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SATURDAY EXTRA lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllntnews.com.au Beyond dot matrix HE rough and tumble of In this edited extract from The Dealer is trade. It was a cover story on the traditional artist cannot. T the auction wars are a the Devil: An Insider’s History of the Chinese contemporary art. Even the illustrious Ger- far cry from the magical Australia may be a tiny maine Greer has suggested setting of the garden beside Aboriginal Art Trade, author ADRIAN pond compared to the ocean that Aboriginal people who the Museum and Art Gallery NEWSTEAD argues it is time to of international art. The Ab- commodify their art, ‘‘de- of the Northern Territory. original art market is un- bauch’’ their culture. At dusk, the sun sets over acknowledge the collaborative nature of likely to become bigger than To Warhol the process of the Arafura Sea, and the Aboriginal art the Chinese, British or Amer- mass manufacture was equal- damp mudflats turn from gold ican markets. But a large ly as valid as the process of to pink and purple. part of what keeps it small is the individual artist. The art Watching the Telstra Nat- Tolson and Clifford Possum created through a col- the narrow-mindedness and world agreed, and there has ional Aboriginal and Torres in the late 1990s, the industry laborative process, yet credit- lack of imagination of an in- been nothing since to rival Strait Islander Art Awards has been deeply polarised ed to a single author. dustry that fails to do justice the glamour of his ‘‘factory’’. each August has been part of around the issue of assistance Meanwhile, the Sydney to the talent and relevance of But when Turkey Tolson or the yearly walkabout for most and authorship. Morning Herald’s Good Week- Aboriginal artists. Clifford Possum turned their industry insiders since the By 2000, it was no longer ac- end colour supplement fea- In an era when marketing families into art factories, early 1980s. Interstate and ceptable for assistants, in- tured an article by Janet rather than achievement has they were accused of passing overseas visitors sit on make- cluding close family mem- Hawley in which she wrote made the Kardashians fa- off fakes. shift stands, while locals pic- Sweeney came up to the po- bers, to complete the about how the market had mous, the target-market is the Hirst and Koons are post- nic under the stars. dium to accept her prize, ex- decorative infill or fields of developed around one of the rich collector, and the way to modernists who make art to As night falls, the sil- plaining to the audience that dotting, even under the di- most successful contempor- attract the collector is stimulate ideas. It may be the houette of palm trees creates she was too frail to make the rection of the ‘‘auteur’’ of a ary art movements of the through the cult of the per- title or the content that makes PUB: the perfect backdrop for pain- journey to Darwin. work. Institutions, elite gal- 21st century. sonality. The genius of the the piece work. Hirst’s plati- ted dancers, adorned with Makinti may well have leries, and the media insisted Art magazines and cata- super-brand artists, such as num and diamond-studded trailing feathered headdres- been frail, but she had still that the industry’s reputation logues are multiplying but Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, skull titled For the Love of NT NEWS ses and armbands. They managed to paint dozens of hinged on the artist who are filled with flattering es- lies in their ironic commen- God and, his stuffed tiger dance across the stage to pres- works for a number of Alice painted alone. says usually paid for by the tary on art as a commodity in shark floating in a vitrine of ent the winners with their Springs dealers during the It got to the point where as- artists or dealers. Fearless a global capitalist culture. fomaldehyde named The prizes drawn from sacred previous year. sistants like Clifford Pos- critics who slash and analyse Aboriginal artists also have Physical Impossibility of dilly bags. They openly expressed sum’s daughters couldn’t help don’t exist. The way they sell personality, or point of differ- Death in the Mind of Someone That is, at least, how it used their belief that she was not the family breadwinner with- their art can be described as a ence, in spades. Rover Tho- Living, are both comments on to be, until the event was hi- capable of having painted her out risking his reputation sort of cowboy capitalism. mas and Clifford Possum, in the human condition. DATE: jacked by political intrigue. award-winning Telstra work and devaluing his art. While there are tales particular, knew this and wil- Aboriginal art has a mess- When Doreen Reid Nakamar- without assistance. Whether Meanwhile, an internat- a-plenty about artists being lingly performed their part. age that is equally as potent ra stood to receive her there was any truth to it or ional megastar, such as Da- burned and tricked into sell- So why can’t Aboriginal as anything Damien Hirst has General Painting award in not is irrelevant. No docu- mien Hirst, could employ any ing at a discount, many play artists also participate in to say about death and imper- 15-FEB-2014 2008, she made an extraordin- mentary proof was required number of unacknowledged the dealers off against each ot- making multiples, ‘‘assisted’’, manence. It evolved into a ary statement. ‘‘I always from a venerable old artist assistants, white or black, her. As the market matures and factory-made works? Be- contemporary movement af- paint my own paintings by whose work was entered by male or female, to realise his artists are becoming more cause the minute Aboriginal ter the elders decided to defy myself and I always paint for Papunya Tula. She, and it, own works. wary and savvy. painters are seen to ‘‘pro- imminent cultural disinte- Papunya Tula.’’ were beyond reproach. Andy Warhol only needed While most Western artists duce’’ art for money, rather gration by sharing their deep I was sitting at the top of the The iconic Papunya Tula to see and approve a work on avoid speculators, and are than for art’s sake, they are spiritual knowledge and con- stands, I couldn’t dissociate brand is so strong that it is its way to his dealer. From handled exclusively by accused of selling out, and nection with the land, the en- this disclaimer, uttered in synonymous with quality Rembrandt to Picasso, artists commercial galleries that demeaning their culture in vironment, and each other. shy and faltering English, control. Everyone else has to have worked with assistants help to develop their careers, the process. Afraid their culture would PAGE: from the political atmosphere supply dozens of working who received no more credit many of these artists prefer No points for irony here. die out with them, they used swirling around the artist. photographs to prove the than a chop mark usually hid- to sell direct to dealers who An urban Aboriginal artist art to pass on vital knowledge The ghost in the room was bone fides of the artworks den beneath the mount. manipulate the market like Richard Bell, who refers to the generation that would Makinti Napanangka, that they sell. We accept that printmak- with bravado. to so-called ‘‘traditional’’ become its custodians. It’s my 22 year’s winner of the major But not Papunya Tula. ing, cast metal sculpture, in- No, this was not written people as ‘‘ooga boogas’’, belief that the movement of award. Papunya Tula’s Paul Since the expose on Turkey stallation art and video are all about the Aboriginal art may get away with it, but Aboriginal art into the finest COLOR: international contemporary art spaces, and the cooling of the market due to the global economic downturn, has ac- tually created a window of opportunity. It is time C 4 to recognise and validate the collaborative production M of Aboriginal art, and Y reconsider the way it is inter- preted and promoted to an K international audience. The Dealer is the Devil: An In- sider’s History of the Aboriginal Art Trade by Adrian Newstead. Brandl & Schlesinger Book Pub- lishers Australia. Hardcover rrp$79.95, softcover rrp$49.95, Calling for nominations Author Adrian Newstead with artist Billy Benn ebook rrp$26.99 Nominate a nurse or midwife in one of the following categories: Aged, Disability & Residential Care Lifetime Achievement Graduate of the Year Education, Research & Innovation DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS Hospital Care Leadership Midwifery Enrolled Nurse Mental Health Remote Health Primary Health Care Nominations open for Study Grant of $2000 to help you return to work Nominations close Friday 7 March 2014 In recognition of International Women’s Day 2014 the Department of Business is offering four $2000 vocational education and training study grants to To obtain a nomination form or for more information visit: Territory women to help them return to work after a period of absence. www.nursing.nt.gov.au, phone 1800 000 648, or For further information and eligibility criteria, please phone 8935 7748 or visit www.dob.nt.gov.au email [email protected] Applications close COB Friday 28 February 2014. www.nt.gov.au/health www.dob.nt.gov.au 22 NT NEWS. Saturday, February 15, 2014. www.ntnews.com.au.

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