Thinking Beyond Abstraction

Quotes from last week's reading by Felicity Fenner that are of interest. She posits that Aboriginal art is viewed mainly as a commodity, and although it generates great awareness of the Indigenous plight (socially and economically), this awareness has little to no bearing on improving their livelihood.

"While western artists tend to paint solely for personal, intellectual fulfilment, the process of painting for Aboriginal artists is also more socio-politically oriented. It is a method of keeping alive traditional cultures otherwise threatened by assimilation."

and;

"Aboriginal ground paintings in acrylic on canvas have been long excluded from the art museum context in Australia as a result of quite artificial structures placed around the question of cultural authenticity." - Bernice Murphy, Perspecta, Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1981: 15

and;

"Certainly, the collection fo Aboriginal art, at least in Australia, is sometimes informed by philanthropic impulses, while the desire to own something of another culture inevitably has political overtones. Pursuing this consideration further, one might argue that the market's enthusiasm for Aboriginal art is uncomfortably tied to unresolved issues around reconciliation."

and;

"Yet while the art has secured a sought-after niche in high profile exhibitions and collections, the positive effect that that attention and acceptance has had in terms of land rights, racism and living conditions back home is negligible."

Some of these quotes will be useful in my final essay.