Final Summary

This course has encouraged me to follow my own path of discovery and along the way I have discovered so much that I never knew before and developed my appreciation for Indigenous Art and Culture significantly. I now have a passion to support the strive for equality and fairness within the Indigenous Art Industry, as proud Australians I feel we are above what is currently taking place and we should do something about it.
I have found it really insightful to hear from actual members of the Indigenous community and Indigenous artists who are currently working, it makes a significant difference to simply reading about it in books and hearing it from the mouths of Anthropologists who don't really understand the inner workings of a different culture and can't explain it on a personal level.

Molly Pwerle

Molly Pwerle’s country is Atnwengerrp and her language is Anmatyerre and Alyawarr.  She was born in approximately 1919 (no records exist) and has had little exposure to western culture. In fact, Molly picked up a paintbrush for the first time in 2004. 

 Left: 'Bush Melon',  2006

I came across Molly Pwerle's work whilst browsing through some Indigenous Art websites and was immediately entranced by her expressive use of colour and line work. The texture she is able to achieve through her style is something i've only ever seen achieved within the Indigenous Australian style. It amazes me how such simple mark making can have such an overall beautiful effect and tell such colourful stories.

http://www.dacou.com.au/aboriginal-artists/molly-pwerle/cat_36277.html

Aboriginal Works and Artful Dodgers

Whilst researching for my essay I happened to come across this article;

'Aboriginal Works and Artful Dodgers'
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/19/1063625217241.html

The article explains how the exploitation of Indigenous artists in Australia has headlined world news. Art dealers preying on Indigenous people who sometimes only have their artwork to rely on for income beside government payments; purchasing artworks for less than one-tenth of their actual market value... the list goes on.

I found this article to be incredibly shocking! I always knew that there was an issue of exploitation within the Indigenous art industry, however, I didn't realise that it was quite as extreme as this. It saddens me that art dealers are strategically preying on these artists because they know that they need money to live and are quite happy to part with their masterpieces for a small fee if it means that they can provide food and health services for their families. When you look at the profit these pieces make on the international market, it would still remain quite feasible to even pay the artist half of the earnings. And in a market that is continually on the rise, there is safety in knowing that a profit will be generated on every piece of artwork that is auctioned off. What makes me really disappointed is knowing that if these works had been done by a non-Indigenous artist in Australia, they would receive more than adequate payment for their work, as well as benefit from extensive marketing which would land them with more work. Unfortunately, the artists who do produce these works aren't publicised very highly at all, more often than not, their name is simply written in small script next to the description and that is about it.
In my opinion, the laws need to be re-written so that this type of thing stops happening. We hear so much about cross-cultural equality in Australia and how we should make a ban on racism and treat all Australian citizens fairly, however, if acts like this continue to happen, we are really no closer to reaching this equality than we were 50 years ago. Whilst there are artists out there such as Richard Bell and Ryan Presley who are trying to get this message across through their artwork, it isn't enough to get people's attention, and quite frankly, for most non-Indigenous Australians, because they don't know about these happenings, they don't seem to care about it. There needs to be a national campaign enforced to make people care about this issue, then we can have hope that a solution will be found.

Richard Bell

Richard Bell was born in Charleville in 1953, into the Kamilaroi tribe. Richard was a leader in the first group of urban Indigenous artists whose work provided a means of expression during the lead up to the 1988 bi-centenary of white Australian settlement. During this time, Richard focused on 'challenging non-Indigenous artists who appropriated Indigenous imagery in their work' & the perceived notions of traditional and modern Indigenous art. As well, his work addresses contemporary issues such as religion, art & politics.

Richard's works are described as 'totemic animal, dot application, cross hatching and traditional hand stencils' examining 'the historical treatment of Aboriginal people after European settlement'. These are seen as Richard's response to issues of oppression, frustration and discrimination. 

Richard Believes that " … it is my job as an artist to test people's resolve, to provoke thought and that's what I do, I provoke thought and discussion."

I took interest in Richard Bell based on his morals and reasons for why he produces his art. His beliefs relate strongly to the topic that I wish to cover in my major essay. He once said; "White culture took away my tribal language and in return gave me a language that, on the social level, doesn't work." This relates to the information I researched on the way that Western civilisation has claimed ownership of Indigenous culture and history - Bell speaks from a first hand experience about how he has noticed the way non-Indigenous people have taken over his culture and forced them to conform, and for a lot of Indigenous people it is hurtful and provokes anger towards the white settlers.

                 Top: Bell's Theorem   2002                                        Above: Life on a mission   2009

Above: One Day You'll All Be Gone (Bell's Theorem) 2011

Bell uses his words incredibly well, although they may be quite confronting and would make many people feel uncomfortable, that is what makes them so successful. They cause a stir, and when something causes a stir, people tend to take notice and something can actually be done. His pieces target so many issues that Indigenous people face within society and they are so well known that people don't need many words to understand what Bell's pieces are implying. He targets the exploitation of Indigenous art in Australia, the stereotypes that have been forced upon Indigenous people without motif, and the way that western civilisation have taken over a land that they inhabited after another culture (as a few examples). The contrast in his work from the patchwork colours to the stark whites clearly represents the cultural divide between the Indigenous people and the non-Indigenous people of Australia. In some pieces is can be quite confronting as it seems to label us under one blanket colour - however, that is what non-Indigenous people tend to do to the Aborigine people - many class them as one body of people and don't acknowledge that they have their own colonies (like we have countries) and that each clan is vastly different. I greatly admire Richard Bell's ability to express his mind so openly through his artwork and I feel that we need more artists like him that actually try to make a difference in a bold, overpowering way that has been proven to work a lot more effectively than most campaigns that try and encourage positive behaviour etc. 

www.kooriweb.org/bell/

www.milanigallery.com.au/artist/richard-bell

Essay Idea

Whilst reading the article 'Who owns the past? Aborigines as captives of the archives', by Henrietta Fourmile, (1989), I came across a quote that sparked both interest and questions inside that I may use as a topic for my final essay.

"The past is the possession of those in power; the past belongs to the victor."

In this section of the article it went onto compare the Aboriginal people to the Native Indians of North America and how the white settlers came and claimed these new lands and of everything that resided upon it. The white settlers were then the sole owners of the Native Indian culture and its histories, as far as they were concerned, because they held power. The article implies that the European settlers have taken a similar approach when they relocated to Australia.

Further along in the article it mentioned this;

"To be an Aborigine is having non-Aboriginies control the documents from which other non-Aboriginies write their version of our history."

I find this quote shocking, but only because of its relevance in today's society. Western society has taken control of so many different cultures purely because we hold power and believe that we are helping these other cultures by managing their affairs. Whilst the west holds so much power, these other cultures are forced to conform to the ways of Western Civilisation and abandon their own ways of life and cultural practices. When you read history books of these cultures, more often than not, they have been written by western anthropologists who have studied these cultures, they don't actually belong to them. So how on earth are these people going to have a true understanding of the history and cultural significance of certain events and customs within these other civilisations?

From an art point of view, I look and see how the influence of Western Civilisation has evolved the traditional art style of the Indigenous people - not necessarily in a positive way. When we look at very early traditional Indigenous Art there is so much we don't understand, but to the native people there is such depth in meaning and story telling within these paintings that is used to teach the next generation the ways of the people. However, as time has progressed, these traditional artists have been forced out by the pressure to conform to the direction of non-indigenous art directors and audiences. There is much desire for Indigenous art nowadays, but not necessarily in its true context - people just want the beautiful colours and patterns and textures to admire. And the market surge for this art style has resulted in exploitation of Indigenous artists, whereby non-Indigenous art dealers and curators have taken almost half of the profit for their own, and due to carefully placed obstacles and barriers the Indigenous people have their hands tied.

Ryan Presley

Ryan Presley is an Indigenous visual artist from Queensland. Ryan’s work is an exploration of societal power structures and perceptions. In his work, Ryan explores the concept of how traditions and views are formed, who this benefits and who this discredits.

Presley's series entitled 'Blood Money' is one that immediately caught my interest. Its bold, in your face message is so powerful that I feel if publicised properly, it could make a big difference in today's society which is filled with cultural imbalance and lack of understanding.

                                                       'Blood Money',

 2010, Ryan Presley

http://www.janmantonart.com/  accessed  07/09/12

The way I interpret this body of work is that our actual currency contains the faces of highly regarded people within society that have become renowned for services they have contributed to the development of the Australian colony. However, if this is the case, why is it that there are very few Indigenous Australians pictured on our currency? They for example, are the true inhabitants of Australia, this is their country; we came here thousands of years after they were already here so why don't they get any recognition on the face of their country's currency? Instead, these people shed blood for reasons that they did not understand, and couldn't comprehend after the white settlers arrived on Australian soil. They paid the ultimate sacrifice.

This relates to the exploitation of the work by Yolngu/Manharrngu bark painter David Malangi Daymirringu of the Australian one dollar note which was used without his permission, let alone knowledge. He was then paid a year later with an unacceptable amount for the application of work which wouldn't be acceptable in today's society, and would never had have happened if a non-Indigenous had designed the note - they would have been paid a healthy amount for their work.

http://www.artstartgrant.com.au/ArtStarters/Current/51?name=Ryan%20Presley

Kevin Kropinyeri Jr.

Being from the River Murray region near Murray Bridge, I came across a local Indigenous Artist who is making quite a name for himself. Kevin Kropinyeri Jr. grew up along the River Murray in the towns of Tailem Bend and Murray Bridge (very close to my home). He didn't pursue a painting career until 2005. 

He uses bright colours and bold designs which he describes as Contemporary Aboriginal Art. Being from the Ngarrindjeri region, dot paintings aren't the traditional style, however, Kevin still enjoys creating these tedious works of art. 

His work is continually evolving and is aimed at representing River Life, Dreamtime Stories and Issues that affect Aboriginal people.

 Left: Kevin working

I really admire Kevin's work, it is beautiful to look at and I personally admire the patience required to paint these pieces. I also appreciate the subject matter he chooses to paint as it is clearly things that are close to his heart and he is passionate about. His work is of true value to my local area.