Indigenous Australian Art - Literature review Example

Introduction Most of what is happening today is as a result of what happened yesterday and the actions of today can be retrieved from experiences of the yester times. Similarly, the modern indigenous artists have been highly influenced by the traditional forms of music and art from the indigenous communities. The originality of the contemporary art and music can be seen to have borrowed heavily from the aboriginal culture. Most of the indigenous artists have the high percentage of traditional aspects of art in their composition. Be it compositions of music, art and even sculpture, a lot of traditional features can be seen and this proves that the cultural aspect is crucial and paramount in the long run (Yindi, 2007). The contemporary aboriginal music is rich and has varied activities in Australia Music The aboriginal artists whether n the visual arts or music have been depicted engaging in political actions, in most of their actions. The contemporary aborigine singer by the name Jimmy Little has postulated that the main reason why aboriginal artists gets into the stage is to emphasize the political feeling or action the other hand, Galarrwuy Yunupingu who is the chairman of the Northern land council and also a brother of Mandawuy Yunipingu asserted that painting for the aborigines is a political act. The message of the art is mainly art based and it eludes the long suffering of the aborigines since they are the minority group. They are not represented politically and even up to date many of them live in absolute poverty that is demeaning for them. For example, Archie Roach has performed music of great power and beauty though they represent an overt information on political oppression. The main intent of these songs is depicting the traditions of the aborigines that are characterized by total oppression that is not acceptable amongst them (Yindi, 2007). The first aborigine musician who gained significant popularity and fame in Australia was Jimmy little who enjoyed the success of his messenger album in 1999.initially, in 1964, he had performed a song by the name Royal Telephone which was a contemporary song and it did not represent any overt character of the aborigines. However, the success of the album aided him in the endeavor of developing an aboriginal band which could later produce songs with overt aboriginal characteristics. All these time, the aboriginal music was not accepted by the white culture not until the times of Yothu Yindi. They managed to convince the Whites to accept their music despite the fact that it was filled lots aboriginal culture and also lots of overt information on political repression(Yindi, 2007). The aboriginal music has been neglected for a long time by the mainstream of Australian music industry claiming that they have too much traditional features and heavy content of politics that the industry feels that it is not worthy to get involved. This deterrence have continued to make the entire music network to be dragged down despite the fact that it is important in the society. Despite the challenges the Yothu Yindi has managed to get enough breakthrough and they have made the music acceptable in the long run. The Yothu Yindi consists of the Yolgu and the Balanda who are non-aborigines musicians and they embody in the sharing of cultures. The group took the ancient song cycles of the north-east Arnhem land which mainly features the traditional instruments such as the bilma(iron wood clapsticks) and the renowned yidaki (didjeridu).They integrated the traditional music with the western pop therefore representing a musical meeting of the two cultures. Most of their modern performances are mainly based on the traditional Yolngu dance performance which describes the behavior of crocodiles, broglla, wallabies among other animals evident in their homesteads. Homeland movement produced their first album in 1988 which received little public attention (Yindi, 2007). The song “treaty” and the album ended up winning the unprecedented string award in 1991-1992 and the song writer and composer Mandawuy Yunipingu received the Australian 1992 award. The success of the Yothu Yindi reflects greater acceptance of the Aboriginal culture by the white audiences and also the recording companies as well as the radio stations. Mandawuy Yunipingu has ended up becoming a spokesman and he highlights the aboriginal struggle for social respect just he does in the music.Yothu Yindi went ahead and signified a brand new kind of the aboriginal Australian identity which had much greater reliance on the traditional aboriginal culture therefore proving to the world the significant their music and culture in the long run (Yindi, 2007). The aborigine artist has also produced the rock music known as the aborigine rock music .the aborigine rock is usually uniquely Australian fusion of the rock and roll, rough, hard, and the ready Aussie rock. More also, there is the folk rock as well as the traditional aboriginal music. The aboriginal rock is usually a constellation of percussion –driven and it incorporates the traditional rhythms though, at times, it may sound more ethereal and atmospheric more especially if the didgeridoo is emphasized in the arrangements. Most of the aboriginal rock groups usually play a combination of the traditional aboriginal songs which are given modern beats of the rock music. The originals usually address the political and social plight of the aborigines as a major concern in the songs (Farina, 2012) Arts and sculptures The modern art of the Australian indigenous communities depicts many traditions in the arts and sculpture produced. Most of the artistic products such as carvings, paintings and sculptures depict heavy infestation of the aborigines and Torres Islanders culture therefore proving that the art is heavily influenced by the indigenous traditions. For instance, the Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery is one of the leading in the sales and promotions of the authentic Australian aboriginal art in the whole world. Upon buying a piece of art from the gallery, it is apparent from the markings that it comes from the aboriginal community due to its uniqueness. The Mbantua gallery has been existent for about twenty years since it first opened the shops in spring 1992.the Mbantua gallery has been very important in the field of art since it has promoted the aboriginal and the Torres Islanders culture(Australian government, 2014). The 2003 show ‘Story place," the indigenous art of the Cape York and the rainforest, they helped the gallery in acquisition of the substantial collection of the works from the northern regions of the state. Significant collection of the sculptures from the Aurukun ceramics headed by the senior artist by the name Thanakupi affirmed that they mainly work on objects that are inspired by the traditions and the feelings that they wanted to express. The (card well and the Murray upper) produced rainforest shields and the swords which formed a vital aspect of the gallery of the contemporary indigenous Australian group. Moreover, the gallery holds significant paintings by the Cape York and North Queensland artists which include Rosella Namok, Lisa Michil among others (Australian government, 2007). The contemporary urban -based indigenous art is also evident in the evident, in the contemporary artists whereby the artists employ the indigenous skills and foundation to make artistic objects. For example, the Queensland urban based indigenous artists have continued to lead contemporary art practice in Australia and they are also accepted in the overseas world. Vernon Ah Kee, Richard Bell, Fiona Foley, Judy Watson among other artists have continuously depicted distinctive social, political concerns of the aborigines and Torre's islanders. Some other works by the contemporary urban based indigenous artists include the photography, video and the films by Brook Andrew, Genevieve Grieves among other artists who have significantly a dressed the concerns of the indigenous people using their painting and other artistic work. Moreover, the Torres strait islanders contemporary artistic work have proved to have borrowed much content from the traditions and the plight they have undergone in the recent past.The sculpute was originally used in printmaking and performance marking the major contemporary Torres strait islanders forms of art(Australian government, 2007). Some of the most famous sculptures and artistic works include the pantings by Dennis Nona and sculpture by Ken Thaiday. In the fifth Asian pacific Triennial of the contemporary art, in year 2006, George Nona a brother to Dennis Nona presented a major suite of the 13feathered dhoeri (headdresses) in the exhibition and it received much hullabaloo since it had lots of originality and culture from the aborigine's community. The land, sea and the sky which is a contemporary Art of the Torres Strait Islanders forms part of the gallery of 2011 exhibition that was the largest and most important of the contemporary artistic works of the Torre's strait islanders. Various important works were acquired and commissioned and such works included a group of printed textile by the renowned Rosie Barkus. Segar Passi made the watercolours and they marked a distinctive link of contemporary artistic work and the traditional artistic. Most of the printing and drawing was borrowed from the traditional painting and that is why they proved to be remarkably good (Australian government, 2007). Tattoos Tattoos are also forms of artistic works that are evident today. The contemporary tattoos among the indigenous communities have borrowed heavily from the traditional practices. In the aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders’ tradition each and every tattoo had a meaning and the same is borrowed even today. Women usually tattooed their symbols in the forearm that indicated particular skills and such practice increased their chances of getting a husband. The tattoos indicated various skills such as weaver, singer and such traits meant that the individual was marriageable. Moreover, some tattoos’ were found in the fingers and they were believed to ward away some illnesses. Similarly, most of the tattoos’ in the contemporary indigenous artists are known to depict similar issues (Diamond, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the traditional artistic works heavily influences most of the contemporary artistic works in terms of content. Music, Arts and tattoos are some f the most influenced areas. For instance, the content of the music is highly influenced by the traditions in terms of costumes, instruments and other minor aspects. These traditional influences make the contemporary works to have authenticity and originality and, therefore, it is not possible to lose value by the end of the day. References Australian government, (2007). Indigenous Australian Art. - Queensland Art Gallery. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/collection/indigenous_australian_art Australian government, a. g. (2014.). australia.gov.au. Australian Indigenous art. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-indigenous-art Diamond, B. (2012). Aboriginal music in contemporary Canada echoes and exchanges. MontreÌal [Que.: McGill-Queen's University Press. Farina, S. (2012). Reel history the lost archive of Juma Sultan and the Aboriginal Music Society. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Yindi,Y.(2007) Contemporary Aboriginal Music. (n.d.). Contemporary Aboriginal Music. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/conmusic.php Read More