Lecture 1: Exploring the Beginning of Indigenous Art

After the first lecture on Indigenous Art, Culture and Design (Wednesday 27th July 2011), I found out so much about a subject I actually knew very little about. Although a brief History of Australian Indigenous Art was covered and only several key moments were pointed out, it was still enough to engage me and show me that there was a whole world of culture and art out there in my country that I hadn't even noticed or really appreciated.

Detail of the Bradshaw Paintings, Kimberly Region, Northwestern Australia, period unknown (up to 65,000 years)

One of the points that stood out most for me was about the Bradshaw paintings in the Kimberly region of Northwestern Australia. The fact that this vast collection of rock art could in fact be the oldest representation of figurative paintings, up to 65,000+ years old, really pointed out to me the importance of recognising Indigenous Art as being one of the oldest forms of art on earth. Regardless of the fact that the actual age of this rock art is still undefined, they're sophistication in depicting humans and animals is quite advanced and unbelievable. Not only is this shown through they're technique but the range in the style is quite amazing, showing figures with great variations with different ornamental qualities and clothing like head-dresses. Another interesting point I came across was that the representation of figures as the main subject in Palaeolithic art is quite rare and the focus is normally on the depiction of animals, making. The Bradshaw Paintings relate to the Mowanjum people and are still echoed through their works. This emphasises how ancient and important Indigenous art is on the world art stage.

For me it's interesting to compare this ancient history of Indigenous art with that of Western cultures. So much of my studies so far have been concentrated on Western Art history and movements, and whilst learning about this has been a rich and rewarding experience, I wonder why we didn't start with Australian Indigenous Art that has far deeper artistic connections to us as Australians and in terms of the history of art being created and represented by man on earth. However, what is interesting to me is the contrast between Western art and Australian Indigenous Art. Western art's evolvement from one artistic movement to the next, always adopting a changing style and appearance that often came as a representation and reaction of society, is quite the contrast to that of Indigenous art. Indigenous art, whilst it is even older than Western art, has still maintained many qualities, symbols and techniques representative of that indigenous communities generation and land up until this day. It has a far more literal and direct link with their past and connection to their ancestors and land. The Bradshaw paintings are the extreme and prime example of this.


References:

• P.P. Biro, TW Ebersole, MAJ Felder, IB Jensen, P. Michaelsen, NW Smith and P Von Liptak., "An initial investigation into aspects of preservation potential of the Bradshaw rock-art, system, Kimberly, northwestern Australia", Antiquity, Volume 75 Issue 288 (June 2001): 257
• "The Lost World of the Bradshaws (Guion Guion)", (2008), Convict Creations, http://www.convictcreations.com/aborigines/bradshaws.htm, (accessed 4/8/2011)