Aboriginal Art in America

In 1997, artists from Tjuntjuntjara in the desert of Western Australia, formed the Spinifex Arts Project. Their goal was to create art that would serve as evidence in their legal battle to reclaim their land. Thanks to a generous gift, you can now view many of these pieces in a new exhibition titled "In the Beginning: Paintings by Senior Artists of the Spinifex Arts Project" on display at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia. In this episode, we learn about the Spinifex Arts Project and the pieces in the exhibition from its curator, Katina Davidson.  Simon Hogan painting. Photo by Amanda Dent courtesy of Spinifex Arts Project More information about the exhibition and Kluge Ruhe: https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/in-the-beginning-paintings-by-senior-artists-of-the-spinifex-arts-project/#exhibition

Art and storytelling allow sisters Dora and Jan Griffiths— Aboriginal artists from Western Australia—to maintain an unbroken line of culture from the past and carry it into the future. Learn more: https://kluge-ruhe.org/

This week we introduce a new project from the Kluge-Ruhe made in collaboration with UVA Press. Curator Henry Skerritt dives into the history of the Papunya Tula Artists — a movement started in Northern Australia that is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Kluge-Ruhe's current exhibit and launch of their new project both serve as a tribute to the Papunya Tula Artists who changed the face of global contemporary art.  Learn more about Papunya Tula: https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/irrititja-kuwarri-tjungu-past-present-together-50-years-papunya-tula-artists/

Artist Marrnyula Mununggurr is well renowned in the Yonglu community for her warmth and creative genius. Her work will finally go on display in the United States this September with the the opening of “MAḎAYIN: Eight decades Aboriginial Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala.” Mary Garner McGehee spoke with Kluge-Ruhe curator Henry Skerritt to get an inside look on Marrnyula's work and creative process. Learn more about MAḎAYIN: https://madayin.kluge-ruhe.org

Artist Djambawa Marawili came up with the idea for the exhibition "MAḎAYIN, Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala" over six years ago. Soon his vision will become reality when MAḎAYIN opens at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth in September. In this episode, Kluge-Ruhe curator Henry Skerritt introduces us to Djambawa Marawili and tells us the story of the birth of MAḎAYIN.  Learn more about MAḎAYIN: https://madayin.kluge-ruhe.org

https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/boomalli-prints-paper-making-space-art-collective/

https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/boomalli-prints-paper-making-space-art-collective/

https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/boomalli-prints-paper-making-space-art-collective/

https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/boomalli-prints-paper-making-space-art-collective/

As a collective, Boomalli helped to promote the idea of urban Aboriginal art. However, the ten artists had distinctive artistic and personal identities. The work in this exhibition cuts across multiple generations, sexual orientations, and language groups to defy both cultural and artistic expectations. The inclusive environment of Boomalli created a space for these identities to intersect. The spark lit by the founding members of Boomalli transformed what Aboriginal art could be, igniting a movement that spread across Australia. Read more and make a free reservation: kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/boomal…e-art-collective/

New Series alert!  The next few episodes in your feed will feature the new exhibit “Boomalli Prints and Paper: Making Space as an Art Collective.” In this episode we introduce the collective and the exhibit. Read more and make a free reservation: https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/boomalli-prints-paper-making-space-art-collective

Human figures, stenciled hands, and ancestral beings gather on the surface of this painting in a dynamic circle of ceremonial activity. Thompson Yulidjirri's _Ngurlmarrk—The Ubarr Ceremony _is a work on paper crafted by the late artist as part of the John W. Kluge Commission of works on paper in 1991-1992 from Injalak Arts & Crafts Association. Yulidjirri's multimedia expertise across rock, bark, and paper is evident here in his depiction of the Ubarr Ceremony, as the patterned background resembles the rock walls of nearby Injalak Hill. Visualizing connections across media and time, Yulidjirri's painting attests to the role art plays in evoking and transferring stories and knowledge to the next generation of artists and audiences. Thompson Yulidjirri,  Ngurlmarrk—The Ubarr Ceremony 1990 Natural pigments on paper 150 x 100 cm Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

When Aboriginal Art started to explode in popularity in the 1980s, galleries, collectors, and museums were most interested in the major works on huge canvases. However, now that the art movement has achieved so much acclaim, collections like the Kluge-Ruhe are focusing more on the earliest works from important art centers like Papunya Tula. Curator Henry Skerritt shares what we learn about contemporary Aboriginal Art by studying the often anonymous works from the early days of Papunya Tula. https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/irrititja-kuwarri-tjungu-past-present-together-50-years-papunya-tula-artists/

The Kluge-Ruhe works very closely with Aboriginal artists and their descendants in designing their exhibitions. For this exhibit, Curator Henry Skerritt wasn't able to make his usual trip to Australia to meet with artists in person, so they solicited photos, stories, and input on the gallery from artists and descendants virtually. All which they've compiled for the accompanying exhibition catalog.

There aren't many female artists in the exhibit IRRITITJA KUWARRI TJUNGU: 50 YEARS OF PAPUNYA TULA ARTISTS. That's because when Papunya Tula was formed in the 1970s, there weren't many women working at Papunya Tula. Pansy Napangardi was an exception. She was one of the first women artists at Papunya Tula to get a great deal of international acclaim. We talk about her work and foreshadow the massive change that is to come when a new generation of female artists come to Papunya Tula in the 1990s and breathe new life into the art center.

The Kluge-Ruhe is opening a new exhibition! It's called Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu (Past & Present Together): 50 Years of Papunya Tula Artists. Papunya Tula is a collective of Aboriginal artists in The Australian Western Desert. In this episode, we get a sneak peak of the new exhibit and Henry Skerritt tells us why these paintings are so important to the history of Aboriginal Art. And stay tuned! Over the coming weeks, we're going to share a lot more about this very special exhibit and the artworks on display. Bush Tucker Dreaming, 1988 William Sandy Acrylic on canvas 167.6 x 167.6 cm Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997

Recently, the team at Kluge-Ruhe unrolled a canvas that had been sitting unseen in their collection for a long time. When they finally saw it, it got the team thinking about medium and the creativity that artists unleashed when they started to experiment with painting on canvas.  Dinny Nolan Tjampitjinpa Men's Ceremony c.1974 Synthetic polymer paints on canvas 65 x 19 in. (165.1 x 48.26 cm) Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997 1991.0021.013

Gabriel Maralngurra is an Aboriginal Australian artist from Gunbalayna in Western Arnhem Land. Gabriel enjoys speaking with others and sharing his own knowledge about painting and Aboriginal traditions so that his culture lives on. He maintains great relations with the curator of the Kluge-Ruhe Art Collection, Henry Skerritt, and virtually joined Skerritt's class in March of 2021 to share his wisdom with students at the University of Virginia. Gabriel Maralngurra Indigenous Australian, b. 1968 Episode produced by Sydney Pulliam.

The Waterbird Dance brings death to life. Aboriginal artist David Malangi Daymirringu's work honors Yolngu ceremony; more specifically, that of the Manharngu clan. A well-known senior artist, Malangi painted and travelled internationally to represent his community and share his art until his death in 1999. In typical fashion of the art of Arnhem Land, Waterbird Dance is a painting of ochre, charcoal and white clay on bark. Malangi depicts Manharngu clan totems engaged in a transitional ceremony in a vibrant, packed composition to grab the attention of international audiences and celebrate and preserve the traditions of his country. David Malangi Daymirringu Aboriginal Australian, 1927-1999 Waterbird Dance  Natural pigments on bark 32 x 18 in. (81.28 x 45.72 cm) This episode was produced by Callie Collins.

Wilson Manydjarri sees the patterns laid down in the landscape and conveys them through his art. In this episode, Henry Skerritt tells the story of how some of those patterns were laid down and the role that art like Manydjarri's play in the most important moments of life for members of his indigenous group.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye was one of the first celebrated female Aboriginal Australian Desert Painters. Entering the national art market well into her seventies, Kngwarreye paved the way for female Aboriginal artists to express women's specific cultural relationship to the Dreaming and their ancestral lands. In My County, Kngwarreye uses a vibrantly colored dotting technique, popularized in Papunya. While only she knows the true stories and secrets that lay hidden within the canvas, all viewers can appreciate My Country for its immensely beautiful and imposing presence. My Country 1994 Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Indigenous Australian, b. 1910 Acrylic on canvas, 150.5 x 485 x 4cm (h x w x d) Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997 Episode produced by Sydney Pulliam

Standing at six feet tall, the sculpture “Nullius in Verba III” is intentionally the same height and weight as its sculptor, Steaphan Paton. The metal, diamond-shaped shield, mounted on a long pole, confronts the viewer. The shield's surface is scratched, evoking the centuries of violence and dispossession faced by Paton's ancestors. Among closer inspection, however, the sculpture is made from modern materials, asserting that this violence against Indigenous Australians is not an historic anecdote but a contemporary issue.    Steaphan Paton Gunai and Monaro-Ngarigo language groups, Indigenous Australian, b. 1985 Nullius in Verba III, 2019 Etched steel, acrylic paint, nanotech clear sealant Episode produced by Addie Patrick.

In deep reds, pinks, and yellows, Emily Kame Kngwarreye's "Awely" is an embodiment of her connection with her Country. Kngwarreye began painting late in her life, when she was already an elder in her community, Utopia, in Australia's Northern Territory. The artwork's title refers to women's ceremonial knowledge of song, dance, medicine, and designs painted on the body. As Kngwarreye applied heavy blotches of paint to her canvases, she would sing ceremonial songs, replicating the act of painting on skin. In this way, “Awely” is both a painting of Kngwarreye's homeplace and a conversation with it. Emily Kame Kngwarreye Anmatyerr language group, Indigenous Australian, c. 1910-1996 Awely, 1992 Acrylic on canvas  Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997 Episode produced by Addie PatrickNotes go here

A solitary figure emerges from an urgent flurry of charcoal lines. Vernon Ah Kee's “Unwritten” is a potent metaphor for the struggle of indigenous artists to control their identities amid the continuing pressures of racism and colonial oppression. In 2004, Ah Kee began a series of large scale photorealistic charcoal portraits of his family members. These works were based upon ethnographic photos taken by the anthropologist Norman Tyndale on Palm Island during the 1930s. In enlarging these images to an imposing scale, Ah Kee returns power to their gaze, reclaiming the ethnographic photography for those who are once its subjects. Vernon Ah Kee Indigenous Australian, b. 1967  Unwritten, 2011 Charcoal on paper, 29 15/16 x 22 1/16 in. (76.04 x 56.04 cm) Museum purchase from Milani Gallery, 201

Freshwater Saltwater Weave is a series of glass works by contemporary urban-based Arrernte artist Jenni Kemarre Martiniello. Her works in hot blown glass, coldworked glass and canes are inspired by the aesthetics of Aboriginal woven forms. The works in this exhibition span the last five years and are inspired by dilly bags, eel traps, fish traps, fish baskets, and bicornual baskets. Yellow Rushes Fish Basket  2017  Jenni Kemarre Martiniello  Hot blown and cold worked glass with canes  Purchased with funds provided by Maria T. Kluge, 2019.Notes go here

Jack Kelly's Rockhole 1997  90 x 120 cm Queenie McKenzie, indigenous Australian, b. 1915 Natural pigments on canvas  Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia.  Gift of Richard Klingler and Jane Slatter, 2019.Notes go here

Ngarralja Tommy May has been making art for over 30 years and this year his painting, Wirrkanja, won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. Henry Skerritt introduces us to the artist and reminisces about his 2016 visit to the Kluge-Ruhe.

Nganampa Ngura, Our Country (2013) is a work of grand ambition and stunning color, it shows the ways in which these senior women see the world, connected by kin and country. From the tiny flowers of the bush plum to an epic painting on canvas, all actions are interrelated. In our globally connected world, these artworks remind us that every “little thing” is part of the grand tapestry of existence. The thirteen artists who made this work are: Wawiriya Burton, Ruby Williamson, Barbara Moore, Mary Katajuka Pan, Nyurpaya Kaika Burton, Naomi Kantjuriny, Iluwanti Ken, Mona Mitakiki Shepard, Tjungkara Ken, Sylvia Ken, Katanari Tjilya, Maringka Tunkin and Paniny Mick.

Naminapu Maymuru-White is a Mangalili artist who paints the Milky Way and its earthly mirror, the Milniyawuy River.

Tony Albert's “Brothers” engages with issues of race, police violence, discrimination and identity. This single installation features twenty-six portraits of young Aboriginal men with targets painted onto their chests, as well as designs and symbols that Albert associates with strength and resistance. Albert was inspired by events that took place in Sydney in 2012, when two teenage Aboriginal joyriders were shot and injured at the hands of police. Following this, a protest was held at Sydney's Town Hall, and friends of the victims appeared with targets drawn on their chests. For Albert, the target symbolizes the daily experiences of being racially targeted. It also refers to the stereotypes applied to Aboriginal people as a result of government policies, such as the Northern Territory Intervention. Tony Albert is a Girramay artist. His work is held in numerous public and private collections internationally. In 2014 he won both the $100,000 Basil Sellers Art Prize and the prestigious $50,000 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. He is known internationally and recently unveiled a major commission in Sydney's Hyde Park, a monument dedicated to Australia's Indigenous military service men and women. Brothers (Moving Targets) 2015 41 3/8 x 28 1/4 in. (105.09 x 71.76 cm) Tony Albert, Indigenous Australian, b. 1981  Scarred pigment print on paper Gift of the Artist, 2016