Australian Aborigine Art

April's Lesson

Art From Down Under

People all over the world enjoy making art. But the native people of Australia have been making art the longest. These people are called Aborigines (ab e RIJ e nees). They are the original people of Australia, just as the Native Americans are the original people of America. The Stone Age ancestors of the Aborigines were some of the very first artists.They painted on their cave walls - 40,000 years ago! Today, painting is still very important to the Aborigines.

The Aborigines who live in the Western Desert of Austrailia make wonderful paintings. These paintings, filled with wavy lines, circles, and curves, are decorated with hundreds of small dots. To outsiders, the pictures are beautiful patterns filled with color. But to the Aborigines, these patterns tell stories. The stories are about their ancestors from long ago. The stories are called Dreamings. Dreamings are an important part of the values and beliefs of the Aborigines.

Some of the stories are sacred and can only be shared with Aborigines. Other stories can be told to everyone. When an artist paints one of these stories, he will tell us what the painting is about. One design that we start to recognize is the large circle with smaller circles inside. This pattern usually stands for a camp site. Another design looks like a squiggly wave. It usually means water or rain. The land on which Aborigines live is very important to them. Their designs often stand for things about nature and the earth.

The stories told by the paintings are so special that not just any artist can paint any story. Each artist can only paint the stories that have been passed down to him or her.

The painting to the left is by an artist named Abie Jangala. It's called "Water Dreaming". Can you see the water? How about a camp site? The artist tells us that this story is about a flood that happened long ago. The waters washed through the desert until they reached the sea.

The painting at the top of this page was done by Tim Leura Japaljarri.

Art Projects For This Lesson
We can't make pictures that tell the special stories of the Aborigines. But, we can try painting with dots. Here are some fun ideas.
CRAFT 1: Make a colorful design with dots.
CRAFT 2: Wear your art for all to see with this pin of dotted designs.

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