Lin Onus

Australian artist Lin Onus (1948-1996) was the son of a Scottish mother and Aboriginal father. Much of his work focused on the reconciliation of the two cultures he embodied. Clearly he was also a fan of humor. Here, in his painting entitled Michael and I Are Just Slipping Down to the Pub for a Moment, the Dingo, Onus's symbol, rides the back of the Stingray, the symbol of fellow artist and collaborator Michael Eather.

I really love how different this work is to most Indigenous art. The visible texture of lin's work is so crisp and developed beyond other pieces seen, and on further research into this piece I have found that the wave is very inspired by; Hokusai's 18th Century Great Wave Off Kanagawa (below). This shows that diverse artistic styles, like cultures themselves, can combine to make magnificent art. 

Emily Kngwarreye

Emily Kngwarreye - Big Yam Dreaming (1995)


I have a fond interest of this piece by Emily Kngwarreye, At first i saw this on the tutorial brief and thought about what she is trying to say with the composition of patterned lines along with random overlapping lines, it really reminded me of the bush land and its intricate characteristics. However after discussion I understood that it is an expression on a massive scale (12ft long canvas) of a cultural dance/ceremony in which the participants are painted with the same pattern/design as can be seen in Emily's Big Yam Dreaming. When viewing the piece with this knowledge parts of the painting really tend to jump out at you and become more life like in the shapes.

Albert Namatjira

Albert Namatjira is an indigenous artist which really opened my eyes to indigenous art. His paintings have a very western style and his use of his brush differs to most aboriginal art that i see around. While some of the paintings look simple with dots and lines, Albert makes you realise that there is real talent within indigenous art and that it should not be judged merely on visual stimulation but should be looked upon many times with a clear mind to really appreciate the stories and skill that go into these paintings.


Albert Namatjira

Different Regions of Indigenous Art

I found it interesting that there are distinctive differences in the art from region to region throughout indigenous culture. There are distinctive styles of painting and to understand these styles means that it is possible to distinguish what region the art is from. On first guess i believed the painting from the Kimberley region depicted more of a desert feel with the open large shapes spilt by fine white lines almost as if they were foot prints through the desert. 

The Desert Region
Generalised description of the style: acrylic on canvas, wide palette, dots and circles (joined by lines), grout paintings in sand.

The Kimberley Region
Generalised description of the style: predominantly rich, earthy ochre tones, blocks of colour, restricted palette, shapes outlined with white dots.

The Arnhem Land Reigon

Generalised description of the style: crosshatching (rarrk), natural pigments on bark, restricted palette.

·      How is religion represented in art? Compare the way that Aboriginal artists use painting and sculpture to express their religious ideas with the traditions of western European art.

I believe that religion is heavily represented in art through pattern, I feel that pattern plays a big part in art from hindu and muslim cultures while christian art is more expressive. I think that aboriginal artists express their ideas more through their stories and how those stories are depicted in the art.

·      We see strong use of repetition in Aboriginal art with the rark (cross-hatching) of the Arnhem Land artists and the dot paintings of the desert. Is this a unique feature of Australian Indigenous art?  What aesthetic qualities does it bring to the works?

The use of repetition isn't so much a unique feature as it is used in many other art forms, however it is a defining quality of aboriginal art. The repetition brings a balanced aesthetic to the art.

·      Many Aboriginal artists in recent decades living in tradition oriented communities have moved away from the iconographic styles of the ceremonial paintings of their ancestors and have embraced abstraction as a form of expressing their culture and religious beliefs. Does this make their work less authentic than that of the more traditional artists?

I believe that the embrace of abstraction is a new movement within aboriginal indigenous art. like any art form there are advancements and this is a new way of expressing their stories and religion.