Interesting places in Adelaide

I just collect some of name of places in Adelaide that contain public art which are designed by Aboriginal people and/or respond to notions of indigence.

Adelaide Festival Centre Mural

Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide

Located at the Adelaide Festival Centre, Trevor Nickolls' untitled mural painting uses Aboriginal art techniques of cross hatching and dot painting, blended with contemporary western technique.

Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation Aboriginal Art Collection

Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide

The vision for the Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation Aboriginal Art Collection is to create a unique collection of contemporary Australian Aboriginal art, post 1970 (since the construction of the Adelaide Festival Centre), which acknowledges, celebrates and honours South Australian and national Australian Aboriginal cultures, stories and people. The Adelaide City Council provided funding over a five-year period to enable teh Adelaide Festival Centre Trust to build a substantial Aboriginal art collection.

Crossing-River Torrens

Southern Embankment of River Torrens, Adelaide

The site of the first bridge (1839) across the Torrens that physically linked the two banks of the river was also the point of separation of the European community to the south and the Aboriginal community (Kaurna) to the north bank – the beginning of cultural separation, marginalising and dominance. Crossing – Torrens River is a metaphor for re-establishing a bridge between two cultures– a kind of healing.

Tandanya

253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide
8224 3200 tandanya.com.au

Want to learn more about Australian indigenous culture? Tandanya National Cultural Institute is a great place to start. Staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, the Institute has a rich collection of art and cultural objects that reveal a great deal about Australia's original inhabitants.

The word 'Tandanya' is from the language of the Kaurna people (pronounced Garna), the original inhabitants of the Adelaide plains, and means "place of the Red Kangaroo".

The oldest Aboriginal-owned and managed multi-arts centre in Australia, this acclaimed venue is free to enter, and houses a gallery, shop and a 147-seat theatre. A free cultural tour is available Thursdays at 11am, exploring the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples. Live cultural presentations of yidaki (didgeridoo) playing or dancing can be seen at 12 noon, Tuesday to Sunday (charges apply). Tandanya's shop offers art, craft, books, clothing, fabric and music. Also available are yidakis (didgeridoos).

The Three Rivers

Victoria Square, Adelaide

Sweeping statues, cut marble and the angular basin are the work of famed designer John Dowie, honouring the three main rivers that provide much of Adelaide's water.

Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga

King William Street, Adelaide

Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga features the permanently flown Aboriginal and Australian flags along with audio interpretive information about each of the flags

Yerrakartarta

Lower forecourt, Hyatt Regency Hotel North Tce, Adelaide

The word ‘Yerrakartarta’ is a Kaurna word meaning 'at random' or 'without design'. This work reflects the seemingly random order of the natural world and consists of various sculptural elements set within the pavement and surrounding walls. The work incorporates fossil-like animal forms, representing the history of the land and includes a large ceramic mural about the Tjillbruke Dreaming story.

Sources:

http://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/sights/

Artist: Jimmy Pike

The Aboriginal artists Jimmy Pike(1940-2002) is one of descendants of Walmajarri people. He is the person in the last group that leave the desert and move to Kimberley during 1950s. In this Great Sandy Desert of north Western Australia, he paints, produces, carve and sells his art works for not only making living income but also satisfying his passion with Indigenous art. The inspiration in art- works of Jimmy Pike is from the ancient culture and symbols of tribes who live in this arid country.
In paintings of Jimmy Pike, people can see the beauty of landscape of desert, the visual character of the changing seasons and even the particularities of its Aboriginal spirituality in a very special way. He “transformed this extremely isolated area of the northern part of Australia into a tangible experience and a rare encounter with its beauty and sacredness” (Aboriginal art prints network 1996-2012). His art-works are exhibit at many major Australian public galleries and museums.

Jilji and Jumu 1988, Screenprint.

For this painting, he used many different continuous lines for creating the appearance of sand hills which places surrounding the waterhole. The contrast between black and white colour make the painting become abstracted. 

Partiri (Flowers) 1987, Screenprint

In this painting, I can feel the sense of sappy. This feeling is from the images of coloured flowers and grasses which are growing. This picture is showing me the different view about the life in this arid area, sappy and more coloured.  

Sources:

Aboriginal art print 1996-2012, Jimmy Pike, viewed on 6 September 2012, <http://www.aboriginalartprints.com.au/indigenous_artists_details.php?artist_id=109>

Image Sources:


http://hflentje.wordpress.com/
http://napdf001.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/partiri-flowers-1987-screenprint/
http://vrroom.naa.gov.au/print/?ID=19508

Regional styles

I feel really interested with the lecture of this week. These are idea about regional styles that I figure out from this week.

This map shows places where Aboriginal artists work actively. There are various tradition styles that are used by artists to create their art-works in different regions in Australia.These styles include "bark paintings and wooden sculptures with intricate cross-hatched designs, delicate engravings on pearl shell in the West Kimberley, symbol-based sand and body designs of the Central and Western Desert, engraved rock in Tasmania and rock art in Cape York and central Queensland"(Aboriginal Art Online 2004). Through the map, we can see that there are a large number of Aboriginal artists works at different urban centers then spread to other regions across the country.

The Desert:


Central and Western Deserts are the most important areas of the Australia Indigenous Art. The typical Indigenous style of aboriginal artists as well as craftspeople who live in this area is the acrylic paintings which is based on the body painting designs."Circles may indicate waterholes, a campsite or fire; lines may denote lightning, watercourses or ancestral paths; a U-shape usually indicates a sitting place or breasts; arcs may be boomerangs; short lines may be digging sticks or spears. Realistic animal tracks and footprints are also often included,the dots which in various forms have become the most characteristic element of desert art, represent many things – stars, sparks, burnt ground, clouds"( Bouddi Gallery 2007)

Western Desert, Acrylic on canvas, wide pallet, dots & circles

The Kimberley:


The typical Indigenous art styles of contemporary artists in this region are using of flat areas of thick ochre, silhouette forms and marking of outlines with white or pale ochre dots.There are still some artists who maintain the Kimberley traditional painting style which is known as painting images on bark and other materials.

Natural pigments, blocks of colour, restricted pallet, shapes outlined with white dots

Arnhem Land :


The specific Indigenous art style of artists in this regions is cross hatching.While this hatching is known as the rank In the west, it is called Miny'tji and Dhuland in the east.This style is used for many different functions, in particular for ceremonial body design.

Cross hatching or Rark, natural pigments on bark, restricted pallet 

Sources:


Aboriginal Art Online 2004, Regions and Communities, viewed 6 August 2012,<http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/regions/regions.php>

Bouddi Gallery 2007,Central & Western Desert, viewed 6 August 2012,<http://www.bouddigallery.com.au/art-gallery/central-western-desert/>

Image sources:


Collins, A.( 2012, 7 August).REGIONAL STYLES.(PowerPoint slide).Presented at CWE/H2-16 lecture at University of South Australia.


<http://learn.unisa.edu.au/course/view.php?id=89225>

Indigenous Language Map

Image Sources:
http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/map/