Jubilee exhibition of Australian art

A B O R I G I N A L ART By Leonhard Adam, LL.D. , F. R.A.I. .: N C O N T R A S T W I T H O T H E R T Y P E S of primitive art, for example Negro sculpture, which was 'discovered' by artists a nd a r t lovers quite a long time ago Au s t r a l i anabo r i g i na l a r t has always been more o r less a monopoly o f the anthropologist. I t is only recently that some efforts have been ma de to make it more popular as a n art. As a n anthropologist, I a m bound to suggest that, when we are studying a n exotic a r t o f some kind, it is always a good thing first to make a survey o f its general cultural I s e t t i n g . But as a student o f fine arts, I find there are other points to be considered, too. The anthropologist has to consider every single h uma n artefact as a n important specimen, 4 . regardless o f its aesthetic quality, whereas the student o f fine arts will study primitive works (just like other works o f art) with discrimination, accepting only pieces o f artistic merit as art in the narrower sense o f the term. 4z A T h e latest achievement o f cultural anthropology is, a t any rate as a programme for , . . . . . . f u t u r e research, the study of 'comparative aesthetics,' i.e., the study o f the aesthetic responses o f primitive ma n himself. Here, then, the anthropologist might eventually j adopt some of the aspects and methods o f fine arts. According to media a nd techniques, the principal categories o f aboriginal a r t are the following, viz.: Rock art, i.e., paintings and engravings on rock walls; paintings on hark 13 sheets; ground paintings, i.e., paintings done in a variety o f colour pigments, mostly yellow, red ochre and white, on the ground; rudiments o f sculpture in wood, i.e., primitive pole sculptures found on Melville and Bathurst Islands in the form o f grave posts, and at Yirrkalla, in the form o f anthropomorphous statuettes used in rituals; decorative art, i.e., the decoration o f the surfaces o f ritual a nd profane implements of any description. I n the following paragraphs, we will confine ourselves to a few general observations on two main categories o f aboriginal art—rock a r t a nd bark paintings. As in South Africa a nd other parts o f the world, we find in Australia both rock paintings a n d rock engravings. Generally speaking, the rock paintings o f our aborigines a n d their IRV ancestors are inferior to the best of the bushman paintings, whereas some o f the rock I e n g r a v i n g s , notably some o f those in the Sydney district, can well compare with them. Thus, some o f the rock a r t o f Australia is o f artistic quality, and, therefore, deserves our appreciation not only as monuments o f the early history o f this country, l)ilt also on account of its aesthetic merits. Technically, as in South Africa, two categories o f rock engravings can he distinguished in Australia, NZ., on the one hand, work done in spaces and, on the other hand, linear engravings. Th e former type is produced by pecking with a h amme r stone. Rhythmic pecking results in gradually producing a surface consisting of minute shallow cavities which, through the effects o f light and shadow, give the impression o f a space showing a different colour from the surrounding natural rock surface. Pecked engravings are not 24 HEAD OF KIMASIMA, A JAPANESE. v e r y c o mm o n in Australia; the best known locality where they occur is Mootwingee, in New South Wales. (Unfortunately, most o f the engravings there are now in pieces.) Wood Carving by t h e artist Munggeraui Examples are also found in Tasmania. 4 .5