Introduction to Australian Art - Influences of Land and the Group of Artists Blossom Spirit.
Bridget O’Leary
Australian art has always been influenced by the environment. The Early Settlers from both England and Europe arrived in 1788 and began to ‘settle’ the harsh land in Australia. When they occupied the land they often felt they were fighting the dry, barren and harsh environment. They had trouble at first drawing and depicting the strange flat planes, unusual animals that they had never seen before and the ‘alien’ trees. The trees were much thinner than those in Europe, and very straight, with peeling bark. There was also the Australian light that bleached the landscape and made the colours seem brighter; highlighting the red, dry earth and the bright searing sun. These early artists often complained that their sketches sent back home to England did not quite capture the true Australian landscape.
The Australian Aboriginal people have always depicted art that is inspired from the land in Australia, in its true colors with an iconic and unique style. This ancient culture is as old as 45,000 to 50, 000 years. Their artwork was first applied on rocks and in the sand; using (as colors) the mixture of rock powders from the Australian environment. They depicted animals, each with an important role within the Aboriginal world view, etched in their Dreamtime. This art was interwoven with ceremony, dance and song to provide an explanation and meaning for creation and day to day life. This Dreamtime is also referred to as the Dreaming and still plays a very important spiritual part in the Aboriginal lifestyle and consciousness. Their Dreaming links the sacred with the human and the physical in a balanced relationship.
Their artwork served purposes of storytelling, as a form of signs and maps and as an integral part of their lives. Aboriginal artwork served as useful maps (to show where things were, including drinking holes). This was vital while surviving within the dry deserts, found in the middle of Australia. These drinking holes would always have water and paths. Some of which were made by people, and some by animals, which led to places where there was water or food.
Aboriginal people have always used nature as their canvas and paints and it wasn’t until late 19th century and early 20th century that white Australian anthropologists gave Aboriginal people paper and drawing equipment and asked them to draw. Later, in early 1970’s, acrylic paints and canvas were introduced to Papunya Aboriginal community in the NT (Northern Territory).[i]
“Art experts at home and overseas are now awaking to the unique power and beauty of Aboriginal art. As described by renowned art critic, Robert Hughes, Aboriginal art is “the world’s last great art movement.” Aboriginal art now accounts for almost half the value of the Australian art market and around 70% of total exports of Australian art. That’s an outstanding achievement for a group that represents just 2% of the Australian population” [ii]
The environment in Australia has and will continue to effect all Australians’ outlook on life – love of the sun, and the ability to withstand harsh weather conditions, that being dry heat, natural bushfires, droughts and floods. And so, we start looking at Australian Art History by looking at the Australian environment.
The Australian land mass is very large. It is an island, like Taiwan, surrounded by sea, although it is 211 times bigger. The land in central Australia is hard to live in if you are not ‘land-wise’. Many people have gone ‘mad’ in the desert. They started on a journey unprepared, and became lost and without water, and had hallucinations.
The desert has been portrayed throughout art as a mysterious, dangerous and awe inspiring place. The famous Uluru Rock is sacred to its local Aboriginal traditional owners and it is protected. The Early Settler artists portrayed the desert as dark and mysterious. In contrast to the Aboriginal people, who, through the Dreaming, understand the desert to be rich, not barren, and full of things relating to spirit, sacred, and the physical.
“The land is our food, our culture, our spirit and identity”[iii]
The Dreaming, though ancient, is still an underlying philosophy and way of life and thinking that is still very much alive and influencing Aboriginal people in their day to day lives. As Anthropologist Professor W. E. H. Stanner, tried to put the concept of the meaning it into words for non-Aboriginals to understand:
“The Aboriginal would speak of earth and use the word in a richly symbolic way to mean his “ shoulder” or his “side”.
He goes on to explain:
“ I have seen an Aboriginal embrace the earth he walked on.”
So he explains in a better definition of the meaning of earth and land to the Aboriginal people would be:
“To put our word ‘”home” and “land” together into “homeland” is a little better but not much.”[iv]
The earth being not just land, and so a spirit:
“we took what to them meant home, the source and locus of life, and everlastingness of spirit.” [v]
This Dreamtime and the art that has been created from it continues to inspire modern Australia and modern Australian identity, of both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal peoples. In a recent architectural development in Melbourne, the building Federation Square, has a path made up of Aboriginal patterns and special rock parts to create a unique and abstracted asymmetrical square area which symbolizes Australian rock, earth and the outback. The building itself features solar panels in strange shapes that create blocks of light and pattern are also designed to get the most of the Australian sun. The building creates cooling systems and collects all rainwater that falls onto the building and it’s surrounds.[vi] This is then used in all its operations. In our modern society the influence of Aboriginal Australian Art is seen as a progressive way to embrace Aboriginal history, which once was thought of as primitive. Today Aboriginal Art is seen as exotic and fashionable, especially as part of the international image of Australia. Life for many Aboriginal communities is still burdened by a combination of historical and present day forces.
The Settlers, mostly English and European, included a mixture of artists. Some of which were a set of painters who originally tried to mimic European art in its styles and functions to depict Australian landscapes. This didn’t work, as the landscape in Australia was a stark contrast to Europe.
In the 1890’s one generation of artists started to break this pattern. They became known as the Heidelberg school, and were one of the most important schools as they broke away from the Settler’s way of mimicking European art and its false/ Europeanised renditions of the Australian landscape. This school sought to use expressions of light, much like the French impressionists (they admired at the time), but unique (because the Australian light is unique) and they strived to show it in its true form. Blasts of color would stream onto the canvas where the sunsets were setting along a field of wheat on a farm.
‘The golden glory of English wheat-fields cannot excel the splendour of the wide wastes of grazing land under the dry sky of an Australian summer… nor can the variegated hues of the American autumn much surpass the tints of the ripened Eucalyptus…’ Sidney Dickinson in the Australian Critic, 1 July, 1891.[vii]
Our group, Blossom Spirit, is named after the Australian blossom flower, unique to Australia (this can be seen in Jan Ross’ work). The group often finds inspiration from the Australian landscape. The influence can be seen in: Blossom flowers that overpowered the artist Anne Langdon at her home surroundings; Fay Salmon’s soaring, dramatic skyscapes of Australian skies; the intricate and ornamental window framed views like poetic mirrors on life, in Roma McLaughlin’s work; and Sandra Angliss’ soft and pale light color that creates reflections and patterns with eyes (of a butterfly) which seemingly stare directly into the heart and soul, in a windy sky scene.
Our name also has Spirit because in this exhibition we are sharing the spirit of friendship between two countries, Australia and Taiwan. In this exhibition the group is overjoyed at the fantastic spirit of artists and their shared love of art. To share our art and cultural histories and make new friendships and ties is something that will always be remembered, and is one of the many joys of being a part of this exhibition.
[iv] http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/community.html
[v] http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/community.html
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