Names
Papunya Art 2008 collection
IDs
nma-collection-1
Descriptions
The Papunya Art 2008 Collection consists of fifteen artworks, comprising eleven untitled watercolours and drawings on paper produced by unknown Pintupi artists, two paintings by Uta Uta Tjangala, and one painting each by Kaapa Tjampitjinpa and Anatjari Tjakamarra. All but one of the works date from 1971 and 1972, with one painting dated 1986. The collection also includes some supporting documentation held in the Archive collection.
The fourteen works from 1971 and 1972 represent the very earliest phase of the movement at Papunya. The eleven watercolours and drawings on paper, three attributed to Uta Uta Tjangala, represent a formative moment in this movement when artists began experimenting with different media. The sketching of designs on paper took place prior to the production of acrylic paintings. Although the designs themselves had been produced traditionally by the artists as body decoration and ground and cave paintings, when Papunya school teacher Geoffrey Bardon supplied the Pintupi men with paper, watercolour and pencil, this was the first time their designs had been applied to a non-traditional surface. Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, Uta Uta Tjangala and Anatjari Tjakamarra were all important artists who contributed to the birth and subsequent development of the Papunya painting movement. The three paintings on boards in this collection, done during 1971 and 1972, therefore enhance the Museum's holdings of significant works from this early period. The 1986 Uta Uta Tjangala painting is also a significant addition to the NMA's growing holdings of this important artist.
The works in this collection are all significant Indigenous works, representing different stages and some of the major artists involved in the development of the Western Desert art movement at Papunya, which has become internationally renowned as the origin of the contemporary Aboriginal acrylic painting industry. Overall, the items in this collection are significant in expanding the chronological sweep of the NMA's holdings of Papunya related material, beyond its current strengths in the 1974-1981 period.
Copyright National Museum of Australia
Physical access to collection is by appointment only
http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/papunya_collection/ http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/papunya_painting_out_of_the_australian_desert/
Related Collections
Dates
2012-05-30 23:43
2011-06-27 10:42