Benn Gunn Baker
Aboriginal Dot Painting on a Didgeridoo
Two people sitting (represented by the indentation they leave in the ground). This is possibly an initiation - dotted body paint. Concentric circles in the middle may represent a gathering, water hole, campsite or campfire.
Black can represent night and the Aboriginal people of Australia.
Red; the red earth, the red ochre and a spiritual relation to the land. 'we are all of one blood, from the land we come and to it we will all return'.
Yellow; the Sun, the giver of life and protector
White can be a spirit colour like smoke wind and lightening.
Australian Indigenous art is the oldest unbroken tradition of art in the world.
The dotted motifs of much of today’s Aboriginal modern design work has become the trademark of the contemporary Aboriginal Art movement. Its iconic status developed from a culture stretching back into the history of an ancient land, evolving and weaving into dreamtime stories.
The use of dots and the modern abstract equivalent was to tell a story, more often then not, a physical representation of an oral tradition that is passed down from generation to generation. Of course, some of these stories are not for the uninitiated, and although they may be depicted in the paintings, they are not revealed to the non-initiate. It has been discussed in publications elsewhere that:
As the Papunya painting movement developed in the 1970s, dotting was increasingly used to obscure meanings and to hide some of the symbolism that was not meant to be exposed to the un-initiated.
When viewed in monochrome other symbols can look similar, such as the circles within circles, sometimes depicted on its own, sparsely or in clustered groups. When this symbol is used and depending on the Aboriginal tribe you belong to, it can vary in meaning from campfire, tree, hill, digging hole, waterhole or spring. The symbol may be clarified further by the use of colour, for example water may be depicted with the use of the colour blue.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_art
www.ausemade.com.au/aboriginal/resources/symbols/symbols.htm
Aboriginal Dot Painting on a Didgeridoo
Two people sitting (represented by the indentation they leave in the ground). This is possibly an initiation - dotted body paint. Concentric circles in the middle may represent a gathering, water hole, campsite or campfire.
Black can represent night and the Aboriginal people of Australia.
Red; the red earth, the red ochre and a spiritual relation to the land. 'we are all of one blood, from the land we come and to it we will all return'.
Yellow; the Sun, the giver of life and protector
White can be a spirit colour like smoke wind and lightening.
Australian Indigenous art is the oldest unbroken tradition of art in the world.
The dotted motifs of much of today’s Aboriginal modern design work has become the trademark of the contemporary Aboriginal Art movement. Its iconic status developed from a culture stretching back into the history of an ancient land, evolving and weaving into dreamtime stories.
The use of dots and the modern abstract equivalent was to tell a story, more often then not, a physical representation of an oral tradition that is passed down from generation to generation. Of course, some of these stories are not for the uninitiated, and although they may be depicted in the paintings, they are not revealed to the non-initiate. It has been discussed in publications elsewhere that:
As the Papunya painting movement developed in the 1970s, dotting was increasingly used to obscure meanings and to hide some of the symbolism that was not meant to be exposed to the un-initiated.
When viewed in monochrome other symbols can look similar, such as the circles within circles, sometimes depicted on its own, sparsely or in clustered groups. When this symbol is used and depending on the Aboriginal tribe you belong to, it can vary in meaning from campfire, tree, hill, digging hole, waterhole or spring. The symbol may be clarified further by the use of colour, for example water may be depicted with the use of the colour blue.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_art
www.ausemade.com.au/aboriginal/resources/symbols/symbols.htm