University of Wollongong Research Online
Faculty of Creative Arts - Papers (Archive) Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities
1-1-2005
The art of others: Nolde, Preston & views of Indigenous Art
Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis University of Wollongong, [email protected]
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Recommended Citation Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis, Friederike: The art of others: Nolde, Preston & views of Indigenous Art 2005, 67-87. https://ro.uow.edu.au/creartspapers/209
Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] The art of 67 others: Nolde, Preston & views of Indigenous art Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN
The emergence of Australian Aboriginal art in post-colonial Australia reflects a history of cultural separation between European and Aboriginal art. Up to late 20th Century—Aboriginal culture was'invisible'within the wider'nation-building' identity. The definition, role and status of Aboriginal art has changed dramatically in Australia over the past thirty years, but in Europe no similar shift into a post colonial ideology is evident.
Rhizome 1, 67-87 (2005) SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krish'nabhakdi-Vasilakis galleries, art contemporary public in isexhibited Australiaartin WhileAboriginal 8 6 h rl o ulcehbto sae i fclttn o sprsig inter-cultural suppressing or facilitating in spaces exhibition public of rolea'culture' of andthe understandings public nation-building, on indiscourse art academic of of role influence the the about questions raises culture Aboriginal of representations these between differences striking of The discourse. terms in ethnographic exclusively almost exhibited and read is work same the Germany in Aboriginal art in the 20th Century through the works of Emil Nolde and Margaret and Nolde Emil of 20th works the the inart identities through Aboriginal Century of construction the in art of role the explores paper This dialogue. the Other, whereas Australia's identity absorbs the formerly perceived Other,the perceived formerly the absorbs Australia'sidentity Other, whereas the aas art Aboriginal of development the through canon art Westernthe outside of positioning ethnographic the contesting in crucial were artists Both Preston. non- in used been have cultures indigenous from images how considering by 'What is art?' Almost a hundred years ago, Emil Nolde, German expressionist expressionist German Nolde, Emil ago, years hundred a Almost art?' is 'What situation. Australian the and German inart the non-indigenous and of exclusion through identity national of architecture serve the to appears space production art of perception atthe looks paper this artists these considering By perspective. Non-Westernmodernist arta from Chinese and Javanese still classified under ethnology or anthropology? And why why And anthropology? or ethnology under classified still Javanese and Chinese historicism 'nationalisation'and means toitself art with as educational concerned principally had Germany, which frame. socio-historical a within located been have since, and before question, indigenous between of relationship aspects the papercompares Indigenous.This institutional artGermany, in contrast, Australian'nation-building.'By in keystone is the art of Primitive Peoples not considered art atart all considered not Peoples Primitive artof is the Imperial of constraints historical art given the outside stepped one, for Nolde thisManyanswers to of the question. key this (1867-1959)contemplated painter Nolde and the 'primitive' the and Nolde .1 Ada & Emil Nolde, Neukirchen, Germany Neukirchen, &Nolde,Ada Emil kind the with photo of (reproduction Nolde Emil permission of Dr. Andreas Fluck, Stiftung Seebuell Dr. of Seebuell permission Fluck, Stiftung Andreas He rejected this position, asking:'Why is Indian,is asking:'Why position, rejectedthis He ?'2 His statement is radical for its time, considering that the Cologne Art Fair excluded Aboriginal artist John Marwurndjul in the mid 1990s on grounds of being 'folkloristic'.3 The fact that most of the Aboriginal art shown in Germany is not shown on the'hallowed walls'of the art institutional arena but in other public, commercial or ethnographic space4, reflects the incapacity within the Western art world to negotiate space for this little-understood art. Nolde's question has retained its relevance to this day.5
European art history predominantly excludes art from beyond the Bosporus, maintaining an occidental/oriental dichotomy, as described by Edward Said.6 Occasionally it engages analytically with art from the continents, but only in relation to works that the Western mind can easily interpret: where form and expression are seen as congruent, in familiar media that either originated in, or had been appropriated by, Western culture.7 In relation to Aboriginal art, a rift is created by Eurocentric exhibition criteria, which compartmentalise Aboriginal works into 'contemporary' and 'traditional.'
John Mawurndjul with one of his paintings of the Ngalyod Mumeka,1988. Photograph: Luke Taylor. Reproduced with kind permission of Dr. Luke Taylor & the Artist.
In Nolde's enquiry, two notions underline the overall sub-conscious attitude of the fin de siecle, Eurocentric environment of his day: the first is a readily accepted idea SCHOOL SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis 70 n oilDriim hs hoy lcs hmgnu, btatd 'European' abstracted homogenous, a places theory This social-Darwinism. on based civilisation, global progressive, a within societies of order ascending anof culture at the apex of a global order. of global a apex at culture the the urban, the regional, the sacred, the popular, the high and the low arts within lowarts the and high popular, the sacred, the the regional, urban,the the time.at the art of interpretations conventional of view inradical seems equal, as provenance), of (regardless art all view to and the Westerncanon, art artoutside necessary a also but not),European a of what is definition inthe construct European a what (i.e. different only not identity, European of flip-side asthe areconstrued civilisation European outside peoples of refersthe the concept Other,embraces Nolde'snotion which second to the way these hierarchies. 'Primitive' denotes a rudimentary and inferior form of artistic of form inferior and rudimentary a 'Primitive' hierarchies.denotes these of art Christian the on focused is history Art history. art Western of ranks the allocates that definition art characterises categorisation of system hierarchical A to seems peoples'and of'primitive speaks hehowever,art, their reappraising In The aim of this paper is not to discuss the connotations of the'primitive'at length, length, of the'primitive'at is aimpaper the connotations not of The to discuss this subordination. social their accept unquestioningly rm10-8” hs aatgre ru' oiial hrorn atss uh as such artists harbouring originally group', 'avant-garde This from 1906-08.” MargaretPreston. and Nolde artists:Emil long artists Aboriginal remoteness, with geographical by their order, determined the years, of greatly the termthe vary over itconnotations define to attempts numerous despite though expression, beyond occur must therefore Other, the art) of'primitive placing Europe8: the to Rhodes/often went hand in hand with the artists' Messianic desire to deliver deliver to desire artists'Messianic the with hand in hand went Rhodes/often to the term'primitive'carries, yet, another nuance: while German expressionists saw expressionists German nuance:while yet,another term'primitive'carries, the f emn xrsins drn te er o hs ebrhp f i Briicke Die of membership his of years the during Expressionism German of Century 20th important two on art non-European of influence the sketch to but art Neolithic of practitioners be to believed nw einn oa uoete ecie a l ad spent and old as perceived they Europe a to beginning new a examining by voice and style artistic expression, of means new sought groups themselves as the'primitives of of anew art as the'primitives themselves lur etr'ersne te xrsins mvmn i Gra art German der in of movement group Expressionist the the with 'represented Reiter Blauer together Bleyl, and Heckel Schmidt-Rottluff, Kirchner, from Emilthe perspective Nolde's of (1867-1959) the'primitive'came investigation indigenous art. Their interest in 'alternative traditions and cultures', according cultures', according and traditions 'alternative in interest Their art. indigenous epe i nt eadd s r i, n at sl-evn, n ipis romantic a implies and self-serving, fact,Other. the with in identification is, art as regarded not is peoples .9 Cultures seem to be ranked in descending inrankeddescending be seem to Cultures ,'14 his question as art histo question why of'primitive' .10 is. His efforts to raiseof Hiseffortsawareness to .'13 Nolde's use of use Nolde's .'12 Both During that period, Nolde's paintings were highly influenced by sculptures from the West-African Yoruba. The Neue Sezession, an expressionist group he later joined in Berlin, saw itself as a 'link with, and catalyst for, the art of the future.'15 However, like all art from indigenous people around the world, African art was not commonly regarded as art at all at the time of Nolde's interest. It was not until German-born anthropologist Franz Boas'seminal publication in 1927 on Primitive art that the Eurocentric focus on the so-called high art of the 'civilised' world began to shift towards an emphasis on the emotional and associative motivation as a commonality underlying all creative engagement. Introducing the concept of cultural relativism, Boas equated artistic expression of the'primitive people'with that of his own world, Western society, pointing outthat'the mental processes of man are the same everywhere'.16
Emil Nolde's engagement with cultures outside Europe was distant and romanticised, very much in the tradition of early 19th Century German scholarship arm-chair orientalism.17 His study of'primitive art' began with the displays in the Berliner Volkerkunde Museum before the first World War, where he found his inspiration fora new art. With the intention of writing a book'on the artistic expressions of primitive peoples', he proclaims in his autobiography18 the immediacy of expression in form and emotion found in 'native art', and its appeal to the contemporary artist.'19
This theoretical engagement with the arts from around the world was followed by a more direct involvement during a medical expedition, sponsored by colonial authorities, to the South Pacific in 1913-14. The experience left him, according to Colin Rhodes, with a fear of loss of the 'precious primary spiritual values' of the natives (Urmenschen) 'who live in their nature, are one with it and a part of the entire universe'.20 Nolde concluded that 'we live in an evil era in which the white man brings the whole earth into servitude,'21 an idealisation confirmed by Rhodes, who interprets Nolde's images 'of these peoples and their land as a way of holding on to "a bit of primordial being"'22
By appropriating African art in search for a new artistic identity, Nolde's art work offended National-socialist doctrine, inadvertently alienated himself from the nation during the third Reich, despite his own nationalistic and conservative inclination. The Nazis declared his art as 'Entartete Kunst'—'degenerated art'. During the era of 'Aryan superiority' in Germany, the slightest notion of acknowledgment of the 'lower races' came under attack.23 His paintings were confiscated and removed from the public eye. Nonetheless, after the war his contribution to German expressionism gained him decorations of the highest order. One can argue that Nolde's appropriation of the Other contributed not only SCHOOL SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis 72 to German expressionism, also to post-war German identity as it asdistance identity to tried German post-war also to expressionism, German to quite recovered its momentum, after this set back during the Third Reich. the Third during afterback set this momentum, itsrecovered quite never E.Lips, Julius and BoasFranz Nolde, Emilas such anthropologists or artists itself from Nazism. Nevertheless, the budding interest in 'primitive art'as art by art art'as 'primitive in interest budding the Nevertheless, Nazism. from itself lot hnrd er o, s optit f od lvn i Asrla s well as Australia in living Nolde of compatriot as on, years hundred a Almost rm hi icpin s cdmc nt i te9h etr ad hi intrinsic their and the19th Century in units academic as inception their from The question is how an institution with a claim on scientific knowledge directs its directs knowledge scientific ona claim with institution ishow an question The question slightly different: 'Why is a great deal of Aboriginal art not considered considered artatall not the art pose to Aboriginal of like deal great would a Idifferent:is 'Why slightly ethnology, and question history art both in educated being as today? urgency same the hold still Nolde'sButquestions do object of study which carries into the present. intocarriesthe which of study object the form that cultures respective their of art concerning positions dichotomous knowledge. of forms institutionalised as emerged have they how and ethnology theological dogma theological persisting era by-gone a current of the in Weltanschauung culture Aboriginal of display the of studies independent two Denial of art histories and ethnological truth ethnological and histories art of Denial lhuh ethnology Although dates ethnology and history art of disciplines the of bifurcation the Germany,In and history artof discourses the examine to needs searchfor answers,In one the contemporary Aboriginal art exhibitions and music performances in Germany in performances music and exhibitions art Aboriginal contemporary . pne ad .. yo ofrd n lentv t cetoim rpsd by proposed creationism to alternative Morgan, an L.H. offered Maine, Tylor E.B. H.SJ. Frazer, and J.G. Spencer Bachofen, H. J.J. as such discipline, proponents the Early of development. cultural of process linear a of idea evolutionist spaces. public other in attempted dialogue inter-cultural the overshadows potentially and— audience as material; promote of Cultures)World cultural House asthe (such venues other Aboriginal demonstrates, Lally disseminating for avenue only the is Museum the indicate Lally, Janice and Purser Emily by Volkerkunde fur Museum Berlin discipline of anthropology has perhaps similarly helped to promote readings of readings promote to helped similarly perhaps has trade world anthropology of and endeavour, discipline colonial missionaries, through Other the of Ethnological studies emerged from the Enlightenment, and initially rested ontheinitially and Enlightenment, fromthe emerged studies Ethnological ua dvlpet ad utfe nt ny cetfc eerh bt invasion but research, scientific only not justified and development, early of representatives human the be to 'primitives' the and 'savages' the proclaimed order,evolutionists early world unchangeable aGod-given, accepting of Instead ?'24 .28 25 is no longer the colonial discipline it was at its inception, inception, itsat was it discipline colonial the longer no is .26 Not that the ethnographic ethnographic the that Not .29 The .27 non-European art in terms of Otherness, as Thomas McEvilley suggests. During 7 3 the modernist period, he asserts, Western anthropologists generally'tended to represent the rest of the world through Western conventions', where 'Western culture... was to be the universal Self: non-Western culture was to be entirely Other.'30
Has anthropology therefore created the Otherness in 'primitive art? Howard Morphy, on the other hand, insists there is 'no historical basis'for such a notion— On the contrary, he emphasises the key role anthropologists played in the inclusion of Aboriginal art 'within the same generic category as other people's art', especially in Australia, but also in other parts of the world.31
While this seems to be true in the Australian context, the situation in Berlin tells a different story. According to Lally and Purser, the notion of the 'primitive' lingers on in some contemporary museum displays, despite the fact that social-Darwinist notions became marginal in ethnology after World War I, and obsolete after Nazism.32
As Lally observed, displays of Aboriginal art as in the Berlin ethnographic museum authoritatively propagate the notion of'timelessness'and 'incommensurability', while the more 'populist approach of the House of World cultures' (a centre for intercultural exchange) is easily dismissed by academics as of 'poor scientific standards', which would have needed 'a more scholarly ethnographic approach.'33
If conventional ethnographic display in museums is handled from a Eurocentric point of view, and art institutions don't aspire to communication between distinctly different cultures, how, as Lally justly inquires, do these powerful sites of representation inform their audience? What kind of dialogue can be procured?
German ethnological institutes and museums house a vast amount of non- European art, and one might imagine that German audiences are therefore quite familiar with various forms of indigenous art and design, and issues represented in contemporary works of Australian Aboriginal art. The reception of such work, however, is determined by the terminology: the exclusion of indigenous work from mainstream art history is based on face value, on its'traditional'appearance.34 Such art is seen as'folkloristic'and bound by social and religious order.Therefore, representation of Aboriginal art in Germany is widely handled by the ethnologist who functions as'decoder'or interpreter of the other culture. In contrast to their Australian colleagues, German ethnologists seem to find the terms 'Aboriginal' and'Art'incompatible.35 SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis 74 74 SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis The notion of categorising material culture, including artefacts, as subjects subjects as artefacts, including culture, material categorising of notion The fsine n h suy fmnid s'tngahc'rte hn r, s rather is art, than rather 'ethnographica' as mankind of study the in science of few exceptions, the German situation in regards to Aboriginal art. Aboriginal regards to in situation German the few exceptions, the study of study the art, criticises as MacClancy Jeremy relatively in only been hasit Generally,culture. Aboriginal Australian on focused Contrasting the colonial outset of German ethnographers of late 19th Century/ Century/ 19thlate of ethnographers German of outset colonial the Contrasting with represents, It Janice as highlights. Berlin Museums in representation Ethnological the of exploration leading Lally's Germany's of one within persistent al 0h etr,Asrla nhoooyhsfo isicpini h 1920s, the in inception its hasfrom anthropology Australian Century, 20th early towards Aboriginal cultures as a paradigm of the'primitive'were consistent with consistent of the'primitive'were paradigm aas cultures Aboriginal towards term itself German from role Herein,major date.ittodistinguishes play a to continues art has always been aonpart Aboriginal crucial of and the of work anthropologists The reception of Aboriginal art in Australia changed with the innovative approach approach with theinnovative art in Australiaof changed reception Aboriginal The of conviction the by tainted were culture material of exhibition the through be use of to the appears the in general anthropologists to Problematic aesthetics. of Westernideasby informed interpretation art excises widely which ethnology, recent times that a small number of anthropologists has begun to concentrate on toconcentrate hasbegun recentof anthropologists number atimes that small vltoit huh.Teeoe atmt t mk Aoiia clue known cultures Aboriginal make to attempts Therefore, thought. evolutionist attitudes early colleagues, European of their that fromdiffered have may studies fte oite te ae studying are they societies the of this Australian group organised, in the 1940s, the first (David Jones) exhibition to exhibition 1940s, Jones) (David firstinthe the organised, group Australian this sphere. public enteredartthe asPrestonMargaretAboriginal that such artists to acknowledge'the equal status of Aboriginal and European society European and of Aboriginal status equal acknowledge'the to point access as peoples Aboriginal of art the represented anthropologists these of works firstvery exhibition 19thCentury, the late interpretation. inof the While extinction 30s, Munn in the 50s, and Ronald and Catherine Berndt in the 60s. Therefore 60s. the in Berndt Catherine and Ronald and 50s, the in Munn 30s, it the was through effortsjoint of anthropologists artists, Barak William by Aboriginal and McRae Tommy Wasasmere seen curiosity, historical philosophy that'fine art is a symbol of high culture'Charles Mountford, culture'Charles high of symbol isaart that'fine philosophy historical side by art side Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal hang race, dying a of expression artistic the bypreserving of hope doomed the in man'was and progress, that'primitive conviction the shared Nolde, like Preston, rdrc catyad aisn ad .. li ad oadTopo i the in Thompson Donald and A.P. Elkin and Davidson, and McCarthy Frederick art itself, which derives from a Western concept and is non-existent in most in non-existent isand afrom Western derives itself,concept which .38 .37 Although motivation for anthropological anthropological for motivation Although .36 In Australia, conversely, the focus 39 such as Elkin and McCarthy and .40 Argued from afrom Westernart Argued .'41 Margaret Preston and the new Australianness 75 Margaret Preston (1975-1963), while accompanying anthropologist friends on field trips in the first quarter of the 20th Century, saw the decorative potential of Aboriginal art as the foundation for a national art. Preston was associated with theJindyworobak movement, which emphasised an Australian identity.42
In her article on Aboriginal designs, she suggests concrete ways of design- appropriation for daily-objects such as the Central-Desert design of a shield for a cushion or tablemat. Preston's suggestions raised general public awareness of Aboriginal art, though she showed no interest in reciprocity.43 The interest in 'primitive art'was a starting point for a renewal, and a resource from which to select and cultivate a new style. As she states, she therefore felt'no loss of dignity in studying and applying [herself] to the art of the [Aboriginals] of Australia.'44
Reflecting the colonial mind, Preston viewed Aboriginal art as there to be exploited to the advantage of artists and the Australian nation, to stand up to their European colleagues:
Would France be now at the head of all nations in art if her artists and craftsmen had not given her fresh stimulus from time to time by benefiting from the art of her native colonies, and not only her own colonies, but by borrowing freely from the colonies of other countries?...if you go to the museum and study the art of the [Aboriginal] you are not demeaning yourself or being kind to them...apply them in a manner that will make us an individual land in art, as Spanish art is always Spanish, as Italian art is always Italian... it is only from the art of such people [Australian Aboriginals] in any land that a national art can spring. Later come the individual or individuals who with conscious knowledge (education) use these symbols that are their heritage, and thus a great national art is founded.45
According to Jones, Preston's influence was also visible in the David Jones exhibition of 1941: more than 250 items were grouped into Aboriginal art works, Western artefacts influenced by Aboriginal design, and Western art works depicting Aboriginal themes.46
The survey exhibition of 1943, entitled 'Primitive Art', was organised by anthropologist Leonhard Adam47 for the National Museum of Victoria and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, was the first full-scale exhibition of Indigenous art around the world on Australian soil. It opened with works from New Guinea, Africa, Melanesia, Polynesia, the Americas, Asia and western Iran SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis SCHOOL of ART 8c DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis 76 According to both Jones and Adam, the'aesthetics and religious orsocial context' context' orsocial religious and Adam, the'aesthetics and bothJones to According the increasing interpretative role played by the two "scientific" professions of of professions "scientific" two the by played role interpretative increasing the Westerninterest the'burgeoning attributes Adam catalogue, 1943exhibition the of own line alltheir of delicacy certain Australia and work involving exhibitions, publications and directly working with Aboriginal Aboriginal with working directly and publications exhibitions, involving work psychology and anthropology to introduction his in and recognition, further to contributed art Aboriginal of a posses to seem who natives, Australian own our of drawings bark the [are] lightly artexpression:'very of Aboriginal uniqueness the on commented Lindsay, hc atok ls ter aoyiy ad rit ae en acknowledged being are artists and 'anonymity' their lose artworks which through texts, anthropological in authorship of accreditation 1950s, the was the such administrators art and artists Aboriginal 1980s the Since communities. between relationship cultural the developed of particular, in Isaacs understanding Jennifer the and to much contributed and Art Aboriginal investigated to and qualities aesthetics its of 'recognition developing a to art' primitive in to artgallery. to etn Aoiia at u o is niiiiy moe b stlrpltc and settler-politics by imposed invisibility its of out art Aboriginal Getting since context. Pioneering inplaced curiosity,an andanthropological subsequently as viewed artwas 950s,Aboriginal of thel end 1880sthe lateto From the stages. in voices strong became Neale Margo and Perkins, Hetti Mundine, Djon as seminal their through Australians Aboriginal and Australians Morphy non-Aboriginal Howard Sutton, Peter 70s, the since Berndt Anthropologists Catherine complexity. its wife his and Berndt Roland anthropologists 1960s, the In the political and social re-structuring of Australian Society. From the 1970sto theFrom the Society. of Australian re-structuring social and political the evolutionist theory, evolutionist severalinto bechronicled canart space art inAustralian of Aboriginal Exhibitions space. trans-cultural negotiating Sydney Biennale and Perspecta.The economic situation of Aboriginal people was people of Aboriginal situation economic Perspecta.The and Biennale Sydney by explained be perhaps could This backburner. Art, the on Aboriginal put of decade, being a apparently, almost of propelled gap had significant a is collecting 1950s. This systematic the since that fact significant the no despite then ensued, decade exhibitions following the for that remarkable is it integration, museum ethnographic shift from the marked (1960-61)and nationwide galleries State that visited exhibition anArt] Wales,'AustralianAboriginal South organised Despite the epoch-making effect of anthropological approach and artistic artistic and approach anthropological of effect epoch-making the Despite 1980s, Aboriginal artists were included in regular, major art events such as the as such events art major regular, in included were artists 1980s,Aboriginal .48 The director of the National Gallery of Victoria at the time, Daryl time, the at of Victoria Gallery National the of director The 52 TonyTuckson, then deputy atdirector of the deputy Art Gallery New then TonyTuckson, .'50 .'49 .51 generally improving, and they were gaining increasing influence as to what was to be exhibited and where.This period also marks the'emergence'of urban artists and female Aboriginal artists. Since the late 1980s, solo, regional and survey exhibitions show increasing involvement of Aboriginal people in curatorial and academic positions, and the promotion of Aboriginal art internationally.
Exhibition practice in relation to Aboriginal art is highly sensitive to overall political and social developments in Australia: heightened interest in Aboriginal people is reflected in the frequency of exhibitions over the last twenty to thirty years or so, from less than one per year in the 1960s to more than 20 exhibitions each year by the end of the 1980s. Aboriginal curatorship negotiated increasing'floor space' within Australian culture, markedly by the efforts of Djon Mundine, Hetti Perkins, Brenda Croft, Margo Neale, Daphne Wallace, Michael Aird, Franchesca Cubillo- Alberts, Laurie Nielson, Michael Eather, Fiona Foley, Kerry Giles, Garry Lee, Doreen Mellor, Banduk Marika, David Prosser, Joyce Watson and Avril Quaill. Notable is also the shift in gender; while early anthropological and artistic representation of Aboriginal art was dominated by males (art advisory practice predominantly encouraged male artists),53 Aboriginal art and its curatorship is now more often than not in the hands of Indigenous women.54
Can pluralism, underlying such developments in artistic and cultural dialogue as expressed above, be secured under the current academic climate in Germany?
Comparing the German/Australian situation in regards to Aboriginal art The art of the Other - Yoruba art in the case of Nolde and Australian Aboriginal art in Preston's—was appropriated in the quest to define and project the self and the'national'. Neither, within the parameters of these colonial subjects, ever really examined the art of the Other on its own terms, for its own merits and intrinsic properties. Discussion of Aboriginal art has, of course, very different motives and social purposes in Australian and German contexts, which are also subject to immediacies of geographies and politics.
Preston's efforts to draw attention to Aboriginal art needs to be understood in relation to a common belief at the time that Aboriginal culture would soon become 'absorbed' into the dominant Western social order. A race against time55 to collect was occurring, both in Australia and in Germany, but the German interest56 also involved, according to Lally, 'obtaining evidence for constructing the science of ethnography'.57 Great Britain and the United States had their great collections, but Europe's ethnographic museums and institutes also procured a major SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis 78 with a firm base for cultural displays in most major German cities. Nolde would would Nolde cities. isGerman major most in Germany displays cultural for base firm and a with Australia Aboriginal between connection the missionary endeavours, and exploratory various Through pillage. and trade colonial in share decades have created a greater potential in Australia for respecting Indigenous Indigenous respecting for Australia in potential greater a created have decades past three overthe movement the Aboriginal political and events propelling Social Museum. Berlininthe Volkerkunde exhibits current of the some seenhave institutes provided of late 19thmissionaries early profound; the 20th and Century h nto-ulig set f ersnig brgnl r sil per t play to appears still art Aboriginal representing of aspect nation-building The contemporary Australia, 'the worlds of the Indigenous and non-lndigenous non-lndigenous and Indigenous the of worlds 'the Australia, contemporary juxtaposition and projection. and juxtaposition partsof Australia remotest inthe states/even NorthIan overlap,'as inevitably Other the of notion the dissolving and within people t h tm o Nles nur, emn ws lo rltvl rcn united recent relatively a also was Germany enquiry, Nolde's of time the At asre'i mliaiu wy; h stain n emn ses o e n of one be to seems Germany in situation the ways; multifarious in 'absorbed' country's of partsthe of output cultural significant the analysing avoid not could an for struggled Australia As Germany. and Australia both in part significant a been suspended from all colonial powers in 1919.62 It is a context within which 1919.62 within in context powers ais It had colonial itall after from even suspended Other been and Self of subjects colonial the continued and nation, population identity 60 idpneto rti,bt sfre ooyada nwnto, it nation, new aas and colony former as both Britain, of independent .61 ih ead oAsrla iett, brgnl r otne t be to continues art Aboriginal identity, Australian to regard With h Ntoa At alr of Gallery Art National The ih id emsin from permission kind With design of Fish and Lizard, © Margaret Preston, Licenced Capital Territory(ACT). Australia, Canberra, Australian Preston,Margaret by VISCOPY Australia,2005. 58 hn vr eoe In before. ever than Aboriginal 1941. .'59 the dissemination of stereotypes inside many of the ethnological museums was rife.63 Pertaining to Australian Aboriginal culture64, as Lally discovered, 'a power relationship exists which has been established by the exercise of the traditional scientific knowledge of the Museum scientists in their ordering and classifying of Aboriginal culture.'This, she continues/is translated into the image of the culture that is portrayed in the display'. Aboriginal culture, construed as the primitive Other 'through the means of the Western scientific system', plays an important role in the construction of the image of civilisation and German national culture.65
In the face of global cross-cultural fertilisation, the continuation of a binary art system which once had been put in place to endorse colonial aspects of superiority and racism, as well as attempts to nation-building, seems a striking anachronism.66 Upholding such a system implies not only a static, unchangeable traditional art on the one side, but also a neo-colonialist notion of appropriation and exploitation on the other, a failure to acknowledge the continuous change affecting not only Western, but all cultures.
Emily Purser’s critical analysis of text and display of Aboriginal culture in the Berlin Ethnographic Museum, describes an unrevised, 19th Century notion of social Darwinism in the museum's exhibition that ignores contemporary Aboriginal culture:
The image it [the museum] gives of Australian cultures contrasts with the rest of the Pacific exhibition, and contains some serious contradictions. It is stated in the texts available to the visitor that the exhibition is a "documentation of the past," of a culture which no longer exists—and yet includes contemporary art works in traditional style and material.67
Contrary to the scientific 'truth' such an institution lays claim to propagate68, the display offers no alternative to prejudice sentiments based on face value rather than a careful analysis of 19th Century-ethnographic-data, by conveying Aboriginal culture as a homogenous, singular culture.69 The danger in such a 'monologue' lies within the position of assumed authority of the institution, as Purser identifies, relates to the authority of the institution, and the illusion that such a mode of presentation creates 'that a museum simply and objectively "reflects" the "real" state of peoples and cultures it exhibits.'70
The Museum71 has a major educational purpose in Germany since the 19th Century and by constructing the'exotic'(and inferior) Other within a linear history of humanity, ethnographic museums enable the German public to define itself by looking at various non-European and'primitive'artefacts and to make cultural SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis 80
SCHOOL of ART & DESIGN Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis iwn oc sre as clna ielge o xliain n annexation and exploitation of ideologies colonial also served once viewing displaying/ of modes these difference;and through determined is'also explores, comparisons utrl development cultural ute,tento-uligcaatro h Msu i gnrl rvdd the provided general in Museum the of Further,the'nation-building'character system in day-to-day interaction with non-European culture, are in many ways many in arealive today still culture, non-European with interaction day-to-day in system of standards 'high as well as achievements' intellectual 'national of reputation objects of study are interpreted, needs critical review.critical areinterpreted, needs of study objects to bound is,Purser describes, Emily as and perspective selective asingular, by set the Yet, audience. and culture exhibited between exposition cross-cultural in In terms of there dialogue, is of meaning always or misinterpretation danger losing value normative ato correspond which classification, ethnographic of principles Western public art spaces, but has also made its public showing increasingly increasingly showing public its made also has but spaces, art public Western ethnology and arthistory between of histories.art division The re-figuration post-modern anew, linein general the with be toneeds approached self-interested and become'monologic trap the into falls quickly own ones than culture another exhibiting of practice commonplacein Australia. In of century thefirst Europeancommonplacein Invasion, the very notion art of collaboration the demonstrates, exhibition Australian of history the As dichotomous intrinsic their with disciplines both units, academic as inception In Germany, sincetheir ethnology. history artand intodisciplines, two bifurcation of the approach histories,new a artis of re-figuration post-modern for Indicative —still evident in more recent events like the Olympic games in Sydney in games likeOlympic the recenteventsmore in evident —still background non-lndigenous and Indigenous of administrators/curators, art and to beneeded identity of Australian Australia into came being, the Commonwealth artistic expression existing to obscure early settler sought mentality and ideology, colonial the to detrimental was culture pre-colonial existing an of into art Aboriginal brought only not has artists and anthropologists historians, of art.stratified view asegregational, endorse to continue positioning collaboration between ethnologists and Indigenous art negotiators.art Indigenous and ethnologists between collaboration non- of reception the that indicates example Australian The context? German to framed anthropologically being from gone has expression cultural Aboriginal its suchproponents, defined asculturalthrough artists, historians, anthropologists uoen r cn e hne (n cn ehp ol b cagd truh a through changed) be only perhaps can (and changed be can art European as arthistoricised inEuropean/Australia,asitinbe received but can now such the .72 The construction of national identity, as Anna Triandafyllidou Triandafyllidou Anna as identity, national of construction The .'75 .'74 As Bernhard Luthi sums up the German situation, 'the situation, German the up sums Luthi Bernhard As .'76 The academic study of art in Germany Germany inart of study academic The 77 and the way the way the and .78 Later, when .79 .73 Illustrating the situation in Europe, the Olympic Games of Athens 2004 marked a significant moment in the history of arts of Australia. The exhibition 'Our Place: Indigenous Australia now' in the Benaki Museum in Athens, was Australia's contribution to the Cultural Olympiad of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The chosen artists Lin Onus, Jimmy Pike, Bede Tungatalum, Thancoupie, and Emily Kame Kngwarreye to name but a few acted as cultural Ambassadors of a special kind: in Greece, for the first time, Indigenous art from Australia was put on display in an institutional context.
Here, emerging as a 'new star' on the ancient horizon of what is perceived as the cradle of Western art history, Aboriginal art has begun to negotiate space in public places in Greece.The Aboriginal curators, Fabri Blacklock, Gary Foley, Steve Miller, Caine Muir, Keith Munroe, James Wilson-Miller, challenged the audience by showing non-stereotyped or'traditional'art, but art often carrying strong political messages.80
In Australia, Aboriginal artists are progressively in the position to define their art and its boundaries themselves. Their art is not 'assimilated' or 'colonised', but an expression of evolving intercuitural processes. Anthropologists, artists, art administrators and art historians, of both Indigenous and non-lndigenous descent, are gradually changing the cultural and socio-political landscape within Australia, working to create public recognition of Indigenous art and hence working towards a perception that recognises Indigenous culture as equal— not as the (inferior) Other.
Australian exhibition history demonstrates that informed dialogue takes place as gradual process of creating knowledge. An examination of the exhibition history of Aboriginal art in Australia shows how trans-cultural representation can perhaps be interpreted for a European context and current art-historical parameters be re-appraised. Perhaps, if Nolde was to contemplate the exclusion of'primitive art'from the Western art canon today (rather than during a visit to the local ethnological Museum) he would do so on a Lufthansa-flight to the smallest continent.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I'm grately indebted to my supervisor, Associate Professor Diana Wood Conroy.
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