This is a summary of a lecture given at the Art Gallery of NSW on October 15, 2015. The topic was Traditional and Contemporary Aboriginal Art. There were three speakers Marina Smith, Padmini Sampathkumar, and Caroline Storch.
Marina Smith talked about a variety of traditional techniques in which Aboriginal artists illustrated different aspects of their culture. The traditional techniques included wood crafts, waving art, sculptures, and paintings. As mentioned, the majority of Aboriginal artworks are belonging to the time after the 1940s. Smith also explained the tools, subjects, and geographical area of aboriginal art. According to Smith, Aboriginal Contemporary Art is mostly constituted by acrylic and canvas and oil.
Caroline Storch explained Aboriginal Traditional Art. She explained that before 1972 these artworks work not counted as art but as cultural heritage and anthropological testimonials. According to Caroline, nearly all the Aboriginal arts have a notion of “dreaming”. ‘Dreaming has the same holistic value as the Bible has in Christianity’ she said. She explained a couple of Bark Paintings. The name of the painting was “Mortuary Rites” and it was painted by Mathaman Marik a famous aboriginal artist. According to her, there is a remarkable history of thousands of years depicted in those paintings. As mentioned in Aboriginal Art, particularly the Bark Painting dates back before this continent was explored. She talked about the way they produce barks and other painting materials. According to Storch Aboriginal, people use a particular tree called Gumtrees to make bark. She explained they take barks off the gum trees and making it flat by exposing to heat and keeping it under pressure for a long time until the bark become soak and plain.
Padmini Sampathkumar told that the Aboriginal paintings show their rich cultural ceremonies. According to Sampathkumar, the aboriginal artist has dedicated a genuine talent to the entire of their history as there is no written language for them. As mentioned there is a restriction on interpreting those paintings and only the elders are allowed to explain the subjects of Aboriginal artworks.
