australian aboriginal art. what is aboriginal art? last traditional art form to be appreciated to...
DESCRIPTION
Passed down through generations by word of mouth Artworks depict deep meaning told through dreamtime stories Basis of value and belief system, affects their interaction with the land and animals Land is sacred because it contains their heritage, history, and powerful ancestors or spirits Dreamtime StoriesTRANSCRIPT
Australian Aboriginal Art
What is Aboriginal Art?• Last traditional art form to be
appreciated • To understand Aboriginal Art we first
need to learn about Dreamtime• Dreamtime refers to their beliefs of
how the land and its people were created
• Believed supernatural beings with magical powers created the land’s features, animals and plants during dreamtime
• Art is a way to stay in touch with their ancestry and be a part of the natural world
• Passed down through generations by word of mouth
• Artworks depict deep meaning told through dreamtime stories
• Basis of value and belief system, affects their interaction with the land and animals
• Land is sacred because it contains their heritage, history, and powerful ancestors or spirits
Dreamtime Stories
In Aboriginal culture everyone is an artist because everyone participates in activities such as dancing, singing, body decoration, sand drawing and weaving baskets.
• Unique subject matter and style• Known for their rock paintings,
bark paintings, sand (or dot paintings), and body decoration
• Brushes made from bark, plant fibers, twigs, hair or feathers
• Also used fingers or sticks to paint • Used natural ochers (minerals) or
clay to make red, yellow, and white paint
• Black was made from charcoal
How did Aboriginals create art?
Aboriginal Rock Art• Longest
continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world.
• Ubirr, located in North Australia, has very impressive rock paintings.
How are these two paintings similar? How are they different?
Bark Painting • Tradition for thousands of years• Bark is cut into a rectangle, after the
wet season, when it’s soft• Placed on warm coals, pressed flat
with weights and sticks tied to both ends with string
• Painted with natural pigments mixed with a natural fixative: sticky gum from trees
• Style is similar to rock paintings and illustrates stories
• Painted on bark for ceremonies, burials, and everyday objects such as baskets and belts
• Traditional dot paintings were made in sand
• Contemporary dot paintings are on canvas with acrylic paint
• Depict a story using Aboriginal symbols
• When you understand the symbols it gives a whole new meaning to a dot painting
Dot Painting
• Aboriginals used symbols to represent natural surroundings.
• They are shown as tracks left in the ground and look like they are seen from a plane.
• Represent recent tracks left by animals or tracks made in the past by ancestors.
Thunder & Lightening
Kangaroo tracks & tail
Goanna (lizard) dragging tail, footprints on side
Emu
Frogs (black)Water holes (blue)
Footprints
Snakes Men Hunting Women’s Ceremony
• Developed around 2000 B.C.• Found in shallow caves or rock shelters particularly in
Western and Northern Australia• Simple exterior animal shapes that depict internal
organs, bone structure (ribs, back bone), or baby animal inside
• Created by painting the animal’s silhouette in white and using red or yellow for the inside
X-Ray Style Painting
• Contemporary artists continue to paint in X-Ray tradition
Body Decoration• Traditional practice for ceremonies• Includes scarring, smeared clay or
ochres on face, wearing ornaments and headdress
• Deep spiritual significance• Geometric designs• Use respected patterns of an
ancestor to take on their living appearance
• Designs may also reflect their role in the family or important role in their community
Cross Hatching A style that has been used in art making for
many years. The artist shades or fills a part of the
artwork. Hatching is made by close parallel lines by
using drawing materials such as ink, pencil, charcoal etc…