Saturday, June 29, 2024

Australian Aboriginal Rock Art [1]
Art Essay

Marie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts on Australian aboriginal textiles and artwork.
Untitled Artworks(Exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions) Tjariya (Nungalka) Stanley and Tjunkaya Tapaya, Ernabella Arts (Australia)
ArtCloth from the Tiwi Islands
Aboriginal Batik From Central Australia
ArtCloth from Utopia
Aboriginal Art Appropriated by Non-Aboriginal Artists
ArtCloth from the Women of Ernabella
ArtCloth From Kaltjiti (Fregon)
Australian Aboriginal Silk Paintings
Contemporary Aboriginal Prints
Batiks from Kintore
Batiks From Warlpiri (Yuendumu)
Aboriginal Batiks From Northern Queensland
Artworks From Remote Aboriginal Communities
Urban Aboriginal ArtCloths
Western Australian Aboriginal Fabric Lengths
Northern Editions - Aboriginal Prints
Aboriginal Bark Paintings
Contemporary Aboriginal Posters (1984) - (1993)
The Art of Arthur Pambegan Jr
Aboriginal Art - Colour Power
Aboriginal Art - Part I
Aboriginal Art - Part II
The Art of Ngarra
The Paintings of Patrick Tjungurrayi
Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri
Australian Aboriginal Rock Art


Australian Aboriginal Rock Art
The spiritual life of Aboriginal people centers on the Dreaming. The Dreaming is a European term used by Aboriginals to describe the spiritual, natural and moral order of the cosmos. It relates to the period from the genesis of the universe to a time beyond living memory. The term does not refer to the state of dreams or unreality, but rather to a state of a reality beyond the mundane. The Dreaming focuses on the activities and epic deeds of the supernatural beings and creator ancestors such as the Rainbow Serpents, the Lightning Men, the Wagilag Sisters, the Tinhgari and Wandjina, who, in both human and non-human form, travelled across the unshaped world, creating everything in it and laying down the laws of social and religious behaviour. The Dreaming is not, however, merely a guide for the living, an agent of social control, or simply a chronical of creation, restricted in time to a definable past. The Dreaming provides ideological framework by which human society retains a harmonious equilibrium with the universe - a charter and mandate that has been sanctified over time.

Rock Painting
Rock painting.
Kakadu, Northern Territory, Australia.

Rock Engraving
Rock engraving (ca. AD 500).
Mount Cameron West, Tasmania, Australia.

Rock Painting
Rock painting of 'Lightning Brothers' and 'Lightning Figures.'
Katherine River, Northern Territory, Australia.

Hand Stencil
Rock art hand stencil.
Kakadu, Northern Territory, Australia. Dated, 9-20,000 years before the present.

rock painting
Narrative, rock painting.
Musgrave Ranges, South Australia.

Gwion, Gwion
Gwion, Gwion, rock painting.
The Kimberley, Australia. Dated ca., 3000 years before the present.
Note: In Aboriginal lexicon, repeating a noun implies that it is of great significance. That is, you may place the noun 'Great' in front of it. For example, Gwion, Gwion would translate as 'Great Gwion.'

Kangaroos
Rock drawing of kangaroos.
Wilton, NSW, Australia.

Rock painting
Rock painting (1960).
Najombolmi, Hunter, NSW, Australia.

Mimih
Unknown artist.
Spearing a kangeroo. Mimih.
Note: Mimih spirits are believed to inhabit the rocky escarpments around Gunbalanya (Northern Terrritory, Australia), but because they are extremely timid, they are rarely seen by humans.

Unknown artist. Jimmy Midjaw Midjaw.Nadulmi in his kangaroo manifestation, as Wubarr leader (Northern Terrritory, Australia).


Reference:
[1] W. Caruana, Aboriginal Art, Third Edition, Thames & Hudson, (2012),

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