ganeidasnest: Australian Aboriginal art

Showing posts with label Australian Aboriginal art. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Australian Aboriginal art. Show all posts

Another Small World Story concerning Native American Art

A few days ago, we decided to post a couple of items from our inventory to eBay.

One of them was a Choctaw river cane basket by Rosie Joe. The buyer turned out to be someone who had previously owned the basket. He recognized it when he saw it listed in our eBay store. Upon completion of the transaction, he notified us of his prior involvement with the basket. Here are some excerpts from what he wrote us.

"Thanks, I'll tell you a little more about it. I sold items regularly to OIAG and this was one of the items I should have kept, but accidently (sic) got included in a group package that I had put together for them. I could not get it back because they told me it was not available for sale.

I had met Rosie Joe some years before that and had purchased many of her baskets from her. I had helped her collect river cane in Eastern Oklahoma and watched her prepare the cane and start weaving baskets. One day as I had gone to pick her up in Shawnee Oklahoma to take her to Eastern Oklahoma to gather river cane, she came out carrying this basket and gifted it to me for my help to her.

I was upset when it got away from me, and am glad it is returning home.

Rosie Joe also went by the name Rosie Lewis, never signed her baskets that I am aware of, and came from Eastern Choctaw family where her mother and grandmother taught her to weave baskets.

Thanks again for the opportunity given to me, to regain this lost basket back into my now very small collection."

This one of the things we love about trading in tribal art, whether it's Navajo folk art, Zuni carvings, pueblo pottery, African tribal masks and figurative carvings, Australian Aboriginal art and artefacts or Arctic/Inuit carvings, there is a friendly circle of shared interests and values.

We are glad to include you, dear reader, en the circle.

Australian Aboriginal Art redux

Last week, Susanne Waites, my co-proprietor of our Australian Aboriginal art gallery, and I made a presentation to about 30 people who showed up at the Captiva Memorial Library Cultural Fest to learn about the art of the Australian Aboriginal people.

I'm happy to say the crowd was rapt. There were lots of questions afterwords. And no one left early, which always is a good sign. (As a frequent public speaker, I can attest there are few things more debilitating than having an audience member get up and leave during your presentation - even if it just to visit the bathroom).

Anyway, preparing for the presentation and revisiting many pieces of Australian Aboriginal art in our collection, reminded me of how special this genre of art is to us. It was our first love in the field of Tribal Art. It happened to us when we were living in Australia and we first became aware of these talented people and their fascinating culture. We began to acquire pieces of Central Desert art, Tiwi art and Aboriginal art from the Top End.

At the time, exchange rates were much more favorable for the US dollar. Today, the Australian dollar hovers at about par with the US greenback. So Australians who want to repatriate native art to Australia have a much easier go at it.

The trigger for this blog has been the realization that, as we became so caught up in African tribal art, Arctic/Inuit carvings and Native American art, jewelry and pottery, we have put our Australian Aboriginal art in the back of our minds.

That is a shame. So here are examples of some outstanding pieces, and a link to an entire section of our web site devoted to the native art of the antipodes.

To the left is dot painting on an Australian Aboriginal coolamon, a wood bowl used for gathering and holding bush tucker. Bush tucker is a term for foodstuff that grows in the wild. The dot pattern represents a map of a sort, through which is told the stories of the tribal group's arrival in this world and where important sites are located for food gathering and ceremonial purposes.

Carrying on with the theme of dot paintings, on the right is large canvas painted in the same technique by Anmatyerre artist, Gabriella Possum. It is one of our favorite paintings. It is

filled with vibrant color and is busy with symbols that the tell the story of Gabriella's country. It is the same country as her father's, the Master Australian Aboriginal artist, now deceased, whose work has sold for tens of thousands of dollars at auction. (Australian Aboriginal traditions require that the name of the dead not be stated.)

The fact that these images are even available for outsiders to see is credited to an English art advisor in Papunya, a central desert settlement, not far from Alice Springs. Geoffrey Bardon convinced the tribal elders to paint images, previously restricted to viewing by Aborigines only, to paint the images on the walls of the buildings that had been erected to shelter these nomadic people.

The results were so electric that a movement was launched. Australian Aboriginal desert art has since enlivened the aesthetics of a quasi-barren land and provided income and sustenance to the natives. The title of this painting is "Bush Tucker Dreaming".

In a different genre, the people of the north, who live in a land of "the wet" for a large part of the year, learned to harvest eucalyptus bark, scrape and cure it and paint on the clean side. It was a natural evolution since the bark panels frequently were used for structures to protect families from

the rain. Materials used for these paintings were natural ochres, ground into powders and liquified, charcoal, and chalk. They were mixed into paints, using sap or ant honey as binder. The image to the left is of one such painting. Dots are generally not used in these paintings. Rather, cross-hatch designs are stroked onto the bark using twigs and small branches. These designs are called "rarrk". They have deep symbolic meanings for the groups that "own" them. Only the owners are allowed to paint a certain rarrk or to permit it to be painted.

These are some of the most secret/sacred designs in Aboriginal art. During one encounter with an artist, we asked her to explain the painting. She started out straight-forwardly but then lapsed into speech that was so faint we coul dnot make out what she was saying. At the conclusion of her explanation, she returned to normal speaking volume. We were told by the white art advisor that she was too polite not to respond to our question, but she could not reveal the information. This gentle stratagem served her purpose and ours.

This blog posting, which started out modestly, has taken on a life of its own. Out of respect for the reader, we will continue it in another posting later.

Thank you for your attention.

Tribal Art from our private collection

Poking around in our personal collection, we have turned up a couple of items never before presented to our public.

One Australian Aboriginal item is a beautiful, round, hand-woven basket done in pandanus fiber, with a firmly fitting lid, a four-coil handle and rosettes on each side. We acquired it in Cairns, at the Capricorn Gallery.

At the time, it was highly regarded by the gallery owner, as an outstanding example of the basket-weaving tradition and skills of the Australian Aboriginal artisans from the Oenpelli/Kakadu region of the Northern Territory.

The size is 10" high by 13" in diameter.

Unfortunately, the name of the basket weaver has been lost to the ages.

Pandanus is a common plant fiber from the Australian outback and top end, that is used for basket making. Colors are achieved by dying the fibers with natural ochres, ground into a fine powder and boiled in water.

This basket is a true expression of Australian Aboriginal culture and art in a functional piece. It is possible to be moved by the spirit when looking at it and feeling the quality of the weaving.

A second item from Aboriginal Australia is this carving of a parrot. We believe it was created by an Aborigine artist from Groote Eylandt, a sizable island to the north of the Australian mainland in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Blitners are a well-known family of artists from Groote Eylandt and we feel one of them could have been the creator of this remarkable piece.

Groote Eylandt is occupied by the Warnindhilyagwa people. It received its unusual name when named by Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman. Groote Eylandt is archaic Dutch for Large Island.

Regional cultures within Australia can vary widely in their traditions and art styles. The somewhat rough quality of this carving suggests it is rather old piece, although we can not attest to its age. We find it very powerful, reflecting portrayal from a time when parrots were important totems in Northern Australia. It is one of our favorite vintage pieces, standing 26" high with a 4.5" diameter at the base. Colors were achieved using natural ochres, kaolin and charcoal.

Eventually, both of these items will find their way to our web site. If you are interested n acquiring either of them, please visit us at TribalWorks.com and navigate to the Australian Room.

You are always welcome.

A Fascinating Tale of Australian Aboriginal Art.

William Ernest Waites periodically reports on tribal art news and happenings. This report features information about Australian Aboriginal art.

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I have recently come across an article that was written some time ago that covers the history of Australian Aboriginal tribal art and its emergence from the communities and stations of the outback onto the main stage of world fine art. The article, written by Carly Berwick, was published in ArtNews.com. It was based on a show of collector John Wilkerson’s 50 works of Australian Aboriginal art, which toured the US.

Entitled, Collecting the Dots, the article charts the history of Australian Aboriginal art in the commercial marketplace. In 1971, an English schoolteacher encouraged schoolchildren in the northwestern territory community of Papunya to paint on the walls of their concrete block homes.

In short order, the tribal elders became so excited about seeing their ancient dreamtime stories portrayed that they joined in. Soon, the paintings evolved to masonite boards and canvases. Palettes evolved from natural ochre, charcoal and chalk to acrylics and commercial colors.

The designs, which were not called “art” by the Aboriginal artists - there is no word for art in any Aboriginal language – began to merge into perceptions of modernism, although they were rooted in the timeless stories passed down from generation to generation telling of the Creation, or Dreamtime. Often called "Dreamings", the stories describe the arrival on the face of the earth by ancient ancestors, and of their interaction with the landscape and geography.

Captivated collectors, such as Wilkerson and Richard Kelton, began to acquire the works of the “mob”, as the desert painters were called. These works by the likes of Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula, Mick Namararri Tjapaltjarri, Shorty Lungkarla and Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri became the core of a show that began to tour the US. "Dreamings: The Art of Aboriginal Australia" was shown in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles in 1988.

Early paintings, for which as little as US$80 or less was paid, laid the groundwork for auction results which began to amaze the art world. In 2007, a work from 1977 by Clifford Possum has hammered down at US$2 million in a Sotheby’s Auction in Melbourne, Australia.

Granted that Clifford Possum had taken the genre to new concepts with that painting, “Warlugulong”, which portrayed the total of Possum’s Dreamings as a map seen from above in a huge canvas.

I encourage you to visit ArtNews Archives to read the entire story.

But first, a side trip to a tale of two collectors who were active in Australian Aboriginal art at about the same time. Susanne and I began our collection in the late 1970s, traveling to Alice Springs to acquire a few pieces. Then back again in the mid-90s, when we ventured back to Alice, up to Darwin and to the Yirrkala community at Nhulumbuy (Gove). We also revisited our former home in Adelaide where several Aboriginal resources were available. Our last trip to Australia was in 2001 (September, to be exact; a very memorable time). On that trip we visited Darwin again, the Tiwi Islands, Maningrida, Oenpelli, and down the Sturt Highway to Alice, Adelaide, then flying to Sydney.

But this is not about our travels. It is about our relationship with the art.

In the meantime we had moved to Chicago. About the time the “Dreamings: The Art of Aboriginal Australia” was touring the US, we moved to Fort Myers, Florida. We opened our gallery, Aboriginals: Art of the First Persons, on Sanibel Island. By the late 90s, we had two shows featuring works from our collection. One at the Museum of Fine Art in Owensboro, KY, and one at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, FL.

Little did we appreciate that we were in the vanguard of Australian Aboriginal art’s growing world-wide popularity. All we knew was that we had several paintings by outstanding Aboriginal artists, works that bring beauty and grace to our lives and home.

We include all the paintings, desert paintings and bark paintings and artifacts, on our web site at TribalWorks. We invite you to enjoy them with us.

Shown here are works (l) by Gabriella Possum, Clifford's daughter, & (r) Pansy Napangati.

Of possible additional interest is this video that discusses the care and storage of these valuable works of art.

PS: Shortly after Hurricane Charley smashed into Sanibel and Captiva Islands, we closed our Sanibel gallery, deciding to exhibit and sell exclusively online. Nothing was damaged in the storm; not us or any of the art. But we took it as a sign that it was time, after 16 years into a 15-year project, to do things differently.

This posting and the "borrowed" youtube video are presented by the proprietors of Aboriginals: Art of the First Person, who also host websites devoted to African tribal art, Australian Aboriginal art, Native American art, jewelry and pottery and art from other tribal traditions.

I stumbled across this essay on beauty and art by Philosopher Roger Scruton. It started me thinking about the role of "beauty" in tribal art.

When we look at tribal art, certainly authentic tribal art, we usually see what the artist perceived as "beautiful" within his or her culture.

I think of exquisitely carved African masks and sculpture, shimmering Native American jewelry, lovely Pueblo Pottery, Inuit carvings that please the eye and Australian Aboriginal art that may challenge Western concepts of beauty but represent attempts by those artists to create beauty in their daily life.

Moreover, given the cultural values of Aboriginal art, why would any artist want to reflect on it with shame or mockery?

So it strikes me that lovers of tribal art are privileged to apply their devotion to fields where art that mocks beauty is rare and seldom seen.

What do you think?

Upcoming Events In Native American Arts

This summary of impending events of interest to collectors and admirers of Native American Indian and other tribal art, is presented by Aboriginals: Art of the First Person and its allied web sites at Native-JewelryLink.com, for fine, hand-made Native American jewelry, Native-PotteryLink.com, for authentic Indian Pueblo pottery, TribalWorks.com for a mix of African, Australian, Arctic and Navajo folk art, and ZuniLlink.com, offering outstanding Zuni, Cochiti, Navajo and San Felipe carvings by top fetish carvers.
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May 30-31 - The annual Jemez Red Rocks Arts and Crafts Show at Jemez Pueblo - Call 505-834-7235

June 7 - Bonhams' Native American and Pre-columbian Art Auction - San Francisco - Call 415-861-7500

June 18-20 - Red Earth, America's Greatest Native American Cultural Festival - Oklahoma City - Call 405-427-5228

June 24 - Taos Pueblo San Juan Feast Day - Taos Pueblo - No cameras allowed.

June 25-27 - Cody Old West Show and Auction - Denver, CO - Call 307-587-9014

July 2-4 - Annual Hopi Festival of Arts and Culture - Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ - Call 928-774-5213

July 9-11 - Taos Pueblo Pow Wow - Taos Pueblo, Taos, NM - Call 575-758-1028

July 24-25 - High Country Arts and Crafts Festival - Eagles Nest, NM - Call 574-377-2420

July 25-26 - Taos Pueblo Feast Days of Santiago and Santa Ana - Taos Pueblo - Taos, NM

August 6-8 - Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture - Museum of Northern Arizona - Flagstaff, AZ

August 6-8 - Great Southwestern Antiques, Indian and Old West Show - New Mexico Fairgrounds - Albuquerque, NM - Call 505-255-4054

August 12-14 - Annual Antique Ethnographic Art Show - Santa Fe Community Convention Center - Santa Fe, NM - Call 505-992-8929

August 12-16 - Annual Inter-Tribal Ceremonial - Red Rocks State Park - Gallup, NM - Call 505-863-3896

August 13-22 - Santa Fe Show-Objects of Art - Santa Fe, NM - Call 310-456-2120

August 14-15 - Allard's Best of Santa Fe Auction - Scottish rite Hall - Santa Fe, NM - Call 888-314-0343

August 15-17 - Annual Invitational Antique Indian Art Show - Santa Fe Community Convention Center - Santa Fe, NM - Call 505-992-8929

August 19-20 - Wheelwright Museum Annual Silent Auction and Live Auction - Santa Fe, NM

August 21-22 - Santa Fe Indian Market - Santa Fe, NM - On and around the Plaza

Eunice Napangardi heads for Germany

This is a report from Aboriginals: Art of the First Person , proprietors of TribalWorks.com, which deals in tribal art, including Australian Aboriginal paintings.

Well, not the actual Eunice Napangardi. She unfortunately passed away about five years ago.

This Eunice Napangardi is a lovely Australian Aboriginal desert dot painting created by Eunice in about 1995. We have had it in our collection since 2000.

It was a portrayal of the Bush Banana dreaming, which Eunice's clan is entitled to paint.

Her paintings depict variations of the radiating vines of the bush banana plant, which grows in rock crevices close to the dry river beds. Known as Yuparli in the Aboriginal language of Eunice's Warlpiri home near Yuendumu, it is gathered by the Aboriginal women both as fruit and as medicine. Bush Banana is very important in Aboriginal culture because of its combined healing and nutritional qualities.

Bush Banana Dreaming (signifies the journey of Yuparli ancestors). In this respect, it is like many Aboriginal dreamings, which portray various aspects of Aboriginal history and mythology. Such paintings were originally done by men artists, on the ground at corroborees (or clan gatherings). As a result, they also were often referred to as sand paintings. Among their purposes was to share the culture with younger members of the clans as they grew and acquired knowledge.

Eunice was one of the first women painters, emerging shortly after an English art advisor in the desert convinced tribe members that it was okay to paint their stories. Even then, the deep meanings of the symbols, shapes and icons are not shared outside the clan, and often not outside the senior men.

Now, Bush Banana Dreaming by Eunice Napangardi has found a new home with a wise investor in Aboriginal art.

Eunice's paintings are totally unique. She demonstrates a great artistic flair and surety of touch in her ability to represent one dreaming.

January 31, 2010 -- Aboriginals: Art of the First Person, doing business on the Web at http://www.tribalworks.com is offering all its Australian Aboriginal art at 30% off through February 28, 2010.

The selection includes major dot paintings by renowned artists such as Gabriella Possum, Pansy Napangati, Eunice Napangardi and Janet Forrester; bark paintings by Djawida, Mardday, Maymuru and others; various Tiwi and Yirrkala carvings and various prints. All will be sold at 30% off the listed price.

To take advantage of the sale, buyers should visit the web site at http://www.tribalworks.com/Australian-Aboriginal-art-buyers-guide.htm , use the secure, encrypted order form to place their order and enter the code “Insider” in the item description area. Reductions of 30% will be taken from the listed price upon completion of the sale.

All items are authentic, guaranteed and returnable within 30 days if they do not satisfy the purchaser’s expectation. These are works of fine art and folk art that the owners of Aboriginals Gallery have cherry-picked over the last 30 years. They were previously on display in the Sanibel Island gallery shop, which has been closed.

Shipping charges will be negotiated prior to sale based on the destination and mode of transport desired by the buyer.

William Ernest Waites, owner of Aboriginals Gallery, stated, “We regret having to dispose of these beautiful items, which we have painstakingly collected during trips to Australia. This is a great opportunity for Australian buyers, however, as the Australian dollar has strengthened to the point it is almost at parity with the US dollar.”

Susanne Waites, co-owner, added, “All of these works carry with them strong and happy memories for us. We hope we can find good homes for them.”

TribalWorks.com trades exclusively on the web or in Fort Myers, FL by appointment only. Call 1-800-305-0185 with questions.

Aboriginals: Art of the First Person also operates websites at http://www.ZuniLink.com, http://www.Native-JewelryLink.com and http://www.Native-PotteryLink.com

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Australian government to implement Resale Royalty Rights for visual artists.

(William & Susanne Waites, proprietors of Aboriginals: Art of the First Person, report on news and events influencing the tribal art market.)

In legislation passed this November, the Australian Parliament has created a law that will require payment of a royalty of 5% of the resale price of a work of art to the artist, if still living, or to the artist's estate for seventy years following the artist's death.

There are conditions, but profitability is not one of them. If a gallery (or private owner, one presumes) sells the art for less than was paid for it, a 5% royalty still must be paid. At this point, the royalty is only payable on a sale exceeding $1,000.

We have commented earlier, when this law was being vetted, our concern that the unintended consequences of the law will be more damaging than the benefits, if any.

For example, if a gallery is required to pay 5% of the sale price of work that they may lose money on, how eager will they be to purchase art by unknown or emerging artists? Will this stunt the market for those without establish reputations?

Will the market see and automatic increase in pricing of more than 5% to cover the cost of the royalty? Will this also have a depressing effect on the art market?

Will this external market control, as with many well-intended moves, end up doing damage to the interests of the artists it seeks to protect?

Fortunately, all of the Australian Aboriginal works in our inventory at http://www.tribalworks.com/Australian-Aboriginal-art-buyers-guide.htm
are exempt until they are sold in the Australian market a second time.

You could consider it a 5% discount.

Reviewing Aboriginal Art Shows

In a recent blog at Aboriginal Art & Culture: an American Eye, Will Owen reviews two Aboriginal art shows in Washington, DC.

The Washington, DC shows were Australian Indigenous Art Triennial: Culture Warriors and Lands of Enchantment: Australian Aboriginal Paintings.

Owen's review dwells heavily on the hanging of the show, while spending some of his words also discussing the quality of the works presented.

Since we, unfortunately, have not been able to attend either show, we are not prepared to validate Owen's opinion of the presentation aspects of the shows.

But as fans, collectors and dealers of Australian Aboriginal art, we can enthusiastically share his passion for works that were hung, and his appreciation that shows focusing on Australian Aboriginal art even were made available to American audiences.

We encourage you to visit Owen's blog site (using the link above) to read his review, and, if you want to see more of this stimulating Australian Aboriginal art, to visit our website, http://www.TribalWorks.com/Australian-Aboriginal-art-buyers-guide.htm.

Thank you

The Desert Mob - Art in the Australian Outback

As you know as a regular reader of this blog, the authors, William Ernest Waites and Susanne Waites, collect and deal in a wide range of tribal art, including that of Australian Aborigines.

Due to our interest in the remarkabe creativity of these people, we offer this report on a recent Aboriginal Art event in Alice Springs, NT Australia.

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If you have never been to the Australian outback, it will be very difficult for you to envision the setting.

There are great stretches of red earth with desert scrub and, pretty much, nothing higher than the top of your boots. Dry river beds and washes course the earth.

In the midst of this are settlements of Australian Aboriginals who live a life incredibly close to the earth.

The major population center for all this is Alice Springs.

It's a community with a colonial quality, that would hardly be considered even a small city in the US.

(In fact, Australians don’t generally travel to the Aboriginal communities of the outback either. The government restricts the ability of non-Aboriginals to visit the settlements.)

It always amazes me that an extraordinary art movement has emerged here and flourishes here. Recently, the Desert Mob Show in Alice Springs presented this gripping art.

The Desert Mob show is all the more remarkable because of it roots in the community.

It lacks the funding many other shows have, including the recently experienced Native American Indian Market in Santa Fe, NM, USA.

Nevertheless, the vitality, fire and force of this work is more than inspiring. It is uplifting and mind-opening.

The Desert Mob is the result of a collection of Art Centers in the Australian outback that support and encourage Aboriginal artists.

Works done by these artists are brought to market and the public view at the Desert Mob Show. The show is not juried and not curated. All the art that the Art Centers choose to present is shown.

By all reports, the cumulative effect wass stunning, breathtaking, eye-fracturing beauty.

For more information, including a review of last year’s Desert Mob Show, visit this web site - http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/arts/ascp/araluen/galleries/desertmob.html

For examples of other tribal art offered by Susanne and William Ernest Waites can be found at ZuniLink.com. Native-PotteryLink.com and Native-JewelryLink.com

Aboriginals Gallery is featured in Architectural Digest

William & Susanne Waites are very excited to announce that one of the Australian Aboriginal dot paintings in their collection has been featured in Architectural Digest.

If you can get your hands on a copy of Architectural Digest's August 2009 issue, you will find a painting from Aboriginals Gallery's collection on page 65.

We count Architectural Digest as one of the most prestigious publications in the world when it comes to home decor.

Imagine our excitement when we were told that Architectural Digest was interested in including an image of one of our paintings in their August issue. Of course, one always waits with crossed fingers that the editors won't change their minds.

Then it arrived in the mail and - voila - there it was.

The work itself is a painting by Aborigine artist, Johnny Scobie Japananga, painted by him in 1990.

For pictures of this and other authentic Australian Aboriginal paintings, you are invited to visit TribalWorks.com Australian Art Room Perhaps you will find something you like.

Not quite Tribal Art - but close enough for many.

Stepping a little outside the subject arena but still within the geography of Australia, we thought this little item might be of interest.

After all, some of the Aboriginal art we offer at TribalWorks.com, comes from the land down under.

It's being billed as "the best job in the world" - six months working as a "caretaker" on Hamilton Island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The job comes with a pay packet of nearly £70,000 (US$100,000) and a rent-free three-bedroom villa, complete with pool.

In return, the successful applicant will be expected to spend the six-month contract exploring the idyllic surroundings, filing weekly blog, photo diary and video updates and conducting "ongoing media interviews".

Interested?

The first step in securing this role is to send a 60-second video application explaining why you are the ideal person for it.

For the full story, click this link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7824386.stm

A tip of the hat to dades-life.blogspot.com for this lead.

Australia, the film, debuts.

With great hoopla, the new epic film by Australian director, Baz Luhrman, was released in Australia this week.

We mentioned the film in a previous, pre-release article discussing it's relationship to Australian tourism efforts.

At the time, we joined a group of pre-nascent critics who were concerned, not about the film, but about its effectiveness as a tourism marketing tool.

Now, the film is in theaters in Australia and will shortly be released in the US.

Film critics give the feature mixed reviews. The Australian newspaper summarizes with, "Yet for all its flaws -- and Australia is not the masterpiece we hoped it might be -- the film is easy to take. This is partly because it looks so magnificent, partly because Luhrmann's vision is so stimulating and partly because the actors are, for the most part, so engaging in their roles."

The critic observes that the film appears to have been made more for overseas audiences, principally American, than for Australian audiences, containing cliches that make Australian audiences cringe or chuckle.

For the complete review in the Australian newspaper, visit this link -
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24671640-16947,00.html

Tribal Artery's interest in this film springs from proprietors Bill Waites and Susanne Waites' affection for Australia, where we once lived, and our engagement with Australian Aboriginal art at TribalWorks.com. We hope the movie reflects the truth about Aboriginal culture that will increase understanding and appreciation among a worldwide audience.

Australian Aboriginal Art and Tourism - a good-bad fit

News from the world of tribal art from William Ernest and Susanne Waites, proprietors of TribalWorks, a website created by Aboriginals: Art of the First Person Gallery.

As someone who has had deep experience in, and deep affection for, both Aboriginal Art and tourism promotion, I was struck by a recent article from the Australia's Herald Sun.

It seems a.) that Tourism Australia has launched a new television campaign, to the tune of AU$40 million, promoting travel to Australia by promoting the uniqueness of Aboriginal culture and the rejuvenating effect of experiencing it - or at least, the outback in which it is created, and b.) at least one self-appointed critic has decided to mock it.

I have not seen the commercials, which were directed by the same Baz Luhrman who has directed the new feature flick, Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

Such credentials should suggest a cinematic tour de force. And perhaps they will be.

The critic, however, takes Tourism Australia to task for using subject material that is obscure and remote. "Obscure" in that the settings for the commercial are parts of Australia that very few people have or ever will visit, comparatively speaking. "Remote" in that these places are very difficult to reach. No easy transportation will take you there from any major Australian port of arrival.

Now, I have lived in Australia, not in the outback but in a city every bit as cosmopolitan as cities anywhere in the world. I have traveled to the outback. More than once. It is a fascinating place. Although, it actually is so vast it is several places.

Getting there was anything but convenient.

I made the trip with Sue because of our pre-existing interest in Aboriginal art. Other than Ayers Rock (ULURU), a geologic oddity that has its own touristic attraction, I doubt that we would have traveled to many, if any of the outback locations, on a holiday. Even more doubtful that it would have been a destination we would have entertained for a holiday if we were not living in Australia.

On the one hand, I applaud an effort that promotes awareness and appreciation of this unique culture and its stimulating art products. I hope more people get to know about Australian Aboriginal art and the beautiful, talented people who create it. As an investment in cultural awareness, it certainly can be justified.

On the other hand, as a tourism professional, I know what attracts visitors in large numbers. I am afraid that it is not the esoterica of remote out-lands and unknown cultures. Some people will be attracted by having their eyes opened to this different world. But enough to provide an ROI on AU$40 million? Doubtful.

Seems to me that this is a exercise in touristic self-indulgence and "look-at-how-enlightened-we-are" national expression. Perhaps, it is a form of emotional reparations for the years during which the European invaders of Australia abused the native population.

But, if the idea is to get more people to visit Australia, I share the critic' s opinion that the tried-and-true attractions of beaches, urban attractions, scenery and travel that is not quite so challenging - as offered by Crocodile Dundee (aka Paul Hogan) - are likely to be more fruitful.

That aside, I am be pleased that Australian taxpayers are spending their funds to promote Australian Aboriginal art - if only by association.

It should be good for all of us who already know the art and love it enough to seek it out for its own sake.

Heads-Up for Australian Aboriginal Tribal Art Collectors

If the Australian Parliament passes it, an Australian resale royalty plan for visual artists will become law, effective July 1 2009. The royalty (5%) will be payable on the sale of works of art sold through the secondary market. The requirement will apply to works acquired by the seller after the law takes effect.

If a seller sells an original artwork acquired prior to July 2009, a resale royalty will not be payable. Any work acquired by the seller after the effective date and sold on the secondary market will require the seller to pay the royalty. If a work is sold on the secondary market after the effective date and it was acquired by the seller prior to effective date, no resale royalty payment will be required.

This well-intended law will be enacted to protect the interests of artists, especially tribal artists, in their work after it reaches the secondary market. (Incidentally, we have been down the road of well intentions before and we know where it leads.) It is a reasonable concern that a work that is purchased from an artist for a low price, which is subsequently sold for a much higher price, deprives the artist of gains from his or her growing reputation, and places gain in the hands of the reseller.

As with all such efforts, has the Law of Unintended Consequences been considered? Will requiring a 5% royalty payable to the artist encourage resellers to buy less art directly from the artist, especially new, emerging artists? Will prices increase to cover the obligation of the royalty? Will the increase in cost to the reseller lead him/her to close due to insufficient net income? What then will happen to the market for the art of indigenous Australian Aboriginal artists?

Obviously, the Australian law may not be applicable anywhere else. I believe they will not be able to require it from us, since we are located in the United States. Although work that Australians buy from us to have shipped back to Australia, will fall within the law if they purchase it after the effective date (scheduled for July 2009.)

Bottom line for the readers of this blog is the warning that it is better to buy Australian Aboriginal art now instead of post-July, 2009. Such purchases will be protected from the requirement to pay 5% when they sell the art to another party. We have several beautiful works by well known Australian Aboriginal artists for sale on our web site at http://www.Tribalworks.com With our US location, we can serve clients all over the world without royalty charges.

Incidentally, Australian Aboriginal Tribal art is growing in popularity in the US, witness this article at http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/86698/australian-art-carving-out-a-niche-in-new-york/Default.aspx. And we at Aboriginals: Art of the First Person have just shipped several major pieces to a buyer in Europe.

Postpone your intended purchases at your peril.

It truly is a WorldWideWeb

Today, we shipped a major piece of Australian Aboriginal wood carving to Germany. This follows a shipment of dot paintings and Aboriginal baskery and other native artwork to this same customer

Monday we will ship several Zuni fetish carvings to a loyal customer in Australia.

We have shipped to Canada, Japan and the Netherlands.

And today a woman from out of town, staying on Sanibel Island, came by our house and acquired several Zuni carvings. She found us on the web through a keyword search.

What is going on here?

When we closed our physical gallery after 16 years of daily treks to it and entertaining visitors without end - which we loved - we were a little concerned.

We had been online for many years - 10 or more. Yet, one never knows what will happen when you no longer have a place 'on the ground.'

What actually has happened is that we have a world wide circle of friends and customers. They come to us via the web. They trust us and they buy from us. There is no way to tell you how special that makes us feel.

Then, occasionally, someone who has seen us on the web shows up in Southwest Florida - Sanibel is a tourism magnet for good reason. They call. They come by. We share experiences and our home. And we have gratification of yet another kind.

Life is good. Friends and customers are good. Beauty is good.

We are blessed to be in this business.

Telstra Aboriginal Art Entries and Winners - Tribal Art at Tribal Artery

Following on from an earlier article announcing Telstra winners for 2008, here is an address to access the full range of entries. Links within this home page will take you to all entries in all categories. A slide show also is available.

http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/museums/exhibitions/natsiaa/25/gallery/htmlversion/index.htm

Brought to you by William and Susanne Waites, whose website at TribalWorks.com offers examples of Australian Aboriginal art from their collection.

More on the Telstra Flap - Tribal Artery

The Australian, Australia's national newspaper reports in more detail concerning the controversy affecting the 2008 Telstra Awards and the entire Australian Aboriginal art contretemps.

Read all about it here:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24195875-16947,00.html

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Brought to you by William Ernest Waites, co-owner of Aboriginals: Art of the First Person and its Australian Aboriginal art selection at TribalWorks.com .

Australian Aboriginal art you can take to the bank

According to The Australian, Australia's national newspaper, Aboriginal art from Titjikala Art Centre will soon adorn National Australia Bank ATM locations in major cities around the Australia.

This support for native artists is reported to be part of efforts by National Australia Bank and the Commonwealth government to encourage self-initiative and economic development among Aborigines, long dependent on their art for economic sustenance.

For more information, visit The Australian here .

For examples of Australian indigenous art, visit TribalWorks, a website devoted to quality tribal art with a special section exploring Australian Aboriginal art and artists.