Art is a significant thing to preserve culture and customs. It is a record that, what are the things done by our ancestors, and their lifestyle etc. Different religions have different cultures. So art representations vary with the culture. It is also a better way to communicate. Types of art forms are painting, sculpture, literature, architecture, cinema, music theatre etc. Aboriginal art is one of those and preserves majorly in museums and galleries. And now some galleries have started selling this art recently.
Interesting facts
- This type of art primarily projects the remarkable stories in ancient times. And they use different symbols to represent contrasting dreams also. So these arts provide knowledge on what people should think, learn, see before 50000 years ago.
- And these arts are used to share messages instead of writing them. The aboriginal people in Australia were unaware of the written language. So this helped them to know the outer world about their customs, culture and traditions. So the upcoming generations will get the idea and information about it and preserve them.
- And everybody knows that a picture can tell more stories in a single moment. So these paintings are helpful to teach the new heirs. Interpretations on symbols in each depiction vary with personal views. So these different stories have an impact on children and elders. For example, the ‘U’ shape in aboriginal art depicts simply a person. And these are used a lot. Like these, several traditional icons are there to represent each thing.
- Australia is an amalgam of multi-cultures. So a distinct artistic style is present in the country.
- And the artists must have to take permission to paint a specific story. And also, traditional people have only the right to paint the stories involving their family lineage.
- In ancient times the arts were scratched on rocks or walls. But now, 50 years ago, these were drawn on the canvas.
- In this art, secret information is represented through dot paintings. Aboriginal people are always concerned about if white men will know about their sacred knowledge. From these concerns, they started to hide their knowledge.
- The indigenous culture is the most sustained in Australia. So preserving all the paintings is a little arduous. Now, these paintings are kept in museums and galleries to keep them from a hostile environment. So it is helpful to reach more spiritual knowledge in peoples, know more about cultural behaviour etc.
- Most of these artworks cost a higher price than modern artworks. And these arts are the best way to keep the culture more strong. So by knowing all about the culture, the young indigenous people feel pride and esteem about their traditions.
- Most of this art has at least three layers. These layers depict the ceremonies, public and general versions, country etc. So each artist tries to include all these levels in their paintings.
Types of aboriginal arts
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Awelye, body paint ceremonial artefacts
These are transient, and now acrylic is used to furnish body paint designs.
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Bark paintings
It is the most ancient form of aboriginal art. They are semi-realistic and are found in northern Australia.
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Aboriginal rock art
It is 40000 years old. Australia is a country famous for rock arts. And many of the archaeologists had found many ancient remains. And there are two types of rock art: petroglyphs and pictographs.
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Ochre paintings
Other paintings prepare art using natural earth pigments with vegetables or animal blinders. And sometimes they dig or mine to get soft stones. In Australia, there are a lot of ochre pits. The ochres are primely used for ceremonials.
