Aboriginal Art (World of Art)

By Wally Caruana

Book Overview

Aboriginal artists today practise in one of the world's longest continuous tradition of art - and perhaps the last to be generally recognised. Widely sought after, aboriginal art has now taken its place in the collections of leading museums and galleries. This concise survey looks at the work of Australia's indigenous visual artists from all parts of the continent: from Arhem Land and the desert, the Kimberley and northern Queensland, to modern towns and cities. Building on traditions that stretch back at least 50,000 years, many of the artists have worked in a variety of contexts, from the sacred and secret realm of ceremony to more public spheres, and in media including painting, sculpture, engraving, constructions, weaving and - most recently - photography, printmaking and textile design. Beliefs embodied in the Dreaming are expressed with many layers of meaning which reflect a unique world-view.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0500202648
• ISBN13: 9780500202647
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Mind Blowing

This is a truly great book about a truly mind blowing development in the otherwise tepid (and too often phoney) world of contemporary art. Most of the artists represented are in my view among the greatest I've ever encountered, from any time or any place, anwhere. The fact that their work projects ancient traditions in a manner both faithful to those traditions and at the same time so original and vital is truly mind bending. Caruana's discussion of the work and explication of so many interesting and important details is highly instructive and enlightening. I recommend this book unequivocally to anyone with an eye and mind open to the possibilities of art and the power of symbolism.

Useful, complex, covers a wide range of Aboriginal Art

I found this book useful, rich and varied, covering many aspects of this beautiful artwork, intermixing the Dreamtime stories with information about the many different geographical regions, artists and forms of art with (admittedly) small but powerful reproductions.