Aboriginal Australian Art

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the range of motifs used in Central Australian rock art depends upon the context of production; however, sacred and secret art is almost exclusively made up of geometric designs and tracks; while art in secular, domestic situations places more emphasis on figurative motifs. The author points out that Aboriginal Australian art, which spans all of pre-recorded history, is an expression of secrecy and the eternal. The paper explains that, as with other Aboriginal artistic systems, there was a range of secret geometric designs, such as the stripes and dots of white clay, red and yellow ochre and black charcoal that were painted on wooden objects, which could only be viewed by initiated men and were hidden away from domestic sites.

From the Paper:

"Many of the bark and cave paintings have no ceremonial or religious function, but are produced for pure pleasure of creative effort, a pleasure which stimulates the true artist in all cultures. There are paintings, both on bark and in caves, which have more important functions. In the initiation rituals, secret designs, painted on sheets of bark, instruct the novitiates in the esoteric myths of the tribe, and, in western Arnhem Land, where some of the cave paintings have magical qualities, the old men can, by chanting the correct incantation at the appropriate season, force the magical power of the painting to increase the supply of food."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gill, Sam D. Storytracking: Texts, Stories & Histories in Central Australia. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
• Morwood, M. J. Visions from the Past : The Archaeology of Australian Aboriginal Art /. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2003.
• Read, Herbert. Australia: Aboriginal Paintings, Arnhem Land. Greenwich, CT: New YorkGraphic Society, 1954.

More papers on Aboriginal Australian Art:

• Term Paper # 92849 : "Australian Art"
• Analytical Essay # 13349 : "Australian Aboriginal Art"
• Analytical Essay # 110112 : "Aboriginality and Representation"

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