Aboriginal Art in America

When Aboriginal Art started to explode in popularity in the 1980s, galleries, collectors, and museums were most interested in the major works on huge canvases. However, now that the art movement has achieved so much acclaim, collections like the Kluge-Ruhe are focusing more on the earliest works from important art centers like Papunya Tula. Curator Henry Skerritt shares what we learn about contemporary Aboriginal Art by studying the often anonymous works from the early days of Papunya Tula.

https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/irrititja-kuwarri-tjungu-past-present-together-50-years-papunya-tula-artists/

The Kluge-Ruhe works very closely with Aboriginal artists and their descendants in designing their exhibitions. For this exhibit, Curator Henry Skerritt wasn't able to make his usual trip to Australia to meet with artists in person, so they solicited photos, stories, and input on the gallery from artists and descendants virtually. All which they've compiled for the accompanying exhibition catalog.

There aren't many female artists in the exhibit IRRITITJA KUWARRI TJUNGU: 50 YEARS OF PAPUNYA TULA ARTISTS. That's because when Papunya Tula was formed in the 1970s, there weren't many women working at Papunya Tula. Pansy Napangardi was an exception. She was one of the first women artists at Papunya Tula to get a great deal of international acclaim. We talk about her work and foreshadow the massive change that is to come when a new generation of female artists come to Papunya Tula in the 1990s and breathe new life into the art center.

The Kluge-Ruhe is opening a new exhibition! It's called Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu (Past & Present Together): 50 Years of Papunya Tula Artists.

Papunya Tula is a collective of Aboriginal artists in The Australian Western Desert. In this episode, we get a sneak peak of the new exhibit and Henry Skerritt tells us why these paintings are so important to the history of Aboriginal Art.

And stay tuned! Over the coming weeks, we're going to share a lot more about this very special exhibit and the artworks on display.

Bush Tucker Dreaming, 1988 William Sandy Acrylic on canvas 167.6 x 167.6 cm Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997

Recently, the team at Kluge-Ruhe unrolled a canvas that had been sitting unseen in their collection for a long time. When they finally saw it, it got the team thinking about medium and the creativity that artists unleashed when they started to experiment with painting on canvas.

Dinny Nolan Tjampitjinpa Men's Ceremony c.1974 Synthetic polymer paints on canvas 65 x 19 in. (165.1 x 48.26 cm) Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997 1991.0021.013

Gabriel Maralngurra is an Aboriginal Australian artist from Gunbalayna in Western Arnhem Land. Gabriel enjoys speaking with others and sharing his own knowledge about painting and Aboriginal traditions so that his culture lives on. He maintains great relations with the curator of the Kluge-Ruhe Art Collection, Henry Skerritt, and virtually joined Skerritt's class in March of 2021 to share his wisdom with students at the University of Virginia. Gabriel Maralngurra Indigenous Australian, b. 1968

Episode produced by Sydney Pulliam.

The Waterbird Dance brings death to life. Aboriginal artist David Malangi Daymirringu’s work honors Yolngu ceremony; more specifically, that of the Manharngu clan. A well-known senior artist, Malangi painted and travelled internationally to represent his community and share his art until his death in 1999. In typical fashion of the art of Arnhem Land, Waterbird Dance is a painting of ochre, charcoal and white clay on bark. Malangi depicts Manharngu clan totems engaged in a transitional ceremony in a vibrant, packed composition to grab the attention of international audiences and celebrate and preserve the traditions of his country.

David Malangi Daymirringu Aboriginal Australian, 1927-1999 Waterbird Dance Natural pigments on bark 32 x 18 in. (81.28 x 45.72 cm)

This episode was produced by Callie Collins.

Wilson Manydjarri sees the patterns laid down in the landscape and conveys them through his art. In this episode, Henry Skerritt tells the story of how some of those patterns were laid down and the role that art like Manydjarri’s play in the most important moments of life for members of his indigenous group.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye was one of the first celebrated female Aboriginal Australian Desert Painters. Entering the national art market well into her seventies, Kngwarreye paved the way for female Aboriginal artists to express women's specific cultural relationship to the Dreaming and their ancestral lands. In My County, Kngwarreye uses a vibrantly colored dotting technique, popularized in Papunya. While only she knows the true stories and secrets that lay hidden within the canvas, all viewers can appreciate My Country for its immensely beautiful and imposing presence.

My Country 1994 Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Indigenous Australian, b. 1910 Acrylic on canvas, 150.5 x 485 x 4cm (h x w x d) Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997 Episode produced by Sydney Pulliam

Standing at six feet tall, the sculpture “Nullius in Verba III” is intentionally the same height and weight as its sculptor, Steaphan Paton. The metal, diamond-shaped shield, mounted on a long pole, confronts the viewer. The shield’s surface is scratched, evoking the centuries of violence and dispossession faced by Paton’s ancestors. Among closer inspection, however, the sculpture is made from modern materials, asserting that this violence against Indigenous Australians is not an historic anecdote but a contemporary issue. Steaphan Paton Gunai and Monaro-Ngarigo language groups, Indigenous Australian, b. 1985 Nullius in Verba III, 2019 Etched steel, acrylic paint, nanotech clear sealant Episode produced by Addie Patrick.