Traditional source, modern take

Aboriginal Art Directory | 01.08.08

Author: Louise Martin-Chew
News source: The Australian

The Australian reports on the Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award 2008.

The third year of the Queensland Art Gallery’s emerging indigenous art award again has a focused selection of innovative contemporary art, showing several works from 10 artists. And emerging doesn’t necessarily mean young: work from 98-year-old Loongkoonan hangs alongside that of 20-year-old Beaver Lennon. The two previous award winners worked in non-traditional media: Jonathan Jones with a sculptural installation using light bulbs; and Genevieve Grieves with a moving video installation, Picturing the Old People. Following these two, the 2008 winner, Gunybi Ganambarr, would appear at first glance to be a more traditional choice. Closer inspection reveals that, with his winning work, innovation continues to dominate this award.


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Contact Details

Gallery: Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award
Address: Melbourne Street South Brisbane Brisbane 4100 QLD

 

 

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Comments (1)

Aboriginal art is a very extraordinary art that has a deep incredible history attached to it. Unfortunately, these days there is a lot of controversy surrounding the ethical treatment of the artist. Exploitation to make a quick buck has run rampant across Australia, with Carpetbaggers and unethical gallery owners taking advantage of the artists for their own gain.

It's time for more reform to take place and help the Indigenous Aboriginal Australians receive a better return on their work and contributions to society. While government agencies do their best to try and help out, their assistance and policies are very slow and generally have a minimal impact. A quicker and far more effective way to assist is through education and respect as a buyer.

When collecting or purchasing art, it is best to know who you are buying from. While there are many immoral and dishonorable dealers out there. There are also some great people who really take care of the artist and the buyer. Tips in finding these people are fairly simple and listed below:

- Ask to see a certificate of authenticity, make sure that it is a quality official type of certificate. As disgraceful dealers generally have very amateur basic certificates that they create on a Word doc. at home. *Do note though, if buying direct from an artist, they may provide a basic certificate.

- If buying online make sure it is from a reputable website. Check to make sure that there are good links attached to the site i.e government or other official sources. Make sure that it is a secure site that is affiliated with reputable services. Services such as PayPal or eBay are known and trusted and have rules and regulations to filter out seedy businesses and sellers. Other official associations and clubs are also good indicators of a quality website.

- Before purchasing anything, do some research on the artist and ask the seller questions.

These are a few helpful tips on how to spot unethical dealers and ways to make sure buyers receive a great deal. This in turn benefits all relevant parties involved in the buying and selling. And if all else fails go off your gut feeling, if something doesn't seem right, well?

Enjoy helping, learning and viewing!

Posted by Ky | August 15, 2008 8:33 PM

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