Blog #4 Aboriginal Dot Art
NOVEMBER 3RD, 2023
ABORIGINAL DOT ART
Welcome back everyone! In blog #4 I will be covering the style of Aboriginal dot art, native to Australia.
An Example of Aboriginal art with use of dots.
(Australian Aboriginal Art: Understanding History, In Good Taste)
Aboriginal Art includes a specific dot style, that was originally drawn over soil during ceremonies. There is a large emphasis of symbolism in the art with each shape representing a terrain, person or weapon. Body paint was another pivotal part to the art, with outlines of circles and dots.
(Stories in the Sand: A History Of The Indigenous Painting Form)
The style is abstract on purpose, this was so aboriginal artists could disguise the meaning of sacred designs to the eyes of Westeners.
Even amongst their own communities, uninitiated members never got to see these designs as the soil would be smoothed over and the painted bodies would be washed to keep the stories told by the markings secure.
Dot art moved from desert sand to canvas back in 1971, when art teacher Geoffrey Bardon noticed his students would draw symbols in the sand when telling stories. He then urged his students to paint a traditional mural on the school walls, and from there canvases and boards.
From Bardon the art style spread, however Aboriginal artists were concerned about thier sacred paintings being seen by Westeners and Aboriginal people from other tribes. To conceal the sacred meanings of their stories they abstracted the designs into dots.
Colors of Aboriginal art were first red, yellow black and white. These hues were produced from ochre, charcoal and pipe clay. Later acrylic paint allowed for more colorful inclusions.
Common symbols can be found in Aboriginal art. The curved U shape is used to symbolize a person, with marks placed on either side to define whether it's male or female. A circle signifies meeting spots such as waterholes, fireplaces or ceremonial sites. Animals can be represented by thier footsteps in the form of tracks.
These symbols can be specific to only men or women using, while others can only be seen in the tribe community.
Shown above is an example of various symbols and their meanings.
(Artlandish, Aboriginal Art Gallery)
These painting have several layers of meaning. The deepest version will be with the target audience, who must be very involved in the Aboriginal community. Children and Aboriginal men and women outside of the community will be shown a basic verson, and non-indegenious people will know very little.
Fun Fact! Early Aboriginal art, not specific to the dot style, has roots dating back 60,000 years!
(word count: 437)
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