And, More Art

As most people know, Andy and I are big fans of art, particularly art that is local. We also enjoy finding art in the every day images. I’m not a skilled photographer, but I’ll often stop to take a picture that I think might be “artsy.” It all started about 8 years ago with our first trip to Vancouver when I saw a discarded computer printer sitting askew on a public park bench. I thought it was art and took a picture. Andy wasn’t so sure. (I can’t post that picture because I lost my hard drive last month, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.)

On our hike up in Daylesford a couple weeks ago, I took these shots because I thought they were interesting. I had posted a Warrnambool mailbox montage earlier, but these seemed to have a real story to tell. The windows are from an abandoned shack we explored. The curtains are shredded and the glass is broken, but there’s a fairly new-looking twin mattress inside. I’m sure there are stories there…

Sometimes I set the camera up to take a picture in a way that I think will be provocative. (see, I pretend I know what I’m doing.) Sometimes I look at the picture on the computer and can’t remember what I was trying to accomplish, but other times, I think the pictures turn out kind of cool.

Other times, Andy and I collaborate on an “exhibition.” These are some shells we collected and displayed on a rock down by the penguin islands near the breakwater. The law prohibits us from collecting shells, so we picked our favorites, made a collage, and saved a digital memory.

 

We have also had the opportunity to visit museums and galleries to see more traditional forms of art. The Ballarat Art Gallery, for the size and nature of the town, was really terrific. They had a great combination of contemporary and classical pieces, along with some Aboriginal art.

Here’s something we saw there that one might ask, “Is it art?”

Knitted naked man

I never took art history, so I learn from Andy about all of the “great artists” who created masterpieces. I’m a fan (pun intended) of contemporary art, so I sat at the National Gallery in Melbourne for 20 minutes watching this kinetic sculpture.

While we’ve been here, I’ve been studying paintings in an attempt to make my own painting better. I’m particularly intrigued by the styles in indigenous art, much of which is centuries old. But in 1971, a schoolteacher named Geoffrey Bardon taught at the Papunya settlement (i.e. reservation), 250 kilometers west of Alice Springs. This teacher encouraged young, aboriginal children to draw and paint on canvas the stories from their culture. Older members of the community began painting as well, telling their “dreaming stories” from the land. The movement became more recognized in Australia in the 1980’s. International attention of Aboriginal art was gained during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and in 2006, the Musee Quai Branly, a dedicated indigenous art museum in Paris, featured it.

In a few schools I’ve visited, I’ve noticed indigenous-style art usually created by non-indigenous school children, presumably in a type of art appreciation lesson. Dot painting is a popular technique to emulate, but to minimize all Aboriginal art to dot painting would deny the tremendous variety that exists across the country. These are a few pictures I’ve taken in schools:

This accompanied the piece above it.

One of the benefits of being on sabbatical is having the time to do some of the things you don’t have time for when you’re working hard all week. I brought a small watercolor set with me; I thought I’d keep it simple with fewer supplies. This is a painting I started of Lady Bay, but before I could complete it, my hard drive crashed and I lost the photo I was using to paint it. I don’t feel like I’m skilled enough to finish with my own imagination so this one will have to exist in a state of unfinishedness.

 

But since we have seen so much indigenous art done in acrylics, I’ve had the urge to get out the acrylic paints and canvases and work on some original pieces. So, this weekend I went to the art store and bought enough supplies to keep me painting for the next few months. I’m really grateful not only for the time to do it, but also the inspiration we get from all of the artists whose work we’ve seen. That brings me to our third Australian art purchase.

The last day we were in Cairns, we were walking around downtown looking for tourist t-shirts, when we happened across another Aboriginal Art gallery. This one had wall-to-wall art, stacked upright on the floor, and canvases in piles. In fact, there were so many that it was kind of difficult to appreciate any one piece. (We see a lot of indigenous style art on souvenirs, that are likely manufactured in China, but we find that legitimate galleries have pictures of the artists with their artwork and stories of their backgrounds.)

Just as we were getting ready to leave, I came across this artist named Wanjidari, which means white flower. Her bio statement says that her mother is from the Wadja Wadja tribe and her father is from the Kuntha Napu tribe. When she was 17 she began painting and took a TAFE (Technical and Further Education - like a community college) course to help develop her style. Wanjidari has exhibited in a variety of galleries in Australia. I found this smaller piece; I liked it because it uses colors of the indigenous flag and also felt whimsical and contemporary. 

We are now over our self-imposed limit of one piece of art per month and will need to wait until next month for further purchases. I suspect the next one might be obtained in New Zealand on our trip there in October.