BALGO: Creating Country by John Carty (HB)
$89.99
A landmark publication in Aboriginal art, Australian history, and art historical scholarship. The book tells the story of Balgo art movement, one of the most vibrant, colourful and influential schools of Western Desert painting. But to tell that story, it also tells another, the story of Balgo itself. A tiny community on the fringes of the desert, created by missionaries, and now governed by Aboriginal people. A tiny community through which the transformation of life for Aboriginal people in the 20th Century is laid bare. A place where art emerged as a response to that history.
Balgo: Creating Country shows the birth of a painting movement in the context of thousands of years of cultural practice, breaking down the category of Aboriginal art and rebuilding it, dot by dot, into something resembling the language of a new Australian Art.
This beautiful monograph features countless images of full colour artworks from communities including Birrundudu, Papunya, Yuendumu and Balgo and language groups including Kukatja, Djaru, Warlpiri, Nyining, Ngarti, Wangkajunga and Manjilyjarra. It is deeply grounded in country has been put together in conjunction with the Warlayirti Arts Centre.
About the author -
John Carty is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Adelaide, and Head of Humanities at the South Australian Museum. His position between the two institutions focuses on connecting the collections and contemporary politics of Museums with innovative research. He is also the Humanities and Social Sciences Commissioner for the Australian National Commission to UNESCO.
He has worked extensively with Aboriginal artists and custodians throughout Australia on books, exhibitions and community development programs. His core research has involved working with Aboriginal artists to bridge the divide between anthropology and art history.
ISBN 9781760802042
John Carty | UWA Press | November, 2021 | HB | 404 pages | 28.4 x 23.4cm | 2kg