wellspring from which it originates? Does "traditional" Aboriginal art still exist? How is the relationship between people and their land expressed in images? Why do some Aboriginal artists use only modern materials and others traditional media such as bark and ochre? And where and how is this art produced, displayed, marketed and sold? This book, heavily illustrated with examples of much of the finest Aboriginal art of the recent past, answers these and many other questions through its exploration of the vastly different Australian landscapes and the historic circumstances of the growth of this vibrant movement.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

248 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Sandra]

For a beginner in the subject, this was somewhat overwhelming combining - necessarily and interestingly - history, mythology and beliefs of the many different Aboriginal tribes. That their culture seemed to have been forced into Western conformity, and the justifications for doing so not entirely convincing was one cause of discomfort, especially because their original reasons for creating such works were not intended at all for use in the same way thus the 'contemporary' seems to insist on a commercial approach which was never initially intended.
The gulf between my understanding and their intention(s) seem huge enough to cause ill-feeling.