Earth's Creation
Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Utopia Australia. 1994 C.E. Synthetic polymer paint on canvas.
Dump dot technique - using the brush to pound the paint onto the canvas and create layers of colour and movement.
Theme:
Aboriginal culture - nature
Form:
20 ft wide by 9 ft high
Function:
Abstract Expressionist work still rooted in tradition and culture
Content:
High colorist - yellows, greens, reds and blued bloom like vegetation (loosening of composition); represents changing atmospheric character of seasonal cycles; lushness of green time after heavy rain
Context:
Abstract Expressionist (de Kooning, Pollock); Aboriginal culture connected to landscape of Australia (deserts, grasslands, rock formations); Kngwarreye established elder trained to create ceremonial sand paintings inspired by ritual "dreaming" and decorative motifs on women's bodies called Awleye - art very cultural though not figural; career art w/ change in Australia - more ethical embrace of Aboriginal culture by nation's W population
