Papers by Dr Marie Geissler
Mick Glasheen. Drawing on the Land. Garigal Land. , 2021
This catalogue discusses artwork of artist Mick Glasheen that documents the Aboriginal rock art o... more This catalogue discusses artwork of artist Mick Glasheen that documents the Aboriginal rock art of the spectacular coastal
landscapes of Barenjoey, Palm Beach and the Eucalypt woodland
hinterland. Exhibited at Coo-ee Gallery in Sydney, the images are inspired by his deep knowledge of Aboriginal culture and its spiritual connection to Country and those of non-Indigenous scholarship, namely ideas of Plato, Pythagoras, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, Buckminster Fuller and Keith Critchlow.
Helen Tiernan. Memory Space, 2021
This catalogue text introduces the art work of Indigenous/Irish Australian artist Helen S Tiernan... more This catalogue text introduces the art work of Indigenous/Irish Australian artist Helen S Tiernan. It was exhibited at Co-ee Gallery in Sydney.
Juncture. First Nations' Art at NERAM, 2021
The paper gives a summary overview of a private collection of Aboriginal art donated to the New E... more The paper gives a summary overview of a private collection of Aboriginal art donated to the New England Regional Art Museum by barrister, Anthony Renshaw. The focus of the manuscript are bark paintings, log coffins, didjeridu and tutinni.
Arts
In the early years of the discovery of Indigenous bark paintings in Australia, anthropologists re... more In the early years of the discovery of Indigenous bark paintings in Australia, anthropologists regarded this artform as part of a static and unchanging tradition. Inspired by the images of Arnhem Land rock art and ceremonial body design, the bark paintings were innovatively adapted by Indigenous Australians for the bark medium. Today, this art is recognised for its dynamism and sophistication, offering a window into how the artists engaged with the world. Within the context of recent art and anthropological scholarship, the paiFntings are understood as artefacts of Indigenous ‘agency’. They are products of the intentional action of artists through which power is enacted and from which change has followed. This paper reveals how the paintings were influential to their audiences and the discourses arising from their display through the agency of the artists who made them, and the curators who selected them. It underlines how Indigenous agency associated with the aesthetic and semantic...
Arts, 2022
Abstract: In the early years of the discovery of Indigenous bark paintings in Australia, anthropo... more Abstract: In the early years of the discovery of Indigenous bark paintings in Australia, anthropologists regarded this artform as part of a static and unchanging tradition. Inspired by the images of Arnhem Land rock art and ceremonial body design, the bark paintings were innovatively adapted by Indigenous Australians for the bark medium. Today, this art is recognised for its dynamism and sophistication, offering a window into how the artists engaged with the world. Within the context of recent art and anthropological scholarship, the paiFntings are understood as artefacts of Indigenous ‘agency’. They are products of the intentional action of artists through which power is enacted and from which change has followed. This paper reveals how the paintings were influential to their audiences and the discourses arising from their display through the agency of the artists who made them, and the curators who selected them. It underlines how Indigenous agency associated with the aesthetic and semantics values of bark painting has been and continues to be a powerful mechanism for instigating cultural, social, economic and political change. As such, it points to the wealth of Indigenous agency yet to be documented in the other collections of bark painting that are held in institutions in Australia and throughout the world.
Arts, 2021
This paper investigates a select number of examples in which largely non‐literate First
Nation pe... more This paper investigates a select number of examples in which largely non‐literate First
Nation peoples of Australia, like some First Nations peoples around the world, when faced with a judicial challenge to present evidence in court to support their land title claim, have drawn on their cultural materials as supporting evidence. Specifically, the text highlights the effective agency of indigenous visual expression as a communication tool within the Australian legal system. Further, it evaluates this history within an indigenous Australian art context, instancing where of visual art, including drawings and paintings, has been successfully used to support the main evidence in native title land claims. The focus is on three case studies, each differentiated by its distinct medium, commonly used in indigenous contemporary art—namely, ink/watercolours on paper, (Case study 1—the Mabo drawings of 1992), acrylics on canvas (Case study 2—the Ngurrara 11 canvas 1997) and ochre on bark, (Case study 3—The Saltwater Bark Collection 1997 (onwards)). The differentiation in the stylistic character of these visual presentations is evaluated within the context of being
either a non‐indigenous tradition (e.g., represented as European‐like diagrams or sketches to detail areas and boundaries of the claim sites in question) or by an indigenous expressive context (e.g., the evidence of the claim is presented using traditionally inspired indigenous symbols relating to the claimant’s lands. These latter images are adaptations of the secret sacred symbols used in ceremonies and painting, but expressed in a form that complies with traditional protocols protecting secret, sacred knowledge). The following text details how such visual presentations in the aforementioned cases were used and accepted as legitimate legal instruments, on which Australian courts based their legal determinations of the native land title.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 2020
This essay investigates chronologically, the agency of two significant inter-related forces which... more This essay investigates chronologically, the agency of two significant inter-related forces which shaped and impacted the self-determination of Indigenous art and culture from the postcolonial period in Australia. Firstly, is the work of German cultural historian Ulli Beier who in the recommendations he provided in his Report on the mission art business for Dr. H.E. Coombs in 1969 outlined progressive ideas for the setting of future indigenous cultural policy frameworks for the Australian Government. These initiatives were based on his years of experience in Africa and New Guinea promoting the self-determination of indigenous voice within their nation’s culture. They would inform the making of indigenous arts policy across all indigenous sectors within Australia, including the Aboriginal Arts Board AAB of the Australia Council, the second influential force to be investigated within this history. The AAB was established as an independent, government-funded, all-indigenous governed organisation, whose innovative operations would establish the art centres in remote Australia, many cultural bodies and promote the fine arts profile of Indigenous art within Australia, and importantly, internationally. The cumulative impact of the forces set in motion by the AAB initiatives were instrumental in ensuring the promotion of indigenous cultural agendas that would lay important foundations which would lead to significant changes to discourses of the nation’s high art and the acceptance of indigenous art as contemporary within global art discourses.
World Arts, 2019
This article brings together a range of existing research as well as original research (including... more This article brings together a range of existing research as well as original research (including interviews) to account for the shift in the reception of Arnhem Land bark painting from being understood initially as a form of ethnographic art, to one of contemporary art.
Thesis Dissertation University of Wollongong, 2017
This thesis surveys in a strictly chronological fashion discourses that were critical to promotin... more This thesis surveys in a strictly chronological fashion discourses that were critical to promoting changes in the understanding of Arnhem Land bark painting from 1850 to 1990. The thesis is based on extensive surveys of the record in relation to early historical accounts, reports, press clippings and catalogues of exhibitions of Aboriginal art and bark painting in particular.
While this study does not depart from existing perspectives on the reception of Aboriginal art, such as those of Jones, Lowish, Morphy and Taylor, it presents a more nuanced account and its specific focus is the reception of Arnhem Land bark painting. Its chronological period is 140 years and it includes new data from the press. It elaborates more fully on the reception of Aboriginal art in the gallery. It considers 177 press commentaries (from 1853-1990), many of which have not, to my knowledge, been hitherto noted, and creates broader contexts by means of the chronological documentation and analysis of the commentaries detailed in 62 key exhibition catalogues of Aboriginal art. As well, - 17 local and international professionals in the fields of anthropology, art and business who have played critical roles in the development of the understandings for Aboriginal art and Arnhem Land bark painting since the 1960s have been interviewed.
An underlying aim of the thesis has been to document the shifts in perception that occurred in regards to emerging understandings in the historical records of the sophistication of Aboriginal people and their art; importantly, it aims to identify how and when these first happened and what the mechanisms were that allowed this to become widely understood by mainstream audiences. It therefore tracks accounts of the earliest periods of contact, noting evidence of these initial perceptions and the changes that followed.
Arts, 2019
This paper explores how the appeal of the imagery of the Arnhem Land bark painting and its powerf... more This paper explores how the appeal of the imagery of the Arnhem Land bark painting and its powerful connection to land provided critical, though subtle messaging, during the postwar Australian government's tourism promotions in the USA.
Books by Dr Marie Geissler
Dreaming the Land. Aboriginal Art from Remote Asutralia, 2022
Dreaming the Land: Aboriginal Art from Remote Australia is an introduction to remote Australian A... more Dreaming the Land: Aboriginal Art from Remote Australia is an introduction to remote Australian Aboriginal culture and the evolution of the contemporary art movement of the people from these areas. This unique publication spans the more than fifty-year history of the modern Aboriginal art movement and presents detailed profiles of over one hundred artists, many of whom are amongst Aboriginal Australia's most distinguished early painters from remote and rural areas.
It is supported by three essays, an introduction to the movement by the author, Dr Marie Geissler, and two supporting essays by two of Australia's most distinguished Indigenous art writers and curators, Margo Neale (Director of the Indigenous Knowledge Centre, National Museum of Australia) and Djon Mundine OA. The introductory essay by the author presents a summary and chronological overview of the history of the visual culture of Aboriginal Australia, beginning with the rock art of over 40,000 years ago.
Following the essays are the artists’ profiles each comprising of an 800-word text, photographs of their work, their exhibition history and representation in institutional collections. Photographs are sourced from public and private collections. Traditional Owners from several regions around Australia have given permission to use rock art from their regions. Extensive research has been undertaken for this publication, over ten years in development, to ensure that it is across the latest research in this fast-moving field.
The Making of Australian Contemporary Art. Bark Painting 1970-1990, 2020
The Making of Indigenous Australian Contemporary Art: The Western
Reception of Arnhem Land Bark P... more The Making of Indigenous Australian Contemporary Art: The Western
Reception of Arnhem Land Bark Painting 1970–1990 is based on the
author’s 2017 PhD thesis Arnhem Land Bark Painting. The Western
Reception 1850–1990.23 It investigates the way the reception of Arnhem
Land bark painting from the period spanning 1970 to 1990 has influenced
the making of Indigenous Australian contemporary art. This end date was
selected as it refers to Terry Smith’s chapter on recent Aboriginal art in
Bernard Smith’s Australian Painting 1788–1990, the first substantial theoretical framework in which Indigenous art is understood as “contemporary” art. Smith distinguished the contemporaneity of the art within the context of it staying true to its authentic cultural traditions while being an art of dazzling beauty, sophistication, dynamism, variability and visibility. He also pointed to its growing artworld acceptance and influence within Australian art
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Papers by Dr Marie Geissler
landscapes of Barenjoey, Palm Beach and the Eucalypt woodland
hinterland. Exhibited at Coo-ee Gallery in Sydney, the images are inspired by his deep knowledge of Aboriginal culture and its spiritual connection to Country and those of non-Indigenous scholarship, namely ideas of Plato, Pythagoras, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, Buckminster Fuller and Keith Critchlow.
Nation peoples of Australia, like some First Nations peoples around the world, when faced with a judicial challenge to present evidence in court to support their land title claim, have drawn on their cultural materials as supporting evidence. Specifically, the text highlights the effective agency of indigenous visual expression as a communication tool within the Australian legal system. Further, it evaluates this history within an indigenous Australian art context, instancing where of visual art, including drawings and paintings, has been successfully used to support the main evidence in native title land claims. The focus is on three case studies, each differentiated by its distinct medium, commonly used in indigenous contemporary art—namely, ink/watercolours on paper, (Case study 1—the Mabo drawings of 1992), acrylics on canvas (Case study 2—the Ngurrara 11 canvas 1997) and ochre on bark, (Case study 3—The Saltwater Bark Collection 1997 (onwards)). The differentiation in the stylistic character of these visual presentations is evaluated within the context of being
either a non‐indigenous tradition (e.g., represented as European‐like diagrams or sketches to detail areas and boundaries of the claim sites in question) or by an indigenous expressive context (e.g., the evidence of the claim is presented using traditionally inspired indigenous symbols relating to the claimant’s lands. These latter images are adaptations of the secret sacred symbols used in ceremonies and painting, but expressed in a form that complies with traditional protocols protecting secret, sacred knowledge). The following text details how such visual presentations in the aforementioned cases were used and accepted as legitimate legal instruments, on which Australian courts based their legal determinations of the native land title.
While this study does not depart from existing perspectives on the reception of Aboriginal art, such as those of Jones, Lowish, Morphy and Taylor, it presents a more nuanced account and its specific focus is the reception of Arnhem Land bark painting. Its chronological period is 140 years and it includes new data from the press. It elaborates more fully on the reception of Aboriginal art in the gallery. It considers 177 press commentaries (from 1853-1990), many of which have not, to my knowledge, been hitherto noted, and creates broader contexts by means of the chronological documentation and analysis of the commentaries detailed in 62 key exhibition catalogues of Aboriginal art. As well, - 17 local and international professionals in the fields of anthropology, art and business who have played critical roles in the development of the understandings for Aboriginal art and Arnhem Land bark painting since the 1960s have been interviewed.
An underlying aim of the thesis has been to document the shifts in perception that occurred in regards to emerging understandings in the historical records of the sophistication of Aboriginal people and their art; importantly, it aims to identify how and when these first happened and what the mechanisms were that allowed this to become widely understood by mainstream audiences. It therefore tracks accounts of the earliest periods of contact, noting evidence of these initial perceptions and the changes that followed.
Books by Dr Marie Geissler
It is supported by three essays, an introduction to the movement by the author, Dr Marie Geissler, and two supporting essays by two of Australia's most distinguished Indigenous art writers and curators, Margo Neale (Director of the Indigenous Knowledge Centre, National Museum of Australia) and Djon Mundine OA. The introductory essay by the author presents a summary and chronological overview of the history of the visual culture of Aboriginal Australia, beginning with the rock art of over 40,000 years ago.
Following the essays are the artists’ profiles each comprising of an 800-word text, photographs of their work, their exhibition history and representation in institutional collections. Photographs are sourced from public and private collections. Traditional Owners from several regions around Australia have given permission to use rock art from their regions. Extensive research has been undertaken for this publication, over ten years in development, to ensure that it is across the latest research in this fast-moving field.
Reception of Arnhem Land Bark Painting 1970–1990 is based on the
author’s 2017 PhD thesis Arnhem Land Bark Painting. The Western
Reception 1850–1990.23 It investigates the way the reception of Arnhem
Land bark painting from the period spanning 1970 to 1990 has influenced
the making of Indigenous Australian contemporary art. This end date was
selected as it refers to Terry Smith’s chapter on recent Aboriginal art in
Bernard Smith’s Australian Painting 1788–1990, the first substantial theoretical framework in which Indigenous art is understood as “contemporary” art. Smith distinguished the contemporaneity of the art within the context of it staying true to its authentic cultural traditions while being an art of dazzling beauty, sophistication, dynamism, variability and visibility. He also pointed to its growing artworld acceptance and influence within Australian art