Cirrus@Austlit

This topic introduces students to some of the many aspects of contemporary Aboriginal and Islander visual arts and crafts within their historical and social contexts. The effect of non-Indigenous stylistic, critical and other influences and the pressures of the market-place in the production of art-for-sale are also underlying themes that are covered in this topic.

The major areas of study covered include the pre-contact origins of contemporary Aboriginal visual art; regional diversity; appropriationand copyright; change and continuity; marketing; the impact of museums and exhibitions; and the effects of the market and tourism on contemporary Aboriginal art. Opportunities exist for students to use the Flinders University Art Museum as a research resource and there are also opportunities to attend exhibitions and meet practising Aboriginal artists.

This topic aims to:

• introduce students to some of the many aspects of contemporary Aboriginal and Islander visual arts and crafts within their social contexts
• equip students with a sound knowledge of the regional diversity of Australian Indigenous art
• equip students with a firm basis for understanding of the pre-contact origins of contemporary Indigenous Australian art, where applicable
• equip students to identify and to articulate stylistic differences between Indigenous Australian artworks on the basis of their specific regional location
• equip students with an understanding of the ways in which processes of colonisation have further diversified Indigenous Australian art
• enable students to write and speak clearly about the above