Viewing ofReference Material
Art students and others conducting research are welcome to make an appointment with us to view the works listed in the adjacent table.
It is also recommended for Europeans to use the online search system at KVK (Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog), in which all German and many European scholarly libraries list their available references. Sometimes the works are available for loan.
A list of further references about Australian art, which however are not yet in our reference collection, is also maintained and continually extended.
Literature in our Collection
(A-L)
Edwards, Robert und Guerin, Bruce: Aboriginal Bark Paintings, Rigby, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth 1969
Table of Contents ¦ Cover Text ¦ Book Review
Cover Text
This is the first book to portray a comprehensive collection of Aboriginal bark paintings in full colour together with a fully-illustrated description of the manner in which they are prepared. Text and photographs show how the Aborigines select and use natural materials in a way which has changed little through the centuries, to produce paintings which, in their instinctively aesthetic treatment of traditional themes, have a universal appeal. The Aboriginal tribes have a rich heritage of art, based largely upon ceremonial and religious aspects of their lives, and there are distinctive differences in the paintings executed by different tribes and communities. These range from the so-called X-ray paintings, which attempt to show several dimensions of a living creature, to the artfully simple of the elaborately intricate. Speciments of all these are given in the photographs, which show how the artists use materials found in their own areas to paint designs in their own specific traditions. Unlike some other types of Aboriginal art, that of bark painting is still flourishing, though it is confined to a relatively small part of the continent. In some cases, it trends towards modern themes, but it mainly follows patterns which have probably changed little since the first Aboriginal found that a chewed stick, a sheet of bark, and pigments made from clay and ochre gave him the media for artistic expression. It is a unique art form, as valid as that of the more sophisticated schools and in fact rivalling them with its vigorous use of colour and design, and as such merits preservation and encouragement in every possible way.