Synopses & Reviews
Ancestral Modern explores the extraordinary transformation in Australian Aboriginal art that began in the 1970s. Instead of making art primarily for each other-whether painted or inscribed on rock walls, on the ground, on bark, or on bodies as part of ceremonies-artists began rephrasing their practices to inform outsiders about the complexities of their cultures and the remarkable lands that Aboriginal communities have managed for centuries.
Many of the paintings in Ancestral Modern initially appear abstract but communicate surprisingly specific observations about places and people, flora and fauna, and Aboriginal history. In three wide-ranging essays and illuminating discussions of fifty individual works, the authors consider how deceptively simple means yield richly multilayered meanings. What appears to be a geometric maze turns into the path of ancestral beings establishing features of the landscape. Canvases resembling maps record memories of sacred ceremonies. Dazzling linear patterns conjure up leaves blown across a windswept desert, and herringbone hatching designates clan identities. Along the way, this collection offers many new visions of Australia-peering underground to see yams grow, trekking over vast salt lakes, following the trail of a blue-tongued lizard, and encountering a lightning-spitting serpent in swirling water.
Two Australian and two American curators each contribute a distinct perspective on this collection of over one hundred artworks that span the Australian continent and the varying approaches to art pursued by diverse Aboriginal communities. Acrylic paintings from the desert, bark canvases from the north, and ochre-painted canvases from the west are joined by new uses of fiber, clay, and photography. Complementing the fully illustrated essays and catalogue entries are a visual glossary, which offers glimpses of the real-life creatures and landscapes that helped inspire the artworks, and a glossary of terms defining some of the essential concepts of Aboriginal culture. Ancestral Modern is dedicated to a vanguard effort by artists who are showing the world another way to experience not only their own country and worldviews but nature itself, wherever it is encountered.
Review
and#8220;Ancestral Modern is a dazzling survey of contemporary Australian artists working in the 50,000-year-old Aboriginal tradition.and#8221;and#8212;T: The New York Times Style Magazine
Synopsis
A fascinating look at Australian Aboriginal art over the past four decades, highlighting millennia-old artistic traditions
Synopsis
A dynamic look at the potential of disguise seen in masks, installations, and performances by contemporary artists of African descent
While masks are a major art form in many parts of Africa, their use has taken new turns in the 21st century. Disguise: Masks and Global African Art explores how themes related to masking and disguise in the past are now transitioning into new platforms around the world. The authors examine the influence of masks residing in the Seattle Art Museum's renowned collection, investigating the longevity of masquerades, and how they offer ways to disrupt and reimagine reality.
In today's global and digital world, artists are engaging with disguise through photography, video, and interactive platforms. Ten contemporary artists interviewed for this catalogue create work that conceals, layers, and reinvents identities. They include Jacolby Satterwhite, who creates extravagantly choreographed videos; Brendan Fernandes, whose performance-based works show how dance embodies disguise; and Zino Sara-Wiwa, a video artist and filmmaker who has examined the status of traditional Ogoni masks in the midst of Nigeria's destructive oil trade. They are joined by numerous others from around the globe who address the intersection of disguise, identity, ritual, and contemporary life.
Synopsis
A dynamic look at the potential of disguise seen in masks, installations, and performances by contemporary artists of African descentand#160;
Synopsis
This dynamic look at contemporary African art that reinvents masking practices and disguise features interviews with ten artists working around the globe.
Synopsis
While masks are a major art form in many parts of Africa, their use has taken new turns in the 21st century.
Disguise: Masks and Global African Art explores how themes related to masking and disguise in the past are now transitioning into new platforms around the world. The authors examine the influence of masks residing in the Seattle Art Museumandrsquo;s renowned collection, investigating the longevity of masquerades, and how they offer ways to disrupt and reimagine reality.
and#160;
In todayandrsquo;s global and digital world, artists are engaging with disguise through photography, video, and interactive platforms. Ten contemporary artists interviewed for this catalogue create work that conceals, layers, and reinvents identities. They include Jacolby Satterwhite, who creates extravagantly choreographed videos; Brendan Fernandes, whose performance-based works show how dance embodies disguise; and Zino Sara-Wiwa, a video artist and filmmaker who has examined the status of traditional Ogoni masks in the midst of Nigeriaandrsquo;s destructive oil trade. They are joined by numerous others from around the globe who address the intersection of disguise, identity, ritual, and contemporary life.
About the Author
Pamela McClusky is curator of African and Oceanic art at the Seattle Art Museum. Wally Caruana is anand#160;independent curator and art historian specializing in Aboriginal art. Lisa Graziose Corrin is Ellen Philips Katz Director of the Mary and Leigh Block Museum at Northwestern University and a Senior Lecturer in Art History. Stephen Gilchrist is curator of Indigenous Australian Art at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College.