If you weren’t flying QANTAS in December, you may have missed their in-flight magazine’s article on Aboriginal art, but it’s available in a lovely reproduction here. (The link is to a downloadable 2.3 MB PDF file; you can also find it on Google by entering the terms: australian way december art) The article doesn’t have much of substance to say: its sub-head speaks of the “precarious” position of Aboriginal art, but the narrative doesn’t do much too support that eye-grabber, other than to dis the Art Award winners this year (and who hasn’t?) But it does contain some lovely photographs, especially a full-page portrait of Ningura Napurrula and others of Judy Watson Napangardi, Walangkura Napanangka, Gloria Petyarre, and John Mawurndjul.
And while I’m pointing to articles online, Nicholas Rothwell wrote a lovely review in The Australian back on December 13 of the shows by Ngaruwanajirri Artists from Bathurst Island that took place at Raft Artspace in Darwin and Aboriginal and Pacific Art in Sydney in December. Rothwell is fast becoming one of my favorite commentators on Aboriginal art, sensitive to both cultural and visual elements of the works.
Postscript: It turns out that the full-page portrait of Ningura is really a portrait of Ningura’s daughter, Glenys Napaltjarri. Thanks to Luke Scholes of Papunya Tula for pointing out the error to me.
Aboriginal Art & Culture: an American eye 