Literature in our Collection
(M-Z)

Taylor, Luke: Seeing the Inside. Bark Painting in Western Arnhem Land, Claredon Press, Oxford 1996, ISBN019823354X

Table of Contents        ¦         Cover Text        ¦         Review⁄Abstract

Table of Contents

List of Plates -xii-

List of Figures -xiv-

List of Tables -xv-

1. Introduction -1-

2. The Development of the Market for Bark Paintings in Western Arnhem Land -15-

3. Kunwinjku Spcial Organization and Land Ownership -49-

4. Apprenticeship and the Social Identity of Artists -70-

5. Themes and Paintings in Ceremonies -102-

6. Formal Components of Bark Paintings -127-

7. Iconic Representation -147-

8. Transforming Figures -194-

9. The Meaning of X-ray Paintings -224-

10. Metaphors and Socialization -242-

Conclulsion: Innovation and Social Reproduction -254-

Appendix: Glossary of Kunwinjku Words -258-

Bibliography -269-

Index -279-

Cover Text

'Seeing the Inside' is the first detailed study of one of the world's great visual art traditions, and its role in the society that produces it. The bark painting of Aboriginal artists in western Arnhem Land is the product of a unique legacy of many thousands of years' duration. In recent years it has attracted enormous interest in the rest of Australia and beyond, with the result that the artists, who live primarily as hunters in this relatively secluded region of northern Australia, now paint for sale to the world art market. Though the richness and power of Aboriginal arts are now, belatedly, finding wide recognition, they remain insufficiently understood. In this thoroughly illustrated book Luke Taylor examines the creative methodes of the bark painters and the cultural meaning of their work. He discusses, on the one hand, the arrangements that allow the artists to project their culture onto an international stage, and on the other, the continuing social and religious roles of their paintings within their own society. The result is a remarkable and fascinating picture of artistic creativity in a changing world.