Aboriginal Investment Art - Part II

In Part 1 I discussed in detail about religious works produced by initiated Aboriginal persons.
Are these Art Works the only true Aboriginal Investment Art? As I have stated on numerous
occasions, Aboriginal art styles varied right across Australia. If you wish to purchase art from only initated persons you are not going to enjoy all the varied styles of our art. Much painting
was & still is done for cultural reasons. In areas of Australia where our people were removed,
exterminated or simply converted to Christianity early in the 1800s initations (at least in the
tribe you belong too - it is usually possible to get iniated into another tribe if you want to) can no longer occur. Does that mean that Aboriginal persons from those tribes know nothing about their culture so can not paint authentic art? No. Aborigines everywhere have retained a knowledge of their culture, & as art has always been a large part of our culture, we have retained a knowledge of our art. Many of our 'dreaming stories' teach principles of right & wrong; so have been remember and are still taught to our children. Important land marks & sites are still known and the stories connected with them repeated. In addition in many instances families still retain guardianship over art sites; some of which are on the edges of big cities such as Sydney. As our culture is 'not to share our knowledge with un-apreciative persons' & government policies of yesteryear also discouraged talking about cultural matters many persons are unaware of how much knowledge modern Aboriginal persons still retain. Therefore some comments about "authentic Aboriginal Art" are spoken more in ignorance than in fact. Non-initated Aboriginal persons can produce art that reflects accurate knowledge of our culture & laws and the history of their tribe, clan, family and ancient (& sometimes current) religious and spiritual beliefs. Such artists would not consider painting anything that their gender or family connections were not allowed to paint, and their 'aboriginality' shows in their work. High quality Aboriginal art from all areas of Australia is available and as we hope 'truth replaces myth' in the future some paintings and other works of art purchased today may increase greatly in the future. The above painting was produced by a modern artist using ancient symbols & spiritual concepts. (For details of painting & understand its symbols please see www.aboriginalarttreasure.com/awards.php) It's meaning would be understood by all Aborginal persons & many people familiar with our culture.

Aboriginal Investment Art - Part I

The myth still persists in some places that only initiated persons can paint genuine Aboriginal
art. As initiation has more to do with religon that culture; this is not true. Many non-initiated people have an excellent knowledge of their culture, in some cases this knowledge has been passed down to them through several generations. I will now explain a little about
religious art and how this may affect your purchasing decisions. After reaching puberty
Aborigines went through an initiation process. As this is really a religious act, it is only tribes that still retain a fair amount of religious knowledge where this still happens. How does this affect art? Like most other religions you reach a higher "rank" as you obtain more knowlege & power. The most sacred of religious art is only created by older persons who have completed several stages of initiation and is not allowed to be seen by anyone except other initiated persons and very little is in private hands.

The next level of religious art again is only painted by highly initiated persons, but may be
viewed by other, but with tight restrictions. It should only be shared with persons who treat it
with respect. Prior to 1980 some art of this level reached the market (sometimes by accident) & is probably the best investment Aborginal art you can buy. As many aboriginal persons consider
selling such art for money as offensive as 'flag burning' in recent years little has been
released onto the market. The fourth level of religious art is still only produced by 'persons who have the right', but the most sacred & magical pieces are not included (or masked over in some way) and often the artist, while still being initated has a lower level of knowledge and does not know all the details of the ancestral beings that older person does, so can not include these in their painting anyway. This is the level of (religious) art you are most likely to buy. What I call
the "third level" is a little below the second. It can be painted only by very knowledgeable
elders; but the most sacred elements are left out or concealed. This art is still considered to
be 'sacred' & there have been some successful lawsuits because of unauthorised persons
desecrating it by putting the designs on tea-towels etc. (And breaking copyright laws of
course!) This type of art can be very expensive, so do your research if you are especially
interested in purchasing a painting of this type as a long-term investment.

Also remember no one can be a true prophet of how the future market will price works. eg. as artists' eyesight deteriorate with age the quality of their work may go down. This could make some of their works worth less; on the other hand the fact that it is one of the last paintings they produced could send its value sky-rocketing. If you wish to buy work by a particular artist as an investment piece, please make sure that the actual artist painted the work. In some cases other family members may have done the actual work, this could have a major bearing on its future worth. (As families & individuals 'own' stories under traditional law - the story owner can sometimes be named as the artist when in fact they did none of the actual painting.) Please note that in most cases the artist retains copyright of his work and therefore has the right to produce & sell copies of your 'famous' piece. You can offer to buy 'copyright' with the painting, but be
prepared to pay for the priviledge. It is good to remember that Aboriginal Religious art can be offensive to certain people (consider the first three of the 10 Commandments) & therefore should be avoided by some people; or you may need to consider where you hang it.

Other people may wish to purchase it because of 'magical properties' they believe it has. Much
of our art is secular or relates 'dreaming stories' that teach everyone good morals.
This is the first in a series that deals with "Choosing Investment Aboriginal Art". Please stay
tuned for more exciting episodes! To learn more about the painting & how it pertains to
religious art; please go to http://www.aboriginalarttreasures.com/awards.php & http://www.aboriginalarttreasures.com/prints.php to read all about why the artist painted it.

Tasmanian Aborigines & Their Art

As mentioned previously I am a Tasmanian Aboriginal artist. Tasmania is the beautiful island
state lying to the south of eastern Australia. It is renowned for its scenery, mountains, lakes,
wild untamed rivers, beautiful beaches, unique animals etc. World travellers are all impressed
with the beauty of my island home. I have been fortunate enough to do some travelling myself, so
can verify this firsthand. The state of Tasmania includes Macquarie Island; therefore rather
than being the smallest, I say this makes Tasmania the largest Australian state! While this last statement may be debatable no one will deny that Hobart, where I was born, is one of the most beautiful harbour city in the world.

Anthropologists disagree as to the relationship of my people to mainland Aboriginals. At one
time we were considered to be a distinct separate race; then just a separate tribe. The present
opinion is probably between these two extremes. Certainly we are descended from the earliest
human arrivals in Australia, and being cut off by Bass Strait did not intermarry with the later
arrivals like our mainland cousins did. Our culture is similar theirs, which proves we are
closely related. Some say our language is similar to the language of the original aboriginal
inhabitants of Japan and we share a common genetic pattern with them. Certainly we have some oriental features; almond shaped eyes, high cheek bones and a long forehead. In recent years
some anthropologists see a close similarity between us & the Tolai people of Papua New Guinea.
As well as being similar in appearance, we also use shell necklaces for the same cultural
reasons as the Tolai & also sing in harmony in the style of Papua New Guineans unlike our
mainland cousins who are not renowned for their singing. Full bloods were a deep tan brown with a yellow tinge, shorter in statue than Europeans. Most have curly hair, our men having tighter curls than the women. In pre-European times our men had beards of tight ringlets. We have tiny ankles and wrists. The early European invaders considered us to be a good-looking well-formed people.

Our people were divided into 9 tribes. There were at least 5 dialects of our language. On the
west coast permanent villages of huts were built. Shellfish collected by the women and small
mammals and birds hunted by the men were a major part of the diet. Women also caught small
animals and collected plants. Coastal tribes made regular trips to off shore islands to hunt
seal and mutton birds. (Our people still make these trips. Some traditional foods are very
popular and such outings provide a continuing link to our culture.) Water craft were made from
bark & reeds. Incidentally Bass Strait is one of the roughest bodies of water in the world. Our
women made sturdy baskets for collecting food and carrying personal items in. Tools and
containers were made from wood, bone, stone, seaweed, bark, grass and sinew or tendons. We
produced the first known art in Australia.

This painting is an examples of Tasmanian Aboriginal art. More can be learned about it at
http://www.aboriginalarttreasures.com/tasmania.php It is entitled 'Hobart', my birthplace. If
you check out the web link it will show what the traditional symbols used represent. I hope you
like this modern version of ancient art.