‘They may say tourist, may say truly painting’: aesthetic evaluation and meaning of bark paintings in western Arnhem Land, northern Australia¹

Abstract

For Kuninjku artists, the production of bark paintings is inspired by their love for the Ancestrally created clan country, the key ground of Kuninjku existence, and yet the works are also produced to be sold on the world market. The intention of the artists is to educate non‐Kuninjku audiences about the importance of country. Artists manipulate culturally appropriate forms of representation and aesthetic treatment in order to create works that have both local and broad‐based appeal. The focus of this article is upon the way Kuninjku learn about appropriate ways of painting within the familial context and how this context is also intercultural in scope. The article leads to a consideration of the way artists develop experience and seniority and may break away from established forms to create new work. In this respect certain Kuninjku artists become leaders in developing styles they consider suitable for the contemporary art market. Résumé La production de peintures sur écorce par les artistes kuninjku est inspirée par l’amour des terres de leur clan, créées par les Ancêtres et lieu essentiel de leur existence. Pourtant, ces œuvres sont également destinées àêtre vendues sur le marché mondial. L’intention des artistes est de faire comprendre au public non kuninjku l’importance du pays. Ils manipulent les formes culturellement appropriées de représentation et de traitement artistique et esthétique pour créer des œuvres ayant à la fois un intérêt local et un attrait plus large. L’auteur met ici l’accent sur la manière dont les Kuninjku apprennent les manières appropriées de peindre dans le contexte familial, et comment ce contexte a aussi une portée interculturelle. L’article débouche sur une analyse de la façon dont les artistes acquièrent expérience et ancienneté et peuvent alors rompre avec les formes établies de création de nouvelles œuvres. À cet égard, certains artistes kuninjku deviennent des chefs de file dans le développement de styles qu’ils considèrent adaptés au marché de l’art contemporain.

Connections of Spirit: Kuninjku Attachments to Country

“…Old men also have a measure of this power and can be described as developing 'strong bones' in the same way. In these respects the country, Ancestral species, and contemporary humans can be considered to be spiritually continuous (see Taylor, 1996). Namirrkki's desire to live near these sites is primarily an expression of his responsibility to tend to the Ancestral powers of the site and to protect the souls of deceased people of previous generations, and the, as yet, unborn souls of new people.…”

“…Ngalyod is seen as the original and most powerful being and all subsequent Ancestral beings came out of her body. The conceptualisation of Ngalyod, often described as the earth 'mother', involves a consideration of a ubiquitous life force existing inside the earth (Taylor, 1990). All sites and Ancestral species in the region are linked on the basis that, hidden inside the earth and in deep waters, Ngalyod is tending to them all.…”

“…Marralwanga had six wives in total in his life and numerous children. Marralwanga, Namirrkki, and other residents developed a reputation for the production of excellent bark paintings and women produced excellent basketry (Taylor, 1996). Marralwanga enforced a ban on the consumption of alcohol in the outstation to improve its social conditions and to check the visits by countrymen who occasionally brought alcohol from Oenpelli to Maningrida and passed close to the outstation.…”

“…Kuninjku have readily engaged in new forms of enterprise development suited to their relative remoteness from markets. The production of art and craft was facilitated from the earliest days of settlement of Maningrida and was particularly encouraged to support outstations (Altman, 2004;Taylor, 1996). Recently Kuninjku living at outstations have engaged with more formalised ecological management and cultural tourism programs.…”

“…The Kuninjku are traditional owners of lands to the south-west of the town of Maningrida in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory (Altman, 1987;Taylor, 1996). All of Arnhem Land is formally owned by Aboriginal people as a result of the Aboriginal Lands Rights Act Northern Territory 1976 (Cth).…”