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OneWorld Magazine presents
THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL
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 WOMAN'S CEREMONY © Ada Bird Petyarre | | Keep in mind that the word "Aboriginal" includes hundreds of clan groups spread over an area the size of the continental United States. Belief structures and styles of expression both interlock and differ within the general classification of "aboriginal". Symbolic interpretation also varies according to the place a particular icon has been assigned in the regional belief structure and varies again with the relationship the artist has to that same structure. A symbol can mean different things to different clan groups. It can also mean different things to different artists, or be used in varying ways by the game artist even within a single painting. There is a division today between contemporary traditional work and urban Aboriginal work. Contemporary traditional work depicts themes connected to the "Dreamtime" and are frequently called "Dreamings". This has nothing to do with sleep or the western concept for the word "dream". The best description I have found of the Dreamtime is from the exhibit catalogue that accompanied the first traveling exhibit of aboriginal artifacts in the early 1980s, edited and curated by John Carrick. He wrote:
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 WOMEN'S MEDICINE © Willie Gudabi/Moima | | The contemporary traditional artist uses his or her art as a personal manifestation of this sacred present. More than a form of individual expression, the artist has a personal responsibility to keep alive his or her area of ancestral connection to the Dreamtime. The style of contemporary traditional work varies by region, largely depending on the geography of individual areas. Obviously a style with its origin in wood and carving will be different from one that comes from sand and plant fiber. It is important to note that contemporary traditional work is not locked in the past. It is an evolving art form. Urban Aboriginal art is any work created by someone of aboriginal descentin which the subject does not come from Dreamtime imagery, but ratherfrom the life experience or imagination of the artist. It is usually executedwith some components of western art technique. Urban Aboriginal paintersare careful to avoid using images that may have ritual significance. This on-line exhibit contains only contemporary traditional work created during the l980s and early 90s. The pieces, acrylic on either canvas or art board, were painted by rural dwelling Aboriginals without formal art training. o Orientation's Previous Page |
