Slide 1: Australian Aboriginal Art
Slide 2: Who are the Aborigines?
Aborigine means “native”
Original people of Australia
Traveled in canoes from SE Asia
Lived there at least 40,000 years as the only people
Developed unique beliefs about creation
Survived as hunters and observers
Many died from disease or starved when their land was taken from them by the Europeans in the 1770s
Slide 3: 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
Slide 4: 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
Slide 5: In Aboriginal culture everyone is an artist because everyone participates in activities such as dancing, singing, body decoration, sand drawing and weaving baskets.
Slide 6: 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?
Slide 7: Aboriginal Rock Art
Longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world.
Ubirr, located in North Australia, has very impressive rock paintings.
Slide 8: "One old man in Arnhem Land remembered being carried as a child on his father's shoulders as his father climbed up a log leaning against a rock wall. His father then sprayed his hand with red ochre against the rock, leaving a stencil he could still recognize many years later. The main function of the stencils was to record people's presence and association with a site."
Slide 9: How are these two paintings similar? How are they different?
Slide 10: 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
Slide 11: 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
Slide 12: 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
Slide 13: Kangaroo tracks & tail Goanna (lizard) dragging tail, footprints on side Emu Frogs (black)
Water holes (blue) Footprints Snakes Men Hunting Women’s Ceremony
Slide 14: Objectives:
Learn how dreamtime beliefs and the Australian landscape inspired the creation of Aboriginal artwork.
Create interesting patterns through the use of line, symbols and colour. Paying attention to size and placement.
Create Hand Print that showcase Aborigine Art.
Discuss the purpose of art in Aboriginal culture.