Artist: Paddy Japaljarri Sims

hey,

Paddy is a Warlpiri speaker who was born circa 1917 at Kunajarrayi, west of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory. He is one of the most influential artists of this region as he and others established the fine arts within the community. Paddy has worked consistently on canvas for the last 25 years and along with other artists in the area, has collaborated numerous times to produce paintings depicting their land which has been privately and publicly displayed. His artwork is rich in style as he uses repetition of shapes, though placed asymmetrically around the canvas which creates the feeling of a natural flow and as seen in these two examples, uses a wide range of colour pallets to create the overall theme and mood to the painting. From a design perspective, the placement of the icons seems to be to harmonious and in come cases symmetrical, though it the expressions through his painting of his land that makes these paintings different from others.

b.mac

http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/art/yuendumu.php

Sculpturer: Ken Thaiday

Ken Thaiday was born on Erub Island in 1950,  where he spent alot of his childhood around his father fishing on Darnley Island. Ken recalls fishing as the only thing they did on the small island as it was a part of their culture and skill. His passion for making his works comes from the love of fishing and the various types of fish he catches. The materials he uses in his works were skills that Ken's father taught him and it is evident in his sculptures and the attention to detail is amazing.  The image below is a headdress, which hence the name is a sculpture worn on top of the head during ceremonies and special occasions (dances). The shark is Ken's key totemic animal and in his culture certain sharks are associated with law and order, so respect forms part of the inspiration for his headdresses.

b.mac

Torres Strait Islands

me again,

Just been looking at some artists from the Torres Strait Islands region online and found some interesting artists/ sculptures. In particular I found works by Ken Thaiday whose work is made from various materials. From looking at the work from the Managerie exhibition, it is similar and uses intricate elements to create abstract representations of animals. Overall I find that the Torres Strait Islands arts are much more detailed and use commonly 2 colours and show the whole figure of the animals they are drawing. Below are some paintings by recent artists which show the attention to detail on the linen artworks.

b.mac

http://www.aboriginalartprints.com.au/regions_details.php?region_id=9

Artist: Eubena Nampitjin

hello,

This week I am looking at Eubena (Yupinya) Nampitjin, who is a well known painter in the Kimberly region, Western Australia. Born in the 1920's at Tjinjadpa, she speaks Wangkajungka and Kukatja languages and is one of the most esteemed law women in her community. She is known greatly to being one of the best artists of Balgo and with intricate complexity along with a love of the warm reds, oranges and yellows, these are said to be part of Eubena's signature. "Eubena has great spontaneity and strength in her painting, leaving rhythmical tracks across the canvas composed of thick layers of dotted lines."
I find Eubena's work more abstract than traditional Aboriginal artists as there is a feeling of softness to the painting, like shown below. Her paintings are vibrant and use free flowing shapes/lines to represent the land she paints.

b.mac

Exhibition: Menagerie

Having missed the site visit to Tandanya National Cultural Institute to view the Managerie exhibition which showcased 33 established and emerging artists, I went along today to see the variety of sculptural works depicting animals, which were contemporary Australian art, craft and design. It showed a variety of animals/ insects which held greater meanings to them by the way they had been created and textured. In particular I found 3 sculptures that symbolized expression and meaning. The first being an emu made from barbed wire, representing the main cause of death to the animal throughout the Australian desert. Second being 3 kangaroos made from broken China ceramic plates, each with a different colour, red, blue, and white which represented the English Union Jack and the actions of the kangaroos showed the famous action of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" which relates to refusing to acknowledge something. Lastly there was a large fish sculpture which was made from plastic bags and rubbish, reflecting the damage that landfill causes to the natural wildlife of the lands. Overall, a great exhibition with an interesting perspective of how Aboriginal Art can be applied to a wide range of mediums and natural resources.

b.mac

http://australianmuseum.net.au/BlogPost/Science-Bytes/Menagerie-contemporary-indigenous-sculpture

Neetan (Camp Dog). Craig Koomeeta, 2008

Thipe (Yellow Bird). Patrick Kunoth Pwerle, 2008

Artist: Shorty Robertson

me,

Shorty Robertson was born at Jila, a large soakage and claypan north west of Yuendumu, Northern Territory in 1925. Shorty was a part of the Stolen Generation as he was forced from his land just after the end of World War 2 and gained freedom again around 1970. Now into his 70's, Shorty still exhibits his art which are themed with relations to specific land beliefs.
"Shorty’s paintings are fresh,vigorous and new. His use of colour to paint and interpret his dreamings of Ngapa (Water), Watiyawarnu (Acacia), Yankirri (Emu) and Pamapardu (Flying Ant) is vital, yet upholding the Warlpiri tradition."

b.mac

http://www.gadflygallery.com/artist_view.php?ArtistID=51

http://www.aboriginalartcoop.com.au/aboriginal-art/shorty-jangala-robertson/ngapa-jukurrpa-water-dreaming-puyurru.php

Artist: Hubert Pareroultja

hey,

Born in Hermannsburg, Alice Springs in 1952, Hubert is another member of the water colour movement in the Aboriginal Art world. He was born in the same lands as Albert Namatjira where we would watch him draw as a young boy. It was his father Reuben Pareroultja, and uncles Otto and Edwin that were part of the original water colour movement that inspired him the draw in this particular style and would draw iconic features of his land. Personally, I like his style of drawings as they seem a little more abstract than other famous artists and in the image below, how he shows the gradient of colours as bold colours, apposed to blending them in.

b.mac

http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/art/hermannsburg.php