Tracey Moffatt

Tracey Moffatt, as perhaps already mentioned, is the other Indigenous artist that I'm using in my comparative essay. I've been finding out a lot about her, and her work, and although I had already heard about her before starting this essay, I had never really read much more into her and her work until starting this essay.
I borrowed out a DVD on Moffatt called "Up In the Sky", which was about her and her work, and I found the way she spoke about her work really interesting, and although you're able to tell it's quite an old documentary about her, I thought that it really showed off her personally.
I think one think I liked most was at one point she was describing to a few people how she had wanted them to feel when viewing her work, and she explained that it was almost like a state of boredem, that great ideas came from boredem and that was where one of her films, "Heaven", came from as she was bored one day while working and started filming some guys across the road that were out side getting changed after surfing, and Moffatt thought that she would never use it again or not for a piece of work at least.

Tracey Moffatt: "Heaven", 1997.

Christian Thompson

I have been researching Christian Thompson for my comparative artist essay, which I have been finding to be really interesting. As a teenager he was inspired by Tracey Moffatt who is the other artist I have been researching for my essay.
Christian Thompson is well known for mimicking other artists, and he has done this with Tracey Moffatt in his photography titled "In Search Of The International Look". In this photograph Thompson has dressed up and presented him self just as Tracey Moffatt did in her own self portrait, which was done for an article titled "Tracey Moffatt: The International Look". 
I think there is a really big similarity in the photographs and find that Thompson's reasons are really interesting, and its almost like he is paying homage to Moffatt in this photograph. 

- Christain Thompson: "In Search Of The International Look". 190 x 127cm

Tracey Moffatt: Self Portrait, 1999, hand-coloured photograph, 33.5 x 22cm

Obviously the location for each photograph is different, but I think that Christian Thompson has been able to capture the same stance and feeling to make the image almost believable. 

"Spirit In The Land" exhibition

This was an exhibition held at the Flinders University City Gallery which i went and visited. I found that it had quite a variety of different types of artwork, from sculptures, landscape paintings, more abstract paintings to paintings that were uniquely Aboriginal.
I was glad to be able to see and experience paintings by such artists as Rover Thomas, whose paintings had such an intense feel and rich colours as golds and deep browns, yet they were somewhat unwelcoming, like the places they were painted of were somewhere you wouldn't like to ever be in.   


There were some paintings by an artist, Fred Williams, who I had never heard of before, but his paintings, which were all part of a polyptych, "Lal Lal Falls", I found were really captivating. They depicted landscape scenery of waterfalls and it was written that the locations chosen were selected for their interesting geological structures. Williams paintings were more abstract than some of the other paintings in the exhibtion, but I found that his stood out for me. The colours were bright, and yet cool at the same time, and one made me wish that I could go jump into the pool that lay at the bottom of the fall. I think Williams paintings were some of the few more welcoming ones, and made you want to be there in that location and see it with your own eyes.

John Olsen's paintings were a few which I think had that more appealing feel to them as well, as the colours used didnt have that dry feel and the scenes of the landscapes painted seemed inviting, unlike some of the paintings that were done by Russel Drysdale and Sidney Nolen. Paintings by these two artists seems dry and burnt out, unpleasant places where you would rather not be. And yet they depict the dry and harsh Australian lifestyle that some of us do have to live through, and survive in.


Emily Kame Kngwanneye's paintings were some of my favourites. Their sheer size and styles being so unique and different. I really enjoyed her "Kame Colour II", the colours showing of the different seasons with its rich reds, yellows, oranges and even pink and whites, the flowing lines tracery of the meandering yam lines "mapping out" the land. I like how her paintings also encompasses everything to do with her and her upbringing and custodial responsibilities into her artwork.

Overall I think the exhibition was very education for me and had some amazing work which I otherwise would not have usually gone and visited.

Thoughts on Readings from Weeks 2 and 3

The first reading which was by Howard Morphy, "Foundations: art, religion and the Dreaming", I thought was really interesting to read about, and to actually find out more about the Aboriginal's Dreamings, and their meanings.
As I've never really learnt much about the Aboriginal religion before now, I was fascinated to read about it and find out how the Aboriginal's Dreaming or how their religion envisioned the beginning of everything. The idea that Ancestral beings began to emerge from within the earth and shape the world I think is rather poetic, their actions having consequences on the formation of the landscape, as well as many other such things.
For the Aboriginals to be able to have a direct contact with their ancestors through painting their bodies and rocks as well as through making sculptures and ceremonial grounds I think is pretty miraculous. I also think that having a religion more so based on the land and the regeneration of it would be more meaningful.


I had found the reading on Destiny Deacon, titled "Destiny Deacon" to be really interesting, and although her photographs often have a humour in them, it is obvious that there is also about colonialism, racism, violence and inequality in these pieces. I think having these works presented in a contemporary manner and using a medium such and photography would really get a younger audience and would perhaps be able to give them a better understanding of these issues. I think Destiny Deacon's photographs are something that i would at some point in my life like to see in person to be able to fully experience her work.

Exhibitions from Tandanya Gallery

I went into Tandanya Gallery on Grenfel Street a couple of weekends ago on the 31st of July, to get some ideas of what I would like to write about for my reflective paper/review, and see what Indigenous Australian artwork they had exhibited.

The first exhibition I walked into was 'Believe' by Peter Sharrock, and I immediately liked the look of his work, as it was very not of what I had expected to see, and really took my mind out of what people stereotype Indigenous Australian artwork to look like. Sharrock's body of work had used a variety of mediums, from thick card to ceramics and focused very much on line, texture, shadow and tone. Many of Sharrock's works that were propped up on the walls stood out from its background and so when the lighting hit onto the carved out card, it created these lovely shadows which I feel gave the pieces of work a lot of body and interest to them. Something I really quite liked about Sharrock's work was that beside each was a poem that described the meaning of the work and what it was about, his works of art capturing moments from the everyday life.

Although many of Peter Sharrock's works were done around in the same manner, I found each had its own uniqueness and its own story to tell, and you can tell that many of his works would go back to his cultural heritage and relate to everyday urban life and issues. I think there's definitely a provoking essence to Sharrock's artwork, and they make you think about your life and your everyday issues and your identity. 

A piece i quite liked from this exhibition of Peter Sharrock's was his piece titled 'The Mark'.

Mixed Media, 80 x 80 x11

It was the very first piece of work which you see as you walk into Peter Sharrock's 'Believe' exhibition, and I found it so encapsulating and different and was it the piece of work that immediately changed my views on Indigenous Australian artwork.

Another exhibition that was being held at the same time within the Tandanya Gallery was 'Eleven' by Christopher Crebbin. I too thought this exhibition was fascinating and had many beautiful and strong pieces of art which were also unlike any Indigenous Australian art i had seen. There were so many different layers to his works as well textures that were built up on the canvas, giving them depth and different characteristics, looking at Crebbin's artwork from different angles also revealed hidden elements that depended on how the light hit the painting. Crebbin paints under his Aboriginal name Burthurmarr, which means Brolga and native companion which i think is very touching, and you can see the connections made in his work to his heritage, family and the environment that is around him. I like that Crebbin too had next to his works something written about them and how this and the paintings told his stories, his protests and explored events in his life.

I think there was a very significant impact made on me with his work, and being able to talk with the artist himself was a great pleasure, to be able to hear from him personally what his work meant to him and how he saw his work, and his culture within that work.

These are just a couple of the artworks done by Christopher Crebbin that were in his exhibition 'Eleven'.

Moon

Yellow Serpent

Images 1, 2 & 3 Reference: (2011, Exhibitions & Events, Tandanya; National Aboriginal Cultural Institue Inc., http://www.tandanya.com.au/ed94/peter-sharrock-believe/, accessed 11/08/2011)