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Aboriginal ArtProducts Relating to 'Aboriginal Art'

Contemporary Aboriginal art is a vital part of the world's oldest continuous cultural tradition. It is also one of the most brilliant and exciting areas of modern art. They create aboriginal art using acrylic on canvas,

As the earliest settlers in Australia, Aborigines arrived by boat to the continent from Southeast Asia approximately 40,000 years ago. By the time European explorers began colonizing in the late 1700s, the indigenous peoples were largely hunting and gathering societies. Although the symbols and stories represented in Aboriginal painting stem from the age-old traditions and ceremonies, painting on bark and canvas is a relatively new mode of expression. Canvas was only made available to people in 1971.

The first prints by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists were not produced until the late 1960's, and it was not until the 1970's that a sustained interest in this 'new' technique developed. Originally the impetuous for experimentation was from non-indigenous art advisors, and later, publishers of limited edition prints.

For many Aboriginal artists the use of printmaking methods was like an extension of traditional practice. The engraving of wood and linoblocks is a similar process to the incising of designs on stone or the surfaces of wooden sculptures and utilitarian objects. The sequential overprinting of colours in screenprinting is paralleled in the way traditional bark paintings are realised, and the same chalky opaque colours can be obtained.

Concurrently with the development in traditional homelands was the emergence of a generation of urban-based Aboriginal artists who had trained in Western art traditions and techniques. Art schools and print workshops also began to invite Aboriginal artists to participate in their programmes. More recently print workshops have been established by a number of Aboriginal communities.

Since the early 1980's prints by Aboriginal artists have been widely exhibited both in Australia and overseas. The success of exhibitions such as New Tracks Old Land and the marketing of works through The Australian Art Print Network has vastly increased the accessibility and public appreciation of prints by Aboriginal artists.

Prints by Aboriginal artists are no recognised as being the most dynamic art being produced in Australia.

They initially learn from their parents, the art to make paintings for sacred ceremonies and later sell their works through the government settlements.There are a few men who remember the old artists of the caves and can give detailed interpretations of the figures and content of the cave paintings.Their subject matter and stories are a direct continuation of the cave-art tradition, although the style of image-making is distinctive. They have a rugged and individual painting style that has changed very littlethe years. As an artist one chooses not to adorn his figures with meticulous geometric marks, but the crosshatching painting technique that is common throughout Arnhem Land.

Aboriginal prints and printmaking is a relatively new addition to Australian Aboriginal art. The first print was carved on the linoleum torn from the floor of a prison cell and fashioned with a spoon in 1965. Many early Aboriginal prints, especially those with an overt political message, relate to the violence of oppression, yet the majority of more recent prints are deeply concerned with translating ancient aboriginal cultural iconography into a new and exciting medium.

Article Published: Wednesday 22nd August 2007