Creativity throughout the ages has shifted and changed within the attitudes reflected by an ever changing contemporary society. The ancient cultures ideally believed in an external creative force which would pass through the artist and be reflected in the work. In ancient Greek philosophy this external creative force was seen as a muse. Ancient Europeans traditions believed in the spirits of the land, faeries that would come and go tricking some and blessing others. These beliefs separated the creative process from ourselves as individuals and allowed the artist the privilege of creating without fear of judgement or persecution and the act of creating was seen as a blessing from the spirits. It could also be seen that this process of creativity was free, abundant, and completely untamed.
Creativity in European society changed dramatically during the Renaissance period, when the individual was seen as the creative energy himself. This period saw the rise of the ‘pop star’ artist, artist that would gain success beyond their time for creating work from their own incredible hands. These artists would take on the burdens of success and failures of their art. This was the beginning of the artist ‘ego‘, a conflict of self satisfying pursuits and public recognition. This individual creativity and anguish now manifests itself in modern society as the ‘tormented artist‘, drinking and unsociable, sacrificing family and love for their art, unable to have ‘healthy regular’ lives like the rest of society. There is no room for family and children, or a ‘real job’ as the artist is made to believe he has to ‘suffer’ for his art.
Creativity in the Australian Aboriginal sense known as the ‘dreaming’ had a sense of the old worldview of creativity, where the spirits were responsible and the knowledge was a sacred energy passed on to the elders and healers within a tribe. This sacred creative process has shifted in the past 20 years to fit the mould of contemporary society turning from that of a ‘sacred source’ to that of an individual artistic expression. Our most successful artists have ‘solo’ shows and have works featured in major collections further exemplifying the ‘individual artist’ approach.
Our artists working at Papulankutja are creating in a period where the ‘creative dreaming’ spirit is still very much alive but is threatened to vanish and be morphed by a more contemporary creative ‘individual model’. People are afraid that Aboriginal culture is being lost to its contemporary version of itself, however, the old dreaming spirit is still very much alive, living in country. This energy never left, we just have to remember to listen to it and paint it the way that country wants it to be painted. We at Papulankutja are trying to nurture the ancient wisdom and ancient creative abilities to keep this creative energy alive and strong. We talk about the greater spirit known as ‘country’ and how we can paint that feeling of spirit into our paintings. The break through is evident when a young artist transcends the usual styles of story telling to a more defined and expressionistic interpretation of the stories which clearly demonstrates that the story and country is alive whin their painting. I am lucky to have seen this ‘break through’ period in many of or artists who have desired more than painting ’ordinary’ paintings, and are now painting artworks with a deeper expression of story and vitality with energy which can only be described as coming from the spirit of ancestors and the earth beneath them.
Nov 16, 2009
Oct 11, 2009
Janet Forbes Images
Janet Forbes
Janet Forbes, daughter of Fred Forbes, the founder of the Blackstone settlement. Janet has been working with the natural colours, ochres and whites and her works come across with a sense of reverence for her country. Hidden amongst the white tips of the spinifex grass you may make out a goanna, sacred obects, hunting tools, and special sites. A circle depicts a claypan, the zigzags and squares make the ridges of the Blackstone ranges, other markings depicts the people gathering for a ceremony. Blackstone is littered with purposeful places and hidden secrets. Janet marks out these places, often 'rubbing out' an area and starting over if she is not happy with their placement, a true perfectionist. A work is not complete untill it passes over Janet's discerning eye and when she is ready, she will set the knowledge free into the market place. Papulankutja's secrets are in safe hands with Janets watchfull eye.
Oct 5, 2009
Sep 7, 2009
Carlton Isaac Reid
Second eldest son to Cliff Reid, Carlton has painted a very serious dreaming story. In the story a father would go hunting and when he got back his son would tell lies such as that his mother and he had eaten a fat goanna while the father was out hunting. He had been lying many times, so much that his mother punished him, taking him away from his fathers country to never return again. The white lines represent the tracks of the boy over the sand dune country. This story has similarities to 'the boy that cried wolf', but a more ancient telling of the tale.
Carlton is a contemporary young man reflected by his painting style. Innovative with technique, using thick, bold brush strokes opting for a 3 inch brush while maintaining the cultural colours and ochres used traditionally. This technique is descriptive of the power he wants to push forward in his art. He strips back all the details and the important aspects and the power of the story remains. Carlton was brought up with strong bush memories, growing up in the then young Blackstone community. He is 32 years old, educated in the Blackstone school and he is now a strong leader in his community with contemporary ideas and concepts to better his community. Carlton Reid is a contemporary painter while maintaining cultural knowledge and power handed down to him as the next generation Papulankutja artists.
Jul 22, 2009
Narelle Holland
Narelle has painted country where the emu was hunted. The men would go to the rock hole to spear the emu, using stillness as their weapon. The first layer of paint marks the country and its landmarks, the second layer, a delicate layering of lush cream and white dotting depict the spinifex which camouflages the country. The men have been painted with the raw brush strokes contained in the first layer and the second laying of spinifex and dotting cloaks the men, keeping them hidden from the viewer and the Emu they hunt.
Jun 30, 2009
Paint 'Right Way'
Thomas Reid known to Blackstone as 'T.R.' has stepped up as a painter, taking on the rights to stories given to him by his father Cliff Reid. His father, the number one male artists in Blackstone with a solo show in August in Melbourne with William Mora Galleries and a very successful painter, paints what he knows. Cliff paints stories he was told and paints them 'his way', the same way they painted those stories on Singing Rock, the same way those paintings have been painted for many years, raw gestures, symbols, dreaming tracks of the elders and the beings from the dreaming. Thomas is the eldest son of Cliff and Ruby Reid, and the responsibilities of being the eldest are to remember the stories and tell them 'right way'. Cliff told his son 'paint slow way', to make every mark count. The figures will then have character, the lines will have meanings and the story will be told. The image shown here is of a tribal battle. One side is stronger than the other. The strong side have their spears held up high, the figures seem taller, bigger, just like he was told they were in the story. On the weak side some are dying, spears are pierced into their legs, stomachs and heads. The battle is carefully choreographed like a World War 2 Movie, the men falling down, younger warriors are fighting amongst their elders, and there is no hope, they will lose. Thomas tells us that the battle was fought in the dreaming, a battle to warn us of future wars and the seriousness of their consequences? A warning to future generations maybe? Dreaming stories tell us the 'right way to live'. As a human culture all over the world we haven't learned from our own fables and dreaming stories, but did Thomas' ancestors learn to live in peace and not war, did they listen to their own stories? All we can do is learn the 'right way' and hope that future generations are listening.
Jun 15, 2009
May 22, 2009
Jennifer Mitchell
Title of painting: Minyma Kutjara
Jennifer was born in 1955 and is one of Blackstone's artistic Gems. Jennifer has been painting since 2008 and is a natural colourist and has a delicate touch with her unique dotting style. Over the course of the last five months I have witnessed Jennifer develop as a painter from strength to strength incorporating what works well in a work and finding new ways to strengthen what works. With this process of development Jennifer has created a unique style of painted dabbles with a brush which are overlaid with a delicate dotting from the sharp end of a stick. She paints the country, looking down from the sky, imagining the delicate dappling of the spinifex and grass overlaying the hardness of the rock surfaces beneath. You really do get a sense of flying over the country, looking down at the painting while standing above it, and you get the sense of wanting to 'jump in' to the country. Jennifer knows this country well, the clay pans, the hills, the dry creek beds and soaks and the sand dunes and with this knowledge she is transported back to country as she paints it from above. Painting is a way of life for Jennifer and day by day she crosses lines between painting country and visiting country and the two become one with the power of country being felt within the delicate dotting of her work.
May 5, 2009
The Blackstone Festival Begins!
The festivities have been wonderful. We have had many visitors and volunteers arrive. There has been a cloths stall and Beauty salon run by the ladies from Wiluna Community. They have also provided their amazing large geen 4WD Bus for the dancing activities lead by Jodie Lane from Margaret river. We had many smiling faces crammed into the bus as they disappeared for well over 4 hrs of dancing and 'painting up'.
The glass blowers have been the usual hit with the kids lining up for a go. Our performance Artists of the 'Melting pot Crew' have also been busy entertaining establishing group participation with the school performance program.
Today will be a big day with the arrival of the DESART MOB from Alice Springs as well as visiting art centres for Art centre talks and discussion, also Desart will be hosting the wednesday night Community BBQ!!!
Another highlight today will be the anticipated visit from the 'Clown Doctor' (rumour has it that we was trained by Patch Adams himself).
The energy levels of the community have been well on the 'up' and we hope to continue the happiness levels of our community well into the next week with many more festivities to go - with a Movie night, Disco Night and sports events on the weekend will finish off the event.
Many Happy Blackstone Festival Returns to ALL!
Glass Art - Festival Time 2009
Hello everybody. It has been a wonderful week here at Blackstone with the start of our annual Blackstone Festival. The images depicted here are close ups of our glass work activities. Our friends from Margaret river come out every year for the festival to teach kids and adults alike the wonderful craft of Glass Blowing. The colours are magical and the process is mesmerizing.
Apr 30, 2009
Gallery Wall
In Preparation for the Blackstone Festival and visiting Gallery buyers, paintings have been stretched and hung to Maximum effect!... The Gallery wall has been received with great adoration from our Artists, instilling a great sense of achievement. There is nothing more satisfying then spending a whole week on a work and then standing back, having a look, and then, saying "finished!"
The Blackstone Reading Room
Edith Lyons and Jean Lane, having an in-depth read of the new 'Art Collector Guide to Aboriginal Art Centres' Magazine. Both featured in the magazine with stunning artworks.
Madeleine's hanging system
The proud creator of the new Blackstone Art Centre Hanging System! (B.A.C.H.S)
4 right angle brackets and a bunch of coat hangers - what a masterful achievement!
Apr 23, 2009
Rosie Lane
Rosie Lane, a young vibrant painter with a brighter future ahead. Thick detailed, purposefully dotted paint. Marks dropped from a touch of a stick, a heavily textured surface, a feast for the eyes and purposefully suited to Rosie's vibrant personality, not to mention her colourful dress sense. Always painting with a smile, a production of happiness translated directly to the viewer, with artworks to lighten up any dull mood. Rosie is as her name is and her artworks are as cheerful and uplifting as a desert storm is to the parched land - bringing life to everything she touches.
Apr 15, 2009
Nora Davidson - Featured Artist
Nora was born near the Community of Jameson where her family holds the story for Illurpa. Nora now lives at Blackstone with her family and enjoys the traditional life offered here and is a regular visitor to the Blackstone Art Centre. Her paintings have come a long way in the past couple of months showing a contemporary innovating style with lush, vibrant dotting. When artists such as Nora paint every day with works improving with every canvas offered to her, something magical happens. A Break-through work!
At the Blackstone Art Centre, we talk about the world money crisis and its effects on painting sales. Then we discuss what is important about painting, and how the stories and knowledge of the country painted is vital to the future success of any artist. We talk about painting the POWER back into painting and... every now and then a painter steps up and paints somthing magical.
The work shown here depicts, sand dunes, bush foods and spinifex grasses and rock holes. Nora tells me that the rock holes shown are very important to her family and that she has depicted the two middle rock holes with blue showing that they are 'living water' and that the water flows from them more than the others which will dry up when there is no rain. She explains that the green has been painted to depict more growth near where the water flows and with that growth, there is an abundance of bush foods.
Nora has taken the ideas of her country and the stories she was told as a young girl and depicted them elegantly with a depth of knowledge, subtle yet sacred and vital to her ancestors way of life. Nora is proud of this work and has understood the painting medium to be used to powerfully covey her bush past. The colours are rich and textural conveying her love of country, and purposefully explored to allow others a glimpse of her heritage and willingly shares her living knowledge with others. We are lucky to have such a wonderfully gifted artist painting for Papulankutja Artists, playing her role to keep our culture and Art Centre STRONG!
Painting the Power back into Painting
Image painted by Ruby Reid
Hello Friends of Blackstone!
We have reached a turning point at Papulankutja Artists. We have had strong cultural leaders pass away, some have moved into respite and others have simply moved to another community. With this great loss over time, the art works of Blackstone Community have been in a fragile state. The strength of our artworks relies on the strong cultural knowledge which accompanies them and with the loss of strong leaders, the knowledge grows weak and the power felt and seen in an art work is lost. The previous Manager of Papulankutja Artists, Dianna Isgar has achieved wonderful results in setting up a platform for a new generation of artists to step up. With her vision and efforts the new Art Centre Building was built, and now a fully realized creation, this building is a haven for men and women of all ages to participate in cultural knowledge and art. Accompanying the new building is the enthusiasm of the artist, who have slowly and surely stepped up from strength to strength, painting the power back into the painting.
We talk about this power, how the dotting of the spinifex in country mirrors the dotting of the brush on canvas. The way colours in country work well together and how the same colour patterns can be conveyed with paint. We talk about the important symbols in the story and how to make these symbols stand out, using the right colours and textures of paint to highlight those powerful symbols and markings. An important aspect of Blackstone art is the concept of track making, tracks of ancestral beings and tracks of animals important to the storyteller. These tracks dance along the painting as in the ceremony accompanying the story, or the tracks may have a serious presence, marked out with broad sweeping brush strokes. Tracks are fine and detailed or they are thick and lush with dotted texture.
On closer review of the Blackstone paintings, artists have never really lost the power portrayed by those strong leaders of the past, they have just been waiting for the right platform and the right encouragement to move forwards. People of Blackstone community have an incredible wealth of knowledge, but as a genuinely humble people, they have been waiting to step up as strong painters, allowing those who have gone before them to lead the way.
And now the time has come.
We have young artists showing natural talent for colour and composition and the more mature men and women are strengthening their works on a daily basis. Artists in Blackstone work hard at painting and work well, and some have shown that the power in painting never left us. Papulankutja Artists are genuine story tellers with a natural ability to paint and share their culture through vibrant, strong, powerful works and we hope to meet and share these powerful works with any friends that show a genuine interest in our Blackstone Community and our Art Centre.
Mar 23, 2009
Mar 19, 2009
Come enjoy the fun of the Blackstone Festival!
Pukurlpa-la Lurrtjurriwa Papulankutjala!
Come enjoy the fun of the Blackstone Festival!
Tuesday 5th May to Saturday Saturday 9th May 2009
Come bring your swag and spend a few days with us at Blackstone!
• We will open the evening with a community BBQ on Tuesday evening.
• There will be the usual fun with art and craft, Glass Jewellery Making with Gerry and Tarn from Margaret River.
• Special – New Art centre Building- GRAND OPENING!
• A special school's Performance Programme run by Nicky and Margo.
• Art Centre Art Market – Calling on all art centres to bring works for display and sale!!!
• Events co-ordinator Jodie Lane (who used to work in the Blackstone Art centre) will be here to organize a Women’s dancing event.
• There will be a Second-hand cloths market, so come find a Bargin!
• Come dance at the Friday night Disco!!! … and dance like no one is watching!
• Art Centre business with Desart later in the week with a surprise Desart workshop!
• A raffle will be drawn with Prizes Donated from the Blackstone SHOP - $1 a ticket WIN a Microwave!!! WIN a DVD PLAYER!!! WIN a TOY ROBOT FOR THE KIDS!!!! : ) !
• Continuing over the weekend with inter-community Youth Sports. Activities coordinated by Brett of the Ngaanatjarraku Shire youth Team.
• We are calling upon volunteers for the very popular beauty salon!!! Contact us Now!!!
For Further Information and Bookings Contact : Anthony at the ART CENTRE
Phone: 08 8956 7586
Email: artists.papulankutja@bigpond.com
Come enjoy the fun of the Blackstone Festival!
Tuesday 5th May to Saturday Saturday 9th May 2009
Come bring your swag and spend a few days with us at Blackstone!
• We will open the evening with a community BBQ on Tuesday evening.
• There will be the usual fun with art and craft, Glass Jewellery Making with Gerry and Tarn from Margaret River.
• Special – New Art centre Building- GRAND OPENING!
• A special school's Performance Programme run by Nicky and Margo.
• Art Centre Art Market – Calling on all art centres to bring works for display and sale!!!
• Events co-ordinator Jodie Lane (who used to work in the Blackstone Art centre) will be here to organize a Women’s dancing event.
• There will be a Second-hand cloths market, so come find a Bargin!
• Come dance at the Friday night Disco!!! … and dance like no one is watching!
• Art Centre business with Desart later in the week with a surprise Desart workshop!
• A raffle will be drawn with Prizes Donated from the Blackstone SHOP - $1 a ticket WIN a Microwave!!! WIN a DVD PLAYER!!! WIN a TOY ROBOT FOR THE KIDS!!!! : ) !
• Continuing over the weekend with inter-community Youth Sports. Activities coordinated by Brett of the Ngaanatjarraku Shire youth Team.
• We are calling upon volunteers for the very popular beauty salon!!! Contact us Now!!!
For Further Information and Bookings Contact : Anthony at the ART CENTRE
Phone: 08 8956 7586
Email: artists.papulankutja@bigpond.com
Mar 12, 2009
What me worry? An article about pizza, dirty boots and the state of change in the Australian Aboriginal Art Market.
“When industry norms start to die, people panic. It's difficult to change when you think that you must change everything in order to succeed. Changing everything is too difficult.” Seth Godin.
The art industry like many other business models is in a state of change. We can see the change in the faces of gallery owners, Art Centre Managers and buyers, who are wide-eyed and have their jaws slightly leaning to the south-west. Change is healthy. Change is the only thing we can count on. Change can free us from the very things that have been plaguing our industry over the last decade. The tower can be built as high as the stars but will only reach them with the never failing support of the earth.
The Tower of Pisa “began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction. The tower presently leans to the southwest.” Wikipedia.
People may want their art centre or gallery situated on the top floor of the tower. Best views in town, with no Artists there to see it. Have you ever asked an Aboriginal Artist from the desert if they like living in a high rise apartment, 20 floors up? I have, and I got the darndest looks! What makes the business world want to climb? Some of us have been climbing floors all our lives, some of us have built our own buildings and then caught the lift to the top. Some people in the industry like having BBQ’s on the ground floor by the pool. Paintings are painted on ground level. The floors are swept and bills are paid on the ground floor. Bush trips don’t make sense when picking from the window herb garden on the 12th floor. Sure there is a water-proof plasma screen on the roof watching over the designer zen floor boards and the Backyard Blitz ‘shrubs in a tub’ look, but where are the goannas? Can’t see no tracks on fancy white carpet, just the ones my dusty boots dragged in.
Substrate is a layer of earth compacted and composed with different consistencies as the other layers above and below it – So do we want our industry to be built upon loose substrate like the tower of Pisa? Substrate layers are the very essence of what makes an Art Centre, the community, the country and the values. As easy as it is to find fault with other aspects of the market and worry about the on sale of works, these directions of blame will fix itself if, core values are re-evaluated so that each layer of substrate supports the other firmly from below. Sounds easy, but, the building has to fall before we can rebuild the support structures underneath it. The top artists, they will do fine, they have already reached the stars and are calling out to the rest of the mob to catch up. As for the rest of us, we have to get our hands dirty again, muddy up our boots, and the rest of the industry, they are relocating to bomb shelters, battening down the hatches and having a peek every now and then, is it over yet?
Change is good, keep what works and re-work it. Advertise our community spirit, enjoy the country again, open our eyes to the reasons why we became art centre managers in some of the most remote regions of the planet. If we look closely, we will find that we do not have to change much at all, just be open to the process of making art. The process of building up our art centres strong again, waiting for the return of the market and with it the high flying buyers! Adopt a dog and buy 20 litres of tick juice for them to bath in. Find out what a witchetty grub really tastes like – chicken, fish? Buy a new sat phone just for the fun of it. Make a gallery space where ever there is a wall to hammer a nail in. Have an artist competition judged on the best painting, the most cultural, the most colourful. Have prizes and cups of tea. We are very luck and extremely privileged to be where we are and apart of such a unique existence, so lets celebrate the change of the industry and its market, and keep that frown upside-down. Three cheers! We will be fine in 09!
Anthony Spry
Mar 11, 2009
Jameson Outreach Program
Elaine Munro
Papulankutja Artists are involved in a new Outreach Program to assist artists in Jameson. Canvases, paints and spinifex paper is taken to the artists in Jameson where they are able to produce artworks.
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