Glenelg Art Gallery

I visited the Glenelg Art Gallery today and unfortunately found that it was shut, even though I came during the opening hours stated on the website. The gallery is located upstairs inside Dymocks book store. I had a look at the only artworks I could see at the entrance and they were all colourful and quite detailed. They seemed to have a contemporary abstract style yet they were all very different from each other. I investigated the website and found that most of the work is produced by local artists.

'Emu Walk' - by Susan Betts

This piece of work stood apart from the rest for me as I was attracted to the interesting linework and use of bright colours contrasting against a dark background. The use of rounded forms and arrows creates movement and a sense of direction. Also the emu's stance suggests energy and the bold colours compliment that.

Message Stick: The Power of Rarrk

I borrowed a recorded DVD at the Uni library of an old message stick episode. It featured artists from the community of Maningrida in north west Arnhem Land. I was pariculary interested in John Mawurndjul as he is one of the artists I am researching for my major essay. He was taught Rarrk, a traditional painting technique that uses fine cross-hatching and infill. It was originally from body painting; and the ceremonial origins of Rarrk is what gives the paintings their power.

John Mawurndjul using the Rarrk technique.

"I create paintings connected to this country I have absolute love for this country Today I want the stories and images of the paintings to be seen" - John Mawurndjul.

I thought what he said about his work was really inspiring. He wants to share his art and show others the stories of the land. It was amazing to watch the precise accuracy of his brush strokes and the fascinating way he burned the bark to flatten it. The emotional and spiritual connection to the land can be seen through his use of bark and other natural materials.

Ricardo Idagi – ‘Upi mop le – Tail end man’

Below is an image of a Torres Strait mask made from a turtle shell. This piece titled Upi mop le – Tail end man was made by Ricardo Idagi and won the New Media Category in the 28th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2011.

Richard Idagi, 2011, 'Upi mop le – Tail end man'

Mixed media, 130 x 90 x 130cm.

When I first saw this piece shown in the lecture, I was surprised. It’s a very impressive and imaginative piece. The detail is outstanding and so are the other deaddresses with sharks and other animals on them. I was even more surprised to learn that there was a projector inside, showing a film of Idagi performing traditional dance.

Initially I thought this mask was some kind of really modern wacky abstract art; but when we discussed it in tutorial I found it was actually a traditional headdress. We also talked about whether the viewer needed to know if it was traditional or not and decided it didn't matter; people can just appreciate it for the interesting art it is. I think the mask creates an unusual and effective combination of traditional and modern culture.

Yuendumu Doors at the SA Museum

The Museum of South Australia exhibited traditional Indigenous art and artefacts including decorated totems, weaving, boomerangs, bark paintings, shields, photographs and more. It was amazing to see the wealth of knowledge preserved in the displays. I had not been to the Museum since I was very young and I found it fascinating to look around and see everything with a new perspective. By viewing items up close, I am able to appreciate the fine detail and texture that can't always be seen in photos.

The paintings on the Yuendumu Doors represent significant ceremonial sites and are one of earliest examples of Aboriginal artists successfully transferring their ancient ground paintings to a large-scale contemporary medium. The description that accompanied the Doors summed up the meaning of them well saying, "The paintings meanings and stories remain complex and hidden, a cryptic reference to their dreaming - an epic drama which explains how the land, the people and their social instructions came to be as they are."

My photo of the 9 Yuendumu Doors displayed at The SA Museum.

My first impression of these works were that they looked very weathered. I could see remains of graffiti as well as scratches and chipped off paint. I liked the earthy colours used; predominatly white, red, yellow and black; as it created a sense of understanding and belonging to the land. I think this notion of the deep connection to the land that Indigenous people share is really interesting. As the doors are a larger medium, the artists seemed to use larger dots and symbols. The door in the centre was wider and used a lot of blue to contrast against the other doors and create an emphasis.

'The Doors Etchings' (shown above) were displayed next to the doors and were accompanied with an explanation saying "In 2000, twenty years after the doors were painted, the surviving artists collaborated with Northern editors to produce a series of etchings based on the original doors." I found these etchings quite intriguing as their bold colours created a strong contrast yet they all seem to connect and belong as a group.

Jason Wing - The Other, Other Exhibition

Jason Wing is a young Aboriginal artist from Sydney. His father is Chinese (Cantonese) and his mother is an Aboriginal woman from the Biripi people in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales. He is a versatile artist who explores issues of bi-cultural and Indigenous political identity, environmental awareness and spirituality. He appears to have a distinctive style with a 'street-wise' flair shown through his strong use of stencil printing.

I thought this exhibition was very unusual and not at all what I was expecting. The majority of his work were all either three dimensional or large scale posters; there were no paintings. When I was looking around I found there were no artist descriptions on the plaques next to each work. I think this means that he wanted viewers to interpret his work in their own way. It seemed to me that he wanted to be confronting and evoke a sense of shock to viewers. I think his work was very relevant to todays issues of alcohol abuse, drugs and graffiti.

'Self portrait'  2010  

cement, acrylic paint

'Rainbow Dreaming'  2009
syringes, food colouring 

'Waiting to exhale' 2009
aluminum spray can

'Blacktown Dreaming'  2010  

Beds made of spray cans, syringes and beer bottles.

These beds were very creative and were one of the works that first grabbed my attention. The repetition of the different mediums were striking and created a dynamic effect. I stood up close and got to appreciate the preciseness of the placement of each item. 

His website can be found here: www.jasonwing.net

Week 10 - Musee du quai Branly

Today's lecture focused on the Musee du quai Branly which is a famous museum in Paris that has an exhibit on Indigenous artwork. The article by Brenda Croft and Hetti Perkins said that "it embraces the strength of tradition and the spirit of modernity". This is a great description of the cross-cultural collaboration that is involved. I was really impressed with the unique design of the building and the way in which the artwork was displayed. Giant large scale versions of artists work were recreated on smaller pieces that could be tiled together to cover the entire ceiling of each floor. I think this idea was really effective as it allows viewers to get fully immersed in the artwork. It was really cleaver how the small tiles were designed to be easily transportable and fit together perfectly. I really like how the polished surface creates a reflection and adds to the intriguing modern external view of the building. I think the authors in the article sum the connection up well when they say it "generates a synergy between the work of the artists and the architect".

Different views of the exterior. Some of the artwork can be seen from the street below.

The reflective surface works with surrounding features.

Gloria Petyarre Paintings

I have been looking on Aboriginal Art News lately and the striking artwork by Gloria Petyarre grabbed my attention. Her paintings seem to have a really alluring quality to them as well as a distinctive style that doesn't involve the traditional dot methods. Her techniques of layering and producing fine detail, creates visual depth and movement. I particularly liked the series on bush medicine dreaming. It depicts particular leaves from plant species, which contain medicinal properties and tells of their celebration in ceremonies.

'Bush Medicine Leaves' by Gloria Petyarre

 The use of bold colour creates visual intensity.

 'Bush Medicine Dreaming' by Gloria Petyarre

This work creates a strong sense of movement.

'Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming' by Gloria Petyarre

The many complex layers in this work make repetition interesting and give depth.