"The Dreamtime" - Aboriginal story of Creation

Aboriginal spirituality entails a close relationship between humans and the land. Aborigines call the beginning of the world the "Dreaming," or "Dream time." In the "Dream time," aboriginal "Ancestors" rose from below the earth to form various parts of nature including animal species, bodies of water, and the sky.

Unlike other religions, however, aboriginal belief does not place the human species apart from or on a higher level than nature. Aborigines believe some of the Ancestors metamorphosed into nature (as in rock formations or rivers), where they remain spiritually alive.

The oral tradition of storytelling informs aboriginals' vibrant cultural life. Songs illustrate the Dream time and other tales of the land, while dances and diagrams drawn in the sand accompany oral tales.

Time began when the supernatural beings awoke and broke through the surface of the earth. The earth was soon flooded with light as the sun too rose from the ground. The supernatural beings varied greatly in appearance. Some rose in animal shapes resembling kangaroos and emus, other emerged in human guise looking like perfectly formed men and women. There was an indivisible link between humans, animals and plants. Those beings that looked like animals thought and acted like humans, and those in human form could change at will into animals.

After emerging from their eternal slumber, the beings – referred to as totemic ancestors (such as Wallaby Dreaming and Emu Dreaming etc) – moved about the earth bringing into being the physical features of the landscape. Mountains, sandhills, plains and rivers all arose to mark the deeds of the wandering totemic ancestors. Not a single prominent feature was created which was not associated with an episode of the supernatural beings.

The sacred songs of their deeds were compositions by the supernatural beings themselves. It was these compositions which became the subject of the many sacred myths, songs and ceremonies in which Aboriginal religious beliefs were to find expression. Hence, they were sung on ceremonial occasions and body decorations were worn by actors impersonating the totemic ancestors. All sacred ritual was regarded as eternal and unalterable.

The supernatural beings continued to roam until, exhausted by their effort, they fell back into their sleep and returned to the earth. Many vanished into the ground, often from the sites where they first emerged, others turned into physical objects like rocks or trees. The places that marked their final resting places were regarded as sacred sites to be approached only by initiated men. But before their disappearance from the face and of the earth, the sun and the moon and the rest of the earth-born celestial beings rose into the sky, and man was left to wander the earth.

link: http://www.upfromaustralia.com/dreamabstoro.html

The use of symbolism in Aboriginal Art

Traditional symbols are an essential part of much contemporary Aboriginal art. Aboriginal peoples have long artistic traditions within which they use conventional designs and symbols. These designs when applied to any surface, whether on the body of a person taking part in a ceremony or on a shield, have the power to transform the object to one with religious significance and power. Through the use of designs inherited from ancestors, artists continue their connections to country and the Dreaming.

For example, body decoration using ancestral designs is an important part of many ceremonies. In central Australia inherited designs are painted onto the face and body using ochres ground to a paste with water and applied in stripes or circles. The modern paintings of the Central and Western Desert incorporate many of these designs.





Links:
http://www.aboriginalartstore.com.au/aboriginal-art-culture/aboriginal-symbols-glossary/

http://www.aboriginalartstore.com.au/aboriginal-art-culture/aboriginal-symbols-and-their-m.php

http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/symbols.php

History of the Aborigines

Australian Aborigines migrated from Asia about 30,000 years ago. There are 500 to 600 different groups but they all have one thing in common strong spiritual beliefs. These spiritual beliefs are shown through their storytelling and art. They believe there is a close bond between humans and the land. Aborigines believe dreamtime was the beginning of the world. During this time they believe their ancestors rose out of various parts of the earth including the rocks and waters. Unlike most religions the Aborigines do not set themselves above nature. They believe some of the Ancestors changed into things in nature and still live there. Storytelling informs aboriginals of the vibrant cultural life. Songs illustrate the Dreamtime and other tales of the land. Aboriginal art includes sculpture, bark and rock paintings, and also baskets and beadwork. Aboriginal music is often recognized for its most famous instrument, the didgeridoo. A wind instrument typically made from bamboo, it is about five feet long and produces a low, vibrating hum. Aborigines use didgeridoos in formal ceremonies and in events such as sunsets, circumcisions, and funerals.

Austalian Aboriginal Artists Jack Britten and Alan Griffiths (by Alex)

Jack Britten was born at Tickelara in the East Kimberley. Jack Britten is a senior Gija lawman. As a boy he was taken to work as a stockman and later as a road worker. In 1982 Jack moved back permanently to Frog Hollow, in the East Kimberley, where he had worked to establish the Worranginy Out-Station.

Jack Britten's painting and screenprints focus on his country in the East Kimberley, its origins, ceremonies and ancestral figures; his vision merging the spiritual and physical landscape. His grandparents taught him to paint using traditional materials, methods and themes. Distinctive features of his painting are the use of bush-gum or sap as the binder for ochres and the use of saw-toothed incising. Britten depicts his Dreamings with a lateral landscape perspective and gentle clusters of dome shaped ranges which represent the Bungle Bungles. He is known for his exploration of the landscape with rough textures and bold designs. The distinctive dotting which outlines and is embodied in the landscape forms, describes the country and evokes the presence of ancestors and ceremonies. Jack often incorporates body markings into his work emphasising his ritual seniority. His work is a spiritual and lyrical reflection on the landscape. Since 1987 Jack Britten has exhibited all over Australia including in the ‘Crossroads - Towards a New Reality’, ‘Aboriginal Art from Australia’ in Kyoto and Tokyo in 1992; and ‘Images of Power, Aboriginal Art of the Kimberley’ at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1993.

In 1992 he won the Museums and Art Galleries Award and the National Aboriginal Art Award. His work is held in several private and corporate collections. Jack Britten died in 2002.
Purnululu - Bungle Bungles: The artist spent most of his youth as a stockman working the country around the Bungle Bungle Ranges...


Alan Griffiths was born at Victoria River Station in the Northern Territory in 1933. In 1957 he moved to Katherine where he worked as the head stockman at Beswick Station. This lead to further work on Maninbelli Station, Elizabeth Downs, Delamere and Willaroo.

Alan then worked as a plumber and a cook until 1965 after which he moved to Kununurra to begin a new job as a tractor operator on a cotton farm at Ivanhoe Station.

Allan began painting in 1981 after retiring from a long life of stock and station work. He depicts images of his country - mapping the landscapes significant features and dreamtime stories. His work also captures his days working as a stockman and life on the station.

He often works in collaboration with his wife Peggy Griffiths, painting images of Corroborree for which they are key performers and teachers in their community.

Apart from his life as an artist, Alan is a respected law and culture man for both his country near Timber Creek and for Mirrawoong culture in Kununurra.


collections

Parliament Collection Canberra ACT

University of Woollongong NSW

Edith Cowan University Collection, Perth WA

Cable Beach Resort, Broome WA(Commission)

Royal Perth Hospital Collection Perth WA

Broadmeadows Health Service Collection, Melbourne VIC

Artbank Australia

Private Collections Australia & International

Bachelor Institute NT
Camel Trek [new]: Guljagi or Sundown Hill is a significant landmark in the artist's traditional country at Victoria Ri...

I chose to do Dame Ethel Walker as my artist . I will have my info ready for class.

Lucy Bacon (Alex's Painter from Impressionist movement)

Lucy Angeline Bacon (July 30, 1857 – October 17, 1932), was a Californian artist who studied in Paris under the famous Impressionist, Camille Pissarro (who was friends with Paul Cézanne), and was the only known California artist to have studied under any of the Great French Impressionists.

Sketch of an ash tree at Duffryn
Born in 1858 in Pitcairn, New York, Lucy Bacon attended art school at the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design in New York City before leaving for France in 1892. In Paris she enrolled at the Académie Colarossi. However, she was dissatisfied with her studies there and asked expatriate American painter Mary Cassatt for advice. Ms. Cassatt introduced her to Camille Pissarro and Lucy wound up studying with him.
She then moved to Éragny and did some paintings that are clearly Impressionistic. By 1898, she was exhibiting Impressionist style paintings such as "A San Jose Garden" at the San Francisco Art Association. But her letters to her family indicate she had ongoing health problems that prevented her from painting full-time. Thinking that the climate of California would assuage her chronic illness, she moved to San Jose. Unmarried, she taught at Washburn School and painted from her home studio.
Her niece, Ruth, married Robert (Bob) Vickery, the son of William Kingston Vickery, who in 1891 and 1893 organized the first exhibitions of Impressionism in San Francisco (acquired, at least in part, through Lucy's connections, along with the help of Mrs. William H. Crocker.) The Vickery family owned Vickery, Atkins & Torrey, an important gallery in San Francisco in the 1890s. In 1897, Lucy Bacon received a painting of French house tops painted by Paul Cézanne. Ms. Bacon bequeathed this painting to her nephew, Bruce Jeremiah Bacon (the son of her brother, Albert Bacon and Mary E. Bacon.) This painting has remained in the family and been handed down from generation to generation.
In 1905, while Lucy Bacon renounced her painting career and devoted herself to religion, possibly finding it eased her health problems, she continued to teach art. By 1909, she was living in San Francisco where she died in 1932. This is a sketch drawn by Lucy of an ash tree.



















Quiz of Lucy Bacon
True or False
1.Lucy Bacon was an impressionist painter. (True)

2.Lucy Bacon was mentored by Camille Pissaro. (True)

3. Lucy Bacon painted till her death in 1932. (False she renounced her painting career in 1902)

I've done Camille Pissaro

Impressionist Artist

I'm going to take Edgar Degas ^_^

Impressionism Question

What is the name of the artist that showed work in all 8 exhibits of the Association of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers?

Answer-Pissaro

period / movement

We should post our 'reports' on our blogs so that we can quickly and easily retrieve them. Remember, we only have 7 min. so try to keep it to approx. a min. each.

impressionism questions

Everyone post 1 or 2 questions about your chosen author. Let's compile them and type out a hard copy.

* What painting was the term "Impressionism" derived from?
("Impression, Sunrise" by Claude Monet)

carpool

With the price of gas going up like it is... I think we should talk about carpooling to do some of the art events and the museum. If we want to do the guided tour @ the High museum, we need to pick a date and make reservations. I have a van but it's a piece of crap so we probable don't want to take it... Think about it and let's discuss it in class Thurs.

I Pick Claude Monet, unless someone else has already started on him.

So all we have to do is research the person we chooose and do a brief history on them and find some of the art correct?

I chose to do either Max Slevogt or Alfred sisley

Children Playing on a Beach-Mary Cassat

There are two girls sitting on the beach concentrating on building sandcastles. One of the girls has a hat with a red ribbon. The ocean and a couple of boats blend into the background. Your eyes go straight to the two girls then to the hat and bow. The brush strokes curve around the girls, which makes them appear solid. The focus is always on the children.

I think the artist was trying to capture the innocence of children. I like this piece because the colors flow very well together. I feel it’s a successful work of art because innocence is captured in the way the children are so focused on what they are doing and the way their chubby little hands are painted holding the shovel and pail the same way real children would do.

art show @ Piedmont Park

There will be an art show @ Piedmont Park this weekend. Fri. night and Sat. and Sun. I just thought you might want to go for one of the art events. If you do go... Look for my parents, they are musicians and make an instrument called a didjeridoo. You can check out some of my own art on their instruments. If you want to get together and go in groups that would be fun too.

Critique a work of art

I did not receive an e-mail telling me what work of art to critique so I searched online and picked one. I have chosen "Poppies" by Monet....

This is a beautiful painting of a woman and a young girl walking through a field of poppies. They are being followed at a distance by another woman and a girl. The two pairs seem to be going somewhere important (dressed in their "Sunday Best" umbrellas and all.) Behind them you see a tree line and a large house tucked into the trees. The sky is bright and cloudy.

The use of red poppies against a contrasting field of various shades of greens is very effective. The poppies are drawing your eyes from the focal point (the woman and girl in front), up the hill to where the other woman and girl are following. Your eyes are then drawn across the tree line to the house and upward to the sky.

These women and possibly their daughters are coming from the house tucked in the trees. They are dressed up (maybe it's Sunday) and they are going to a picnic. It seems to be a warm day (despite their attire) hence the umbrella for shade from the shining sun.

I really like this work of art. The colors and movement help to make this work of art both pleasing to the eye and flow over the piece. I like the idea of a mother-daughter outing and the bright cheerful scene makes you wish you were going with them. (And wonder where they're going) In my opinion this is a very successful work of art.

Hello Team,

Some of the first impressionist artists are listed in my report. Thought some of you might want to pick one of those artists as part of a "team theme."

Jayanna

Impressionism Movement

Impressionism started in France in 1860. Impressionist art is a style that captures an object as if it had only been seen for a moment. The pictures have vibrant colors, usually outdoor scenes, and the use of sunlight and shadows.

Some of the most famous impressionist artists were Claude Monet, Camille Pissaro, Alfred Sisley, Pierre Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas.

The Impressionism movement started because several paintings were rejected by the jury of the salon including The Luncheon on the Grass by Edward Manet. After seeing the rejected work, Emperor Napoleon III decided to allow the public to judge the art. That was when the “Salon of the Refused” was organized. It drew more people than the regular salon. Artists then asked for another “Salon of the Refused” in 1867 and 1872, but they were denied. In 1873, a few artists, including Monet, put together an organization called, “Association of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers.” They showed their art work independently. There were thirty artists that participated in the first exhibit in April 1874.

Critic, Louis Leroy, wrote a newspaper review about the Claude Monet painting Impression Sunrise. He said it looked like unfinished work. He gave Monet, and artists of similar style, the name in which they would be known for, The Impressionists.

The Impressionists put on eight shows between 1874 and 1886. Pissarra was the only one that showed work in all eight exhibits.

By Jayanna Avery

Professor's blog?

i have no idea where to find our teacher's blog...i did the posting on webct...she said we had 2 assignments...what in the world is the other one? she said she sent it to our emails but i dont have one...

impressionism info

this site has a pretty good description of impressionism and a list of artists:
http://wwar.com/masters/movements/impressionism.html
Check it out and post which artist you're going to do so that no one does the same one. Also if you or anyone you know have some prints of any artwork, that would be good to have to go along with the artists and description. I'll see what I can come up with.

unsure?

i didnt know if we were still doing the artist's information in 1st person...do i still need to dress up? please let me know as soon as possible...i dont want to look like a retard in class unless everyone is in on it...because i was thinking of doing the whole unabrow thing...and i can throw my hair up to look like her....LOL. i posted what i will be saying if we were to do it.

Frieda Kahlo Skit autobiography

My name is Frida Kahlo. I was born on July 6^th 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico. I contracted polio at age six, which left my right leg thinner than the left, I wore long skirts to disguise it. As a girl, I participated in boxing and other sports. In 1922, I was enrolled in the Preparatoria, one of Mexico's premier schools, where I was one of only thirty-five girls. I joined a gang at the school and fell in love with the leader, Alejandro Gomez Arias. During this period, I also witnessed violent armed struggles in the streets of Mexico City as the Mexican Revolution continued.

On September 17 1925, I was riding in a bus when the vehicle collided with a trolley car. I suffered serious injuries in the accident, including a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in my right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. An iron handrail pierced my abdomen and my uterus, which seriously damaged my reproductive ability.

Although I recovered from my injuries and eventually regained my ability to walk, I was plagued by relapses of extreme pain for the remainder of my life. The pain was intense and often left me confined to a hospital or bedridden for months at a time. I underwent as many as thirty-five operations as a result of the accident, mainly on my back, my right leg and my right foot.

I painted to occupy my time during my temporary state of immobilization. my self-portraits became a dominant part of my life when I was immobile for three months after the accident. "I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best". My mother had a special easel made for me so I could paint in bed, and my father lent me his box of oil paints and some brushes.

Drawing on personal experiences, including my marriage, my miscarriages, and my numerous operations, My works are portrayals of pain. Of my 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits which often incorporate symbolic portrayals of physical and psychological wounds. "I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality".

I was deeply influenced by indigenous Mexican culture, which is apparent in my use of bright colors and dramatic symbolism. I frequently included the symbolic monkey in my paintings which are symbols of lust, yet I portrayed them as tender and protective symbols. Christian and Jewish themes are also often depicted in my work. I combined elements of the classic religious Mexican tradition with surrealist renderings.

At the invitation of André Breton, I went to France in 1939 and was featured at an exhibition of my paintings in Paris. The Louvre bought one of my paintings, The Frame, which was displayed at the exhibit. This was the first work by a 20th century Mexican artist ever purchased by the internationally renowned museum. As a young artist, I approached the famous Mexican painter, Diego Rivera, whose work I admired, asking him for advice about pursuing art as a career. He immediately recognized my talent and unique expression as truly special and uniquely Mexican. He encouraged my development as an artist and soon we began an intimate relationship with each other. We were married in 1929, despite the disapproval of my mother.

Our marriage often was tumultuous. Notoriously we both had fiery affairs. I was openly bisexual… I had affairs with both men (including Leon Trotsky) and women Rivera knew of… he tolerated my relationships with women, but my relationships with men made him jealous. For my part, I became outraged when I learned that Rivera had an affair with my younger sister, Cristina. We eventually divorced, but remarried in 1940. Our second marriage was as turbulent as the first. My death occurred on July 13, 1954 from pulmonary embolism. I had been sick from contracting gang green and the amputation of my right leg had a toll on me. The bronchopneumonia left me quite frail. In my diary I wrote: “I hope my exit is joyful-and I hope never to return.”

I need the powerpoint so I can be familiar with the material,but I have read over the info posted on here.

Quiz on Frank Lloyd Wright

1. F.L.W is best known for his style of what? (Organic Architecture)

2. True or False F.L.W designed the Fallingwater. (True)

3. What was another name for the Fallingwater? (The Kaufman House)

4. How many different periods did F.L.W work consist of? (4)

5. Where was the Guggenheim Museum located? (New York)

6. What were Wright's principles similar to? (The Arts and Crafts Movement)

7. Which Indian tribe inspired one of Wright's works of art? (Mayans)

Frida Kahlo Quiz

True or False

1. Frida Kahlo was involved in a bus accident that led to her artist career. (True)

2. Frida painted 65 self portraits. (False was 55)

3. Frida married an artist named Eliseo Rivero. (False was Diego Rivero)

4. Frida Kahlo was inspired by studying the works of the Italian Renaissance. (True)

5. One of Frida's works of art called "The Frame" was the first work of art by a 20th century Mexican artist purchased by an internationally renowned museum. (True)

The other artist is Frank Lloyd Wright, I did a short report on him (along with some pictures of his most famous works) on my blog site (sarasartstuff.blogspot.com) and I think Jayanna Did the same about Frieda Kahlo. Basically what I think we need to do is pull up the info and briefly talk about each artist and then do the quiz. We still need to make up questions, so if anyone wants to read the artist info and come up with some questions, that would be great.

Topics for Presentation on Thursday

Can someone please post the topics that we are doing on Thursday?

I'll be more than happy to do any part of the project that needs doing, I'm just not really sure what needs to be done. Let me know!
Thanks,
Taylor

Also, I have a few Frieda Kahlo things that I could bring as examples and/or make a PowerPoint of some of her more well known works. I could do the same for the other artist that we chose, if someone will let me know who it is. Haha!

On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground striking Bligh's reef off the coastof Alaska spilling more than 11 million gallons, or 257,000 barrels, of oil. The spill covered more than 1,300 miles of shoreline along the Alaskan Peninsula. The environmental losses were immense -- to fisheries, subsistence livelihoods, tourism, and wildlife.The spill ranked 34th on a list of the world's largest oil spills in the past 25 years and came to be seen as the nation's biggest environmental disaster since Three Mile Island. This event had a profound impacton my life and made me more aware of the need to protect our environment in all facets of life.

Frida Kahol

Frida Kahol was born in The Blue House on July 6, 1907 on the outskirts of Mexico City. She had three sisters and two half sisters from her father’s first marriage. Frida was very close to her father. At the age of six she contracted polio which left one leg smaller than the other. When she was eighteen she was riding on a bus when it crashed into a trolley car. She suffered a broken spinal column, broken collarbone, ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in her right leg and a handrail pierced her abdomen and uterus making it impossible to have children. She underwent more than thirty surgeries. Eventually she recovered and began to walk again.

When Frida was twenty two she married an artist named Diego Rivera. Her mother disapproved of the marriage. It was not a happy marriage and they both had extramarital affairs. Kahol was also bisexual, which her husband tolerated, but the affairs with other men made him very jealous. Eventually the marriage ended in divorce. They remarried in 1940, but the marriage was just as bad as before.

After the accident, Frida devoted her time to painting. Over the course of her life Frida created more than 200 paintings, 55 of those were self-portraits. She painted self-portraits because she was often alone. Frida had many sad times in her life and she expressed it through her art. She said “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” She was also influenced by Mexican culture and that is why she used such bright colors. Some of her work included monkeys because she portrayed them as protective symbols. She also included Christian and Jewish themes in some of her paintings. The Frame was the first work of art by a 20th century Mexican artist purchased by an internationally renowned museum. In the early 1980s, after the artistic movement in Mexico known as Neomexicanismo began, Kahol’s work became very popular. Before that she was remembered as Diego Rivera’s wife.

Frida Kahlo died July 13,1954.