Art Gallery Reflection

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.