Art Gallery was a nice trip
excursion. The main point of the trip was to visit Aboriginal Art. We went
through many different chord of emotion when admired the work of Aboriginal
artists from traditional to contemporary. Each works separately, many meanings
hidden below brushstrokes. I realized that to understand and feel the reality
authors’ message, you must understand meaning of symbols as dots, circles, cross
hatching and other geometric designs.
Aboriginal peoples have a long
tradition of art in which they used conventional designs and symbols. These
designs when applied to any surface, whether on the body of a person
participating in a ceremony or on a shield. The artists continue their
connection with the country and the Dreaming. For example, body decoration
using ancestral designs is an important part of many ceremonies. In central
Australia inherited designs are painted on the face and body using ochres
ground to a paste with water and applied in stripes or circles.
While the most common symbols
used are relatively simple, they can be used in complex combinations to tell
more complex stories. For example, a Water Dreaming painting might show a
U-shaped icon for a man, sitting next to a circle or concentric circles
representing a waterhole, and spiral shows water flowing. Dots are one of the
symbols commonly and widely used for non-Aboriginal people is what gives the
Central and Western Desert art its distinctive character. Dots may represent
many things - including stars, sparks or burning ground. Base or floor of any
design or picture is Aboriginal land preparation, or participate in the ancestor
of humans with the Earth.
There are many things I have to
learn to understand deeply about Australian Aboriginal art. However, this trip
has also helped me add new insight into people and their culture.
