http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/ en-us Copyright 2012 Mon, 14 May 2012 13:58:40 +0930 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Gumatj. Now, at 66, Gulumbu has died, feted with a permanent position in the Musee du quai Branly in Paris, with a 'Big Telstra' prize in the NATSI Art Awards, and with an exquisite room gathering her career's artworks together in the current opening show in Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art extensions. Modestly, she painted the Universe – Garak – taking traditional Yolngu stories about the Milky Way and extending them to stars well beyond the reach of even the Aboriginal gaze; “everything beyond scientific exploration; everything that can be imagined” - as Brenda Croft put it in the catalogue to the First Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery in 2007. Her barks and larrikitj expressed this poetic Big Bang in a series of infinitesimal lines and dots developed by her from Arnhemland's traditional rarrking – an infinite variety of patterns that she made all her own. “I have this knowledge my father told me”, Gulumbu explained. And her father was none other than Mungurrawuy Yunupingu – clan leader and artist. He told her two stories. One about two sisters and their fires – seen in the sky competitively separated in summer but bonded closer together in winter; the other about the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades – meaning sailors in Greek) – stars that rise together and reassured both civilisations that navigation (and hunting) at sea was at its safest. These stories came back to Gulumbu one night “when we were sleeping outside, my sisters and me, and we were looking up in the beautiful sky...it was bright and blue with light stars everywhere. When I woke up, I had this vision and was told, 'Do this'. Then I got these rocks and paints and brushes and hairbrush and then I did this first one....little piece of bark...and then I tried these stars”. And these stars made her a star! From 70 tiny barks in the Basic Needs pavilion at the Hannover World Expo in 2000, she built to her first solo show at Alcaston Gallery in 2004, a couple of appearances at the Melbourne Art Fair, selection in the Kerry Stokes Larrikitj Collection and public art commissions in Paris and Canberra. The launch of that 7 by 3metre work on wood, Garrurru (Sail) in the Hedley Bull Centre for World Politics at the ANU was Gulumbu's last public appearance – a risk she was determined to take despite ill-health. But then she was Mungurrawuy's daughter. In many ways the elder trio of his offspring reflected the breadth of his huge character – Galarrwuy the politician, Mandawuy the teacher and promoter of Yolngu culture through music, and Gulumbu the healer and universaliser. Of course there are also sisters Nypanyapa and Barrupu – no mean artists in their own rights. And Gulumbu had great faith in her fellow artists. After the MCA re-opening, she offered this tearfully stated credo: "The truth lies in what every artist has to say; there is healing for people when they see beauty". But Gulumbu was equally able to draw tears from her audience – achieving this repeatedly when she took on much of the public speaking for the eight Aboriginal artists involved in the Quai Branly commission: "This is from my heart to you, to share", she told her listeners; "for the whole world to understand my culture". For her stars are a reminder that people should work towards harmony: "We can all look at the stars, whichever sky we're looking at," she said. ]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/gulumbu-yunupingu-1945-2012.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/gulumbu-yunupingu-1945-2012.php Blog Industry News Aboriginal art Buku Larrnggay Gulumbu Yunupingu Musee du quai Branly Yolngu culture Mon, 14 May 2012 13:58:40 +0930 Warringarri - The Meeting Place which sold for $108,000 against an estimate of $100,000 – 150,000. Another similar Thomas painting sold for $30,000 which was followed two lots later by the sale of yet another minimalist natural pigment painting by Paddy Bedford which fetched $48,000. One of the surprise successes of the Deutscher Hackett sale was beautiful work by the late contemporary artist Shane Pickett (1957 – 2010) whose more contemporary utilisation of traditional colours and motifs fetched $28,800 against an estimate of $8,000 – 12,000. In a positive sign for the market, the work of Gunybi Ganambarr, a young Aboriginal artist who experiments with the use of traditional motifs and colours in a more contemporary context, has found favour with collectors. A progression of the work of artists such as Yirawala, John Mawurndjul and Samuel Namunjdja, Gunybi Ganambarr’s paintings combine ancient traditions with contemporary materials such as rubber, metal and pvc to startling effect. A major exhibition of Ganambarr’s work has just begun at in Sydney. According to the exhibition catalogue: “Gunybi is not an artist who stands still or becomes formulaic. He is always thinking outside the square. He is confident in himself and in his art and is fearless in realising new materials and hitherto almost unknown forms of expression. He is a respected Aboriginal lawman and knows how to respect the timeless dreamtime stories on which his work is based but as far as materials and expression goes – he has thrown out the rulebook.” One can only hope that more artists follow in the footsteps of artists such as Shane Pickett and Gunybi Ganambarr. Although Ganambarr has yet to establish a secondary market presence, the interest being shown in his work is sure to lead to future auction sales. To view the full Deutscher and Hackett April 4 Important Aboriginal and Oceanic Art Auction visit: http://www.deutscherandhackett.com/auctions/catalogues/123456877]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/aboriginal-art-auction-signals-a-shift-towards-a-minimalist-aesthetic-1.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/aboriginal-art-auction-signals-a-shift-towards-a-minimalist-aesthetic-1.php Auction News deutscher and hackett deutscher hackett Gulumbu Yunupingu Gunybi Ganambarr Ivan Namirrkki John Mawurndjul Owen Yalandja Paddy Bedford Rover Thomas Samuel Namunjdja Shane Pickett Yirawala Thu, 10 May 2012 16:33:12 +0930 Sydney Morning Herald art critic – can claim in an Annandale Galleries catalogue essay that “It would be laughable to classify Gunybi as simply an Aboriginal artist. He is one of those rare figures whose work speaks to all times and all places”. The Op Art of Bridget Riley certainly springs to mind; the art revolutions of Carl Andre and Andy Warhol are mentioned by McDonald (and dismissed as “ridiculously trivial” by comparison); and Gallery Director Bill Gregory has even found links to Matisse's employment of the square and circle in combination. These are all meaningless comparisons to the artist himself. For Gunybi, the complexity of the story and his personal links to it are all-important. “I look forward to experimenting on both sides”, he told me today; “The Yolngu stories and the Balanda (White) materials – like that black mine conveyor belt. The Balanda brought that machinery in, but they're gone now. We can reuse it – especially as the trees that give us bark in the right season are dying too fast. The Yolngu have always managed the land”. And how political is the use of mining detritus in a community where opposition to the mines at Gove has been unrelenting. The catalogue points to the essential Yolngu precept that “if you paint the land you must use the land”. This means that none of their prints – reproduced mechanically – can incorporate their precious clan designs – miny'tji. And this makes some people concerned that Gunybi is breaking the strict hieratic rules by using unnatural materials for his sacred stories. But it seems that if a material has been found on the land rather than in a shop, then Gunybi conforms. And his 12 years experience of house-building at the remote Gangan outstation where he was taken in by the quasi-Bodhisattva elder, Gawirrin Gumana when his father died, now stands him in very good stead when it comes to incising bark or PVC to add a 3D feel, gluing felt inside a pipe to delineate negative space, or welding an old tank stand to legs to make for a substantial piece of outdoor art, incised with thrilling brolgas over his clan patterns. Not that his first use of sand stuck to his barks to add dimension and texture was wholly successful. He brought a fine Baraltja (Lightning Snake) into the Buku Larrnggay art centre and proudly showed off his innovation. Coordinator Will Stubbs questioned how well it would stick. “It's set already”, insisted the artist, pushing his thumb into the new surface. It went right in. “It will set”, was the confident riposte – and it has.....leaving what will undoubtedly be interpreted by art historians as a navel in the snake's belly. Also at the Blue Mud Bay community is Djambawa Marawilli – an innovative artist himself, and clearly the father of Gunybi's diamond rarrking as well as being the master of a conceptual level of thinking that could entertain the Western notion of Metamorphosis in his extraordinary series of barks showing the totemic crocodile morphing abstraction. While the Annandale show of Gunybi Ganambarr's work opens tonight and continues until 9 June, the NGA Triennial opens tomorrow and runs until 22 July. ]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/gunybi-speaks-to-all-times-and-all-places.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/gunybi-speaks-to-all-times-and-all-places.php Australia Blog Exhibition Feature Industry News Aboriginal art Annadale Galleries Gunybi Ganambarr Indigenous Art Triennial John McDonald National Gallery Wed, 09 May 2012 17:10:14 +0930 Where the art leads: new explorations by Queensland Indigenous artists - who include: Vernon Ah Kee, Richard Bell, Michael Cook, Joanne Currie, Nephi Denham, Sally Gabori, Gordon Hookey, Craig Koomeeta, Glen Mackie, Justin Majid, Shirley Macnamara, Arone Meeks, Billy Missi, Abe Muriata, Rosella Namok, Laurie Nilsen, Leigh Namponan, Sharon Phineasa, Zane Saunders, Ken Thaiday Snr, Ian Waldron and Judy Watson. It's a roster of pretty familiar names – with the exciting addition of the less-well-known Justin Majid and Sharon Phineasa. Then there's the lively symposium – where Melbourne's Destiny Deacon will deliver the keynote speech from her Cape York and Islander ancestry, and Michael Reid – the Sydney galleryist and market analyst will bring a harder head. Mt Isa weaver and sculptural basket-maker, Shirley Macnamara and other art stars will also participate. Four important survey shows will accompany the main event. The break-out curator and TSI artist, Brian Robinson will mix old and older worlds, blending Island legends with Greek myths in his men+GODS show of master-printmaking. The Rainforest – home to a mighty shield-making tradition – will be viewed through the eyes of Michael Anning and Napoleon Oui. Cairns-man Arone Meeks has been up the Cape to work with community artists in Yarrabah, Bamaga and New Mapoon, which should prove interesting. And the inveterate Dennis Nona is moving away from mind-bogglingly complex legend-telling in his prints to attempt to capture ephemeral and abstract visions of animals moving through their natural environment. That's the known knowns. Then one wonders what innovation will come out of the blue. Last year it was the famous designer Linda Jackson working with Mossman women; previously, the Girringung Aboriginal Art Centre produced wacky ceramic funerary-figures out of nowhere – and now they're the key image for CIAF 2012. ]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/art-fairs-are-go.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/art-fairs-are-go.php Australia Blog Event Exhibition Feature Industry News Avril Quaill Cairns Indigenous Art Fair Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Franchesca Cubillo Torres Strait Islander art Wed, 02 May 2012 13:41:28 +0930 THE Australian film based on the true story of an indigenous girl band singing Motown classics, The Sapphires, has been selected as part of the official selection at the upcoming 2012 Cannes Film Festival. It is the only Australian feature film selected for this year’s festival and will receive a special gala screening out of competition at The Palais during the May event. The precedents are good: both Strictly Ballroom and The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert premiered in out of competition gala screenings at Cannes in 1992 and 1994 respectively. The film stars Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy and newcomers Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell as four singers discovered on a remote Aboriginal mission who turned into Australia’s answer to The Supremes and visited Vietnam to entertain the troops. Bridesmaids' Chris O’Dowd also stars as the agent who finds the singers. Rec Coverage 28 Day pass It is the feature directorial debut of Wayne Blair and is adapted from the original play by Tony Briggs and Keith Thompson. The play debuted at the Melbourne Theatre Company in 2004 before playing Sydney's Company B in 2005. It won the 2005 Helpmann Awards for best play and best new Australian work. "It’s a beautiful position to be in," Blair said in a statement. "Getting into Cannes is a great reward for our team’s hard toil." The Sapphires is produced by Goalpost Pictures’ Rosemary Blight and Kylie du Fresne. "The Sapphires is the kind of film that comes along once in a lifetime," they said. "From the moment we first heard of these amazing young Aboriginal women, we knew the story of how they discovered soul music and dared to live their dream had all the ingredients to captivate and enchant cinema audiences. "We are absolutely thrilled to be screening The Sapphires in Cannes and taking this film to the world. It is a wonderful acknowledgement of the extraordinary work of the cast and crew led so magnificently by director Wayne Blair.” Hopscotch Films/Entertainment One will release The Sapphires in August 2012. It is produced in association with Screen Australia and Screen NSW with the support of E-Film Australia, IFS Capital and EFIC. http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/australian-film-the-sapphires-screening-at-cannes.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/05/australian-film-the-sapphires-screening-at-cannes.php Blog 2012 Cannes Film Festival Deborah Mailman E-Film Australia EFIC IFS Capital Jessica Mauboy Miranda Tapsell Screen Australia Screen NSW Shari Sebbens The Sapphires Tue, 01 May 2012 21:32:45 +0930 Buckley’s Escape, a quasi-comic strip picture of the convict, William Buckley, who tired of convict life before he'd even arrived in Melbourne in the early 1800s and escaped to spend 32 years of his life in the bush with the Wathurung clan The story of Buckley, known as the ‘Wild White Man’, achieved mythical status in the new colony of Victoria and was discussed in books, pamphlets and newspaper reports throughout the century. Having been transported to the colonies for life, Buckley absconded from the sailing vessel Calcutta when it anchored at Port Philip. An account of his first meeting with local people describes how Buckley, after struggling for a time in the bush without food or water, came across a native grave. Commandeering a spear that was protruding from the grave site to use as a walking stick, Buckley soon encountered local people, who believed him to be the re-incarnation of the owner of the spear and readily accepted him into their community. Buckley subsequently learnt the language and customs, actively participating in Aboriginal life for three decades before giving himself up to a party of European surveyors in 1835. Buckley’s Escape is the first work detailing the William Buckley story to appear at auction, though the subject matter is one McRae addressed in many other works. This particular example is significant because it depicts multiple episodes from the Buckley story. Adding further value is the excellent provenance which begins with the purchase of the work directly from the artist in the 1890’s by Mr. John Guthrie-Gray, a Scottish émigré and landholder in the Corowa district, and continues through the family by descent to the current owner – the buyer's great grandson. Born in 1835, Tommy McRae spent most of his life on the middle reaches of the Murray River along the New South Wales and Victorian border. Along with William Barak, he was one of the best known Aboriginal artists working at that time. Also known as Yakaduna, his preferred medium was drawing, usually pen and ink on paper, primarily in sketchbooks, sometimes on loose sheets, observing aspects of traditional Aboriginal life and early colonial settlement. The drawings produced by McRae were made at a time when life around him was changing dramatically. His later years were spent in the Corowa/Wahgunya area on the Aboriginal reserve established at Lake Moodemere, where McRae set up a family camp. It was there that the majority of his drawings were produced. The earliest documented collection of his drawings date from the early 1860s, at which time the artist was described as working as a stockman for pastoralists in the upper Murray region and his sketchbooks include drawings of pastoralists and their homesteads. McRae possessed an extensive knowledge of the traditional lifestyle of his people as evidenced in his drawings of hunting, fishing, warfare and ceremonial dances. His drawings are described by NMA Director, Andrew Sayers in his Aboriginal Artists of the Nineteenth Century as ‘distinctive in the use of the silhouette. It is an art of extreme economy but for all its reductiveness... is highly expressive’. As Carol Cooper concludes in her monograph, Aboriginal History, Tommy McRae was ‘a gifted man with extraordinary talent who, in spite of a lifetime of great hardship which saw the destruction of his people and the separation of his family, maintained a sense of dignity and ironic humour which won the admiration of all who knew him, Aborigines and Europeans alike’. ]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/the-convict-portrayed-by-an-aborigine.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/the-convict-portrayed-by-an-aborigine.php Auction Australia Blog Exhibition News Deutscher + Hackett National Museum of Australia Tommy McRae William Buckley Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:37:14 +0930 Red' about Mark Rothko's extraordinary series of red paintings for a hotel in new York is getting productions in Melbourne (now) and Sydney (in September). And the man who epitomises the use of red in his Western desert paintings – Yannima Tommy Watson – is to have the latest in the Art Series of hotels dedicated to him, opening in Adelaide late next year. As Watson's translator, dealer and honorary son, John Ioannou explains it, “From the head-band Tommy wears through the creation of all his paintings red is a recognition of the blood spilt and ceremonies he's undertaken, and the authority that comes from them”. And then in the book that Marie Geissler and Ken McGregor compiled on the artist's life work, Geissler writes: “I'd say he's been going places no other indigenous artist has gone, and one can genuinely make comparisons with the profound inner sense of self that emerged in Abstract Expressionist work by Gorki and Rothko – influenced as it was by tribal art and primitive art from Eastern Europe”. It was McGregor, though who lead Watson to the Art Series Hotels – owned and run by Melbourne's Deague family. As Art Series chief executive Will Deague explained: "We always wanted to include an indigenous artist in the Art Series Hotel Group and are delighted to have such a pre-eminent indigenous artist in our fold to celebrate and educate our guests about this important aspect of artistic expression in Australia". The Series currently exists only in Melbourne – with the Blackman, the Olsen and the Cullen. The theory is that the hotels embody each artist's individual style and characteristics – which must make the (Adam) Cullen very edgy. Fine canvases by the eponymous artist are placed in the foyer, the boardroom and the penthouse suites; the other 50 five-star hotel rooms on the banks of the Torrens in Walkerville, Adelaide, will all have prints of Watson's work, The hotel will then offer for sale both prints and items like I-pad covers using Watson's imagery; and Ioannou calculates that this could benefit the artist's Trust fund by up to half a million dollars. The educational aspects of the hotel are covered by an in-house curator, an art channel on bedroom TVs, and an art library in every suite. In preparation for this, a documentary is currently being shot about Watson's life – from his birth around 1935 and nomadic childhood in the Pitjanjatjara lands to the mission at Ernabella, droving on Mt Ebenezer Station, building the fence on the walkway up Uluru and even time at Papunya where the Aboriginal desert painting movement started – though not for the Pitjanjatjara people, who believed until the start of the 21st Century that it was too early to share their cultural secrets. So Tommy only started painting at Irrunytju in 2001, but was the Western desert artist chosen to represent that school in the new Musee du Quai Branly in Paris. Watson and Ioannou also pioneered a successful legal action against a gallery in Alice Springs that exploited the artist's talents when he chose to leave his remote Irrunytju community. ]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/tommy-watsons-red-hotel.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/tommy-watsons-red-hotel.php Blog Feature Industry News Aboriginal art Art Series Hotels John Ioannou Red Tommy Watson Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:50:28 +0930 Books and Arts program raised some curly issues on Friday regarding the export of Aboriginal art by international collectors. Taking part was the feisty John Wilkerson, a belated entry into the American pantheon of collectors - Ruhe and Kluge, Kalton and Kaplan. In 2009, the Wilkersons – John and Barbara – toured their collection around American university galleries under the title Icons of the Desert, and stumbled into the minefield of interpreting the early Papunya boards that form the core of their collection with a catalogue that offered two and occasionally three meanings – all derived from non-Indigenous transcriptions of the artists' own early explanations. One of those works on tour was Tommy Lowry Tjapaltjarri's 1984 masterwork, Two Men Dreaming at Kuluntjarranya. 120 by 180 centimetres large, it had been bought for $440,000 by the Wilkersons at Sotheby's July 2007 sale – the pre-GFC event when the still-record price of $2.4m was paid for Clifford Possum's Warlugulong by the National Gallery. But the Lowry is only seen in America under licence – which runs out at the end of this year. For the National Cultural Heritage Committee has declared it too important a work to leave Australia permanently. Since Two Men Draming.... was selected for two of the defining shows of Aboriginal art – Dreamings in New York in 1988 and the AGNSW's Genesis and Genius in 2000, one might argue that its importance is self-evident. But Wilkerson pointed out on the radio that not a single art institution in Australia bid against him for the work in 2007, so how could its importance today be justified? In fact, he went on to say that the whole process of the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act of 1986 was so cumbersome and opaque that it was “strangling the international market for Aboriginal art; who would even start a collection under these regulations”, he demanded? In response, the Chair of the NCH Committee, Dr Patrick Green from the Melbourne Museum was quoted as saying that 87% of applications for the export of Aboriginal art were accepted. But his colleague, Philip Batty – on the program – was prepared to admit that since the process of decision-taking only started after an artwork had been bought by an overseas collector and the advice to the Committee came fairly slowly from anonymous, busy volunteer experts such as himself, there was room for improvement. Wilkerson went on to complain that no one on the NCH Committee itself had any commercial experience in the Indigenous artworld. An examination of the current committee membership reveals that only one has even got any aesthetic experience of this world on a body heavy with museum ethnographers – and that's the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair's Avril Quail. The category called “Four persons with relevant experience” seems to cry out for a senior dealer or curator to add their voice to discussions. John Wilkerson also raised valid questions about what happens to his Tommy Lowry when it's returned to Australia; and about the discrimination built into the Act whereby non-Indigenous works for export are assessed at 30 or more years old and $250,000 in value while Indigenous works have only to be 10 years old and worth $10,000? No wonder 87% of applications are approved. It seems most unlikely that any gallery apart from the National would consider matching the Wilkerson price for his Lowry – as happens regularly with such works banned for export in the UK or France. But the NCH Committee only has half a million dollars in toto in its comparable fund here. It will be interesting to see what happens at the end of this year. Meanwhile, the whole discussion is available at: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/booksandartsdaily/indigenous-art-laws/3962260]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/call-for-art-export-law-reform.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/call-for-art-export-law-reform.php Blog Feature Industry News ABC RN Aboriginal art John Wilkerson National Cultural Heritage Committee Philip Batty Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:52:26 +0930 Icons of the Desert exhibition in America in 2009; Bindi Cole – award-winning Indigenous photographer from Victoria; Gordon Pupangimirri – Sculptor and Executive Member of the Tiwi Design Aboriginal Corporation; and Dr. Christiane Keller from MAGNT. The results of their deliberations will be announced on May 1st – all being well. Online, MAGNT distresses by announcing that is has “No upcoming events”! But, also in the ether, it has uploaded the extraordinary art that's accumulated during its 28 years of Award-giving activity; and that can be found at http://natsiaadigitisation.nt.gov.au/docs/index.php ]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/natsiaas-in-crisis.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/natsiaas-in-crisis.php Australia Blog Exhibition Feature Industry News Other Event Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Christiane Keller MAGNT Natalie Merida NATSIAA Pierre Arpin The Telstras Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:49:22 +0930

Enhance the lives of Indigenous people & members of the stolen generation

Further develop best practice service delivery models

Brisbane based, state-wide responsibilities

Link-Up Queensland delivers confidential and culturally sensitive research, reunion and counselling services to adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have been separated from their families and communities through adoption, fostering, removal or institutionalisation. As a result of increased client demand for its services Link-Up is currently experiencing significant growth in reunions, healing initiatives and educational programs. In this hands-on yet strategic role you will build on the recent successes by Link-Up to assist Indigenous people to achieve reunification. Reporting to an engaged board and with the support of an excellent team you will continue the implementation of the existing organisational strategy whilst planning for the next five years. You will further deepen the partnership with government bodies, Indigenous communities and other service providers to achieve organisational goals. Your outstanding leadership skills combined with a strong sense of social justice will provide you with an excellent platform from which to lead. Your ability to develop and maintain a network of diverse stakeholders to enhance service delivery and client referral pathways is essential. You also have a track record in managing finances and ideally have formal qualifications in social sciences, humanities or finance and business. Link-Up Queensland is an equal opportunity employer and non-Indigenous people are encouraged to apply. Please contact Richard Green or Louise Furlong on 07 5530 8066 or send a detailed covering letter and resume to cv@ngorecruitment.com quoting #31118.]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/applications-ceo-linkedup-qld-sought.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/applications-ceo-linkedup-qld-sought.php Blog CEO Job LinkedUp Queensland Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:17:23 +0930 IMAGINE being invited to have your artwork displayed at an exhibition at the Sydney Opera House. For accomplished Blayney artist Nyree Reynolds there's nothing imaginary about it - she has just exhibited five of her paintings at the national icon. Nyree travelled to Sydney last Friday to display her range of stolen generation themed artworks at the launch of Aboriginal artist Evette Morgan's Jabidi exhibition. "Evette approached me to show my paintings and I jumped at the chance because I wanted to try her new silk canvass," Nyree said. "It was incredible to have my paintings displayed in front of that beautiful harbour backdrop." Nyree said her exhibited artworks depict stolen generation children longing for home, and are loosely based on the music of Indigenous artist Archie Roach. The Sydney Opera House opportunity has capped off an exciting few months for the local artist, who has also been chosen to be apart of the Bathurst Art and Culture Trail projects. "The art trail involves a group of artists from around the Bathurst region getting together to open their studios to the public on the first weekend of every month. "I'm opening my studio in May and I hope it will help promote tourism and put Blayney on the arts map," she said. This month Nyree will also be the feature artist in the Aboriginal Legal Service's magazine, which will feature eight of her paintings, including one that will be printed on the cover. Nyree said she hopes to use her experiences to help promote the Blayney Shire as an art and culture friendly community. "One of the things I would like to do in the future is work with the council to paint welcome signs for the outskirts of town so we can welcome people to Wiradjuri country." http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/nyree-reynolds-exhibits-at-the-sydney-opera-house.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/nyree-reynolds-exhibits-at-the-sydney-opera-house.php Blog Nyree Reynolds Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:30:17 +0930 The National Gallery may still be basking in the success of its grand new entrance and Aboriginal art wing, but now it's possible to explore parts of the collection without leaving the house. The gallery has become one of the first in the southern hemisphere to join the Google Art Project, an initiative that gives art enthusiasts the chance to see works of art online via super high-resolution - or gigapixel - images from galleries, museums and collecting institutions all over the world. The images are of such high quality that viewers can see detail that isn't obvious to the naked eye. Conceived by a small group of Google employees who were using their ''20 per cent'' time - the creative space given to staff to develop their own ideas - the project began by exploring how technology could be used to make art more accessible. London's Tate Modern was the first gallery to provide free access to its collection via the project last year, and there are now 151 cultural institutions in 40 countries taking part, including six in Australia. The National Gallery in Canberra has led the project with Google in Australia, allowing Google technicians to film the collection for free and create an online experience. Gallery director Ron Radford - who admitted yesterday that the word ''gigapixel'' made him shiver with excitement - remembers a time, not that long ago, when curators complained that the onset of digital technology would discourage people from visiting art galleries. But while Google has made it its mission to make the world as accessible as possible without having to leave the house, the quality of images online has had the reverse effect, encouraging more people to make the pilgrimage to see works in person. ''The more people see, the more they'll want to see the original, and the more they'll see online, the more they'll want to come back,'' he said. ''It works both ways.'' The key featured ''gigapixel'' image from the gallery is Clifford Possum's 1977 work Warlugulong. The managing director of Google Australia and New Zealand, Nick Leeder, said Google was driven by the belief that everyone should have the chance to view works in places such as the Musee D'Orsay in Paris without having to spend $2000 on a plane ticket. But while the Art Project will give anyone with an internet connection the chance to see high-quality images of artworks from home, nothing would ever compare to the real thing. ''The thing we're finding actually, which is really interesting, is that while people get more digital, and this is a great way to get immersed and engaged in the art, all the evidence to date suggests that it actually drives up visitation,'' Mr Leeder said. The Google boss said the innovative project was also launched in Paris this week as part of its major global expansion. http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/national-gallery-joins-google-art-project.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/national-gallery-joins-google-art-project.php Blog Google Art Project Australia National Gallery Canberra Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:21:04 +0930 The Melbourne-based Art Series Hotel group has announced that its first hotel in Adelaide will be named after Tommy Watson, one of Australia's most distinguished Aboriginal artists. The Adelaide hotel that's due to open next September will be the fourth in the boutique hotel group's properties that each are named after and feature the works of prominent Australian artists. It already includes The Cullen in Prahran, The Olsen in South Yarra and The Blackman in St Kilda Road. The Watson, which will be situated in the suburb of Walkerville on the River Torrens, will feature 270 apartments, and 50 to 60 5-star hotel rooms. The hotel will showcase works from Tommy Watson in its rooms and public areas. Guests will also be given an art-inspired experience: an in-house art curator, an art channel on the television and an art library in every suite. http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/5star-hotel-in-adelaide-to-be-named-after-tommy-watson.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/5star-hotel-in-adelaide-to-be-named-after-tommy-watson.php Blog Art Series Hotel group Tommy Watson Tommy Watson Hotel Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:06:21 +0930 Austronesian International Arts Award 2012. According to their site, the word “Austronesian” comes from the anthropological term “Austronesian language family” and refers to ethnic groups that live on islands in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. They describe this Award as celebrating the richness of art, and are setting no specific theme. All awarded artworks will be exhibited in September at Taitung Art Museum and arrangements will be made for widespread exposure through a "Road Exhibition". Deadline for the First Stage submission: July 2-16, 2012. Prizes include: 1. Austronesian Arts Award—Quota:1 ; Reward:NT$400,000 (approx $AUD13,000), one certificate and 15 collection albums. 2. Silver Award—Quota:2 ; Reward:NT$150,000 (approx $AUD5,000) prize money, one certificate and 10 collection albums. 3. Bronze Award-- Quota:3 ; Reward:NT$60,000 (approx $2,000) prize money, one certificate and 5 collection albums. 4. Excellence Award-- Quota :12；Reward:NT$10,000 (approx $300) prize money, one certificate and 3 collection albums. 5. Merit Award-- Quota:20-30 ; Reward:One certificate and 2 collection albums. 6. Special Award-- Quota:1 ; Reward:NT$100,000 (approx $3,000) prize money, one certificate and 10 collection albums. The guidelines can be downloaded at the website of Taitung County Government Bureau of Cultural Affairs (http://www.ccl.ttct.edu.tw/FileDownload/FileDownloadPage.aspx?UID=5&ClsID=55&ClsTwoID=0&ClsThreeID=0). For further information, please contact Ms. Chen, Visual Arts Division, Taitung County Government Bureau of Cultural Affairs: E-mail: v5018@mail.ccl.ttct.edu.tw Fax: +886-89-336150 Address: No. 350, Zhejiang Rd., Taitung City, Taitung County 950, Taiwan]]> http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/call-for-art-entries-in-taiwanese-art-award.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/call-for-art-entries-in-taiwanese-art-award.php Blog art award Astronesian awards call for entries Taiwan art award Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:25:08 +0930 Australia's greatest ancient Aboriginal rock art detailing kangaroos, turtles and humans on boulders in the remote Pilbara area will be studied under a US$1.1 million deal announced Monday. Tens of thousands of the indigenous works, which are scattered over the mineral-laden region, will be researched and catalogued under a six-year agreement between the University of Western Australia and miner Rio Tinto. Although one of the world's richest collections of Aboriginal art, the carvings which lie on the National Heritage-listed Dampier Archipelago, about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) north of Perth, have never been fully documented. "It's surprising that we don't know what is there but that is very much the case for everywhere in Australia, everywhere that we have rock art," said Australian rock art expert Jo McDonald. "The Sydney region is a very good example of that. We've probably only documented about 25 percent of the engravings in Sydney 200-plus years later. "It's a very time consuming process and there's a lot of it." The rock art in Western Australia's Pilbara is thousands of years old and includes images of thylacines, the "Tasmanian tigers" which became extinct on the Australian mainland an estimated 3,500 years ago. Among the most significant panels are those showing human faces and activities and what some experts believe are mythical figures. Also amidst the boulders on the Burrup peninsula of the Pilbara, one of the country's major industrial hubs for resources, are archaic faces which McDonald said could be among some of the earliest documented images of humans. "The Burrup includes some of what we think is the earliest art in Australia," said McDonald, who will become the first Rio Tinto Chair of Rock Art Studies at the University of Western Australia. "It also records the changing climate." "The sea level rose to where it is now about 7,000 years ago and a lot of the art there has been produced after that time, so we've pictures of turtles and fish and sharks and other marine animals that obviously record that phase," McDonald said. The government placed the Burrup rock art on the National Heritage List in mid-2007 but campaigners fear that threats to it have intensified in recent years as mining and energy companies drain the region of iron ore, natural gas and other resources to feed the huge demand from Asia. http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/australias-ancient-aboriginal-rock-art-to-be-catalogued.php http://www.aboriginalartnews.com.au/2012/04/australias-ancient-aboriginal-rock-art-to-be-catalogued.php Blog Sydney rock art Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:22:47 +0930