Dreamings, Through Indigenous Art

Dreamings, Through Indigenous Art is an excerpt from the film Dreamings – The Art of Aboriginal Australia (30 mins), produced in 1988.

The art of Aboriginal Australia is celebrated in Dreamings as we journey into the sacred heartland of Australia to see traditional artists at work. The artists talk of their work, its association with the land and its spiritual connection with their people, the animals and plants. The film explores the meanings behind the works, from acrylic dot paintings of the Central Desert to cross-hatched bark paintings and burial poles of northern Australia, as it allows the viewer access to the oldest continuous art tradition in the world.

Dreamings – The Art of Aboriginal Australia is a Film Australia National Interest Program.

Students recognise the centrality of ‘country’ in shaping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities.

National Civics and Citizenship Curriculum Statements year 5

To access the complete Civics and Citizenship National Statements of Learning go to Year 5 Statements of Learning

There are several different major Aboriginal art styles, including X-Ray and cross-hatching, and the one seen in this film, the dot style from Central Australia.

Aboriginal art was traditionally created on bodies, in the dirt, on trees or artefacts, and on rocks. In the 1970s school teacher Geoffrey Bardon encouraged the Papunya Tula people of Central Australia to use acrylic paint on canvas, boards and cloth, which triggered an explosion of traditional and new Indigenous art and an increasing respect for and recognition of it among non-Indigenous Australians.

Aboriginal art works reflect *culture and environment and are often created as a co-operative work.

Dreaming stories tell about how and when the earth, as Aboriginal people know it, was made. Dreaming stories are passed from one generation to the next through songs, dances and art.

*culture – (distinctive) practices and beliefs of a society or group of people

1. View the video clip and discuss the themes and styles of the paintings.
   1. How is the centrality of country to the identity of indigenous people shown in the paintings?
   2. Try to explain the connection between the land and indigenous culture or way of life.
2. Encourage students to visit an indigenous art gallery and/or to use other sources to examine a range of indigenous art. Go to Images of Aboriginal Art for many examples.
3. Investigate what appears to be some central ideas running through many of the indigenous art works.
4. It is sometimes said that ‘indigenous art is like a topographic mapping of their land and culture’. Thinking about the video clip and other sources what do you think this means?
5. Invite a member of the indigenous community and/or a indigenous art gallery owner to class to show and discuss indigenous art. Or go to Home and the Warlpiri People – Audio Interview with Aboriginal Artist Malcolm Jagamarahttp/ for an insight into how country and place shapes Aboriginal culture and art.

Rosemary Kowanko, Aboriginal Art and the Dreaming, Curriculum Resources, South Australia, 1994.

Adele Pring, Aboriginal Artists in South Australia, Curriculum Resources, South Australia, 1998.

Go to Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre for more information about the Aborigines concept of Country, the Dreaming and their art.

Got to Aboriginal Art Store Art History & Culture Podcasts for more discussions by Aboriginal artists their art.