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November 07, 2005
I don't read Quadrant often as I find its bland conservatism dreary. In the November issue there is an article by David Forster on 'Aboriginality and the Hope of Art.' He thinks that Western visual art is not just dead but putrescent. He then asks:
...could there be an interface in Australia between black and white cultures, of the kind that allowed for jazz in the USA? I'm thinking of an artist like the youthful Herbie Hancock. Could we come up with an equivalent? Probably not.
I'm interested in Forster says about visual art. He says that 'much contemporary Aboriginal Art , in my view, is opportunistic crap, but that's to be expected. '
Really? How about this? It's hardly crap.
Rover Thomas, Lake Gregory 1985, Ochres on plywood
That is innovative. As is the work of Emily Kngwarreye:
Now Forster does give two examples ofAboriginal master works. One he mentions is 'Sandhills of Mina Mina' by the Warlpiri painter Dorothy Napangardi:
Forster suggests that works like this:
...suggest the future of Australian visual art, like that of dance, holds promise, because synthesis of the kind that allowed for the music of Duke Ellington are still possible, rather than probable.
I agree. But that is where he leaves it, just as it begins to get interesting.
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I'm not sure i've understood, what David Forster, wanted to state.
but i do love the paintings you've chosen!