Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 8 : Pressclippings, 1977-1981

• I, 'Major Aboriginal . ' ,~ . flrt exhibition of <world impOrtance • THE BIGGEST exhibition ' of Aboriginal 11rt ever as– sembled In Australia will be shown in Brisbane next ' year. 1l?,1 1 bR;a&WwrVtfW:£;t: The exhibition or 325 works of ~ 2 \Pi: IP ~ 1 'f/"8;" F an I v s t er , yd- ney l\nd Adelaide be!ore comlni; to j3rlsba:ie'a new art galleri•. Ll\ter It will tour the world. Items have been drawn frolll the most Important public art cotlcotlons throughout Australht for the exhibition put together b)• hcl'ed the l\borl1:;lnal art would become one of the ,\'Orld's mosl , fnmous touring exhtbltlone. It would rank In lmpo1•tu:1cc with the irreat o,·erseas exhlbl· lions seen In Australia. In recent i-ears, such a.s ma.sterpleces from , France e.nd Russia e.nd the Chi· nese and Pompell cxhlblUons. Four scctlonR \\'Ill comprise the exhibition - origins, art o! Lhc Riverine cultures, art o! the desert, and art of Northern Aus– tralia. M1· Warner said: "The displays wlll show the antiquity of dlllri·• cnt artistic tradition s ln distant · rcclons or Australia, tracb1g the origins of Abor111lnals since their arrival o:i the continent more than 40,000 years a1to," Artlle.cts believed lo be more than 15,000 yeara old are lnclude<l In the displays. Mr Warner said: "Pnrtlculur aUention will be paid to the birth or art In Austru.lia. "The discovery of :?0,000-yeur- . old marktn11s 011 the soil walls <\eep within a limestone cave 011 the Nullarbor Plain In South Auslralla has led to the theory or a second origin for world art. "These first-known cxt1mplcs .,r artistic expression In Austmliu :ire believed to be contcmpordtl' with similar markings foun<l ,n lhc great caves of France and Spnin. 1 ' One o! lhc 111any themes or lhe dlsplai:s will be the insenuli)' or .-.uorl,....al AustraJJ,ma- ln– ~unltcd resources or mu,u• rnl ;11n.tci·\a\s \llt,o c!flclent tools, utensils nn<I ll•·~ objects, all ol w\iicll plai'l!tr" \'\ta\ role In \he ch\llll of sur\'\vu.1 and ritual. i\1r \V1,rncr :-;au.l: "'J:hc v:ur\rn w;\1 pro\'ldc a g\\mp!lC or tile n c:ll mhcrlt•llce of these people lllltl w\11 escltc the Interest or " wltlfl aut icncc. ...l'hC ex\1ib\t.i0:1 p1·rHClll!-- 11 un\quc opport.un \\,Y ror us to J,;:u'., n deeper undci·stanc\lng or the" \'. or an a~c-old ,rnd d\stlnctl,e l Aui,trn\\nn culture :· . UlsS t•All'l'l\llllo l,