Alma Nungarrayi Granites: Australian Aboriginal Painter of Walpiri Dream Stories

Alma Nungarrayi Granites is an aboriginal artist from a desert region of central Australia.  She paints a variety of stories that have been passed down in the world’s oldest continuous living culture.

Granites was inspired by her elders, who taught her to preserve, share, and maintain the Walpiri people’s “Jukurrpa” (“dreaming”) stories about the creation period.  The Walpiri are aboriginal peoples of north-central Australia and number about 5,500.  During the Jukurrpa (creation) period, ancestral beings traveled over the Australian desert, creating land features, animals, people and the laws.  At the end of their journey, some took their places with the stars while others transformed into rocks, hills, and waters.  The artist considers herself a “’carrier’ of the Jukurrpa” and wants to share her culture worldwide, through her art.

Granites lacks formal artistic training; however, she has learned from professional artists (like Paddy Japaljarri Simsand, her husband, and both parents).  She has traveled to significant sites that were Jukurrpa story settings, and finds inspiration in landscapes where the land and sky blended together at sunset.  The artist experiments with techniques and composition but remains true to her culture, using traditional Walpiri iconography to symbolize the Jukurrpa’s elements and sites.  Her creations are a mixture of traditional aboriginal symbolism, painted horizontally on linen or canvas.

The iconography of many of Granites’ works are the stars, which were very important to the nomadic aboriginals.  Considered the world’s first astronomers, aboriginals relied on the stars for guiding their movement, finding food, and charting the seasons.

Granites has simply titled several paintings “Star Dreaming” (also known as “Seven Sisters Dreaming” or “YanjirlpirrI Jukurrpa”).  In these paintings, she depicts the Walpiri story of seven ancestral Napaljarri-Warnu sisters.  They are located in the constellation Taurus, and are often depicted along with “Jukurra-Jukurra” (an ancestral man represented by the morning star) who is in love with the sisters.  A variety of her “Star Dreaming/Seven Sisters Dreaming” paintings are shown below, which range in colors, scale, and star arrangements.  Some have a softer, “photographic” appearance, while others are represented using bolder, geometric (circular, elliptical, or linear) images.  The sisters are consistently shown as a star cluster in the night sky; however, sometimes they are more difficult to quickly spot.

Yanjirlpirri Jukurrpa – Seven Sisters Dreaming
Acrylic on Linen
~5’ x 2.5’
https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/collections/alma-granites/

Yanjirlpirri Jukurrpa – Seven Sisters Dreaming
Acrylic on Linen
~5’ x 2.5’
https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/collections/alma-granites/

Yanjirlpirri Jukurrpa – Seven Sisters Dreaming
Acrylic on Linen
~10’ x 6.5’
https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/collections/alma-granites/

Yanjirlpirri Jukurrpa – Seven Sisters Dreaming
Acrylic on Linen
~5’ x 2.5’
https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/collections/alma-granites/

Alma Nungarrayi Granites / Star (Seven Sisters) Dreaming
Acrylic on Linen
~3.5’ x 3’
https://www.aboriginal-art-australia.com/artworks/alma-nungarrayi-granites-star-seven-sisters-dreaming-17b/

Alma Nungarrayi Granites / Star (Seven Sisters) Dreaming
Acrylic on Linen
~3.5’ x 3’
https://www.aboriginal-art-australia.com/artworks/alma-nungarrayi-granites-star-seven-sisters-dreaming-3c/

In a short video made by the Australian Museum, Granites talks about “Seven Sisters Dreaming” and the importance of sharing her culture’s stories:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6RM48a92NA.  (The video contains an initial warning that some people shown are now deceased; however, there is no violence in the video).

According to BlouinArtInfo writer Margaret Carrigan, aboriginal Australian art “is having a moment in America,” which began about five years ago.  According to Seattle Art Museum “Of Country and Culture” co-curator Lana Meador, there is currently an interest in female aboriginal artists like Granites who are painting dream stories.  She says that in the past, aboriginal works may have been shown in what was considered an anthropological approach; whereas, current exhibits are presenting these works in a fine arts context.  Meador says, “We really wanted to drive home that (Granites and other aboriginal artists) – although they’re located halfway across the world, perhaps in very remote communities and, in many cases, without any exposure to or little knowledge of the contemporary art market or what is happening in the contemporary art elsewhere – are working with the same tools as so many other artists:  paints and canvas.  They should be included in the global conversation going on in contemporary art today.”

The Kate Owen Gallery describes Granites’ paintings as not only communicating “the tension of the story, but the calm and whimsical nature of the night sky.”  Colors and patterns immerse viewers, while timeless images transport them to a meditative state.  Granites’ works provide a connection to the past yet also show the boundless beauty of space, time, and hope.  Find comfort in Granites works, which continue ancient story-telling through viewing the night sky’s dependable and calming stars.

Sources:

Aboriginal Art Australia.  “Alma Nungarrayi Granites/Star (Seven Sisters) Dreaming.”   aboriginal-art-Australia.  https://www.aboriginal-art-australia.com/artworks/alma-nungarrayi-granites-star-seven-sisters-dreaming-17b/

Australian Museum.  “Yuendumu: Alma Nungarrayi Granites.”  . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6RM48a92NA

Carrigan, Margaret.  “A Dialogue Grows Around Contemporary Aboriginal Australian Art.” Blouinartinfo International.  31 March 2017.

Japingka, Australian Aboriginal Artists.  “Alma Nungarrayi Granites Paintings.” Japingkaaboriginalart.com.  https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/collections/alma-granites/

Kate Owen Gallery.  “Alma Nungarrayi Granites.”  Kateowengallery.com.  https://www.kateowengallery.com/artists/Alm532/Alma-Nungurrayi-Granites.htm

Warlykurlangu, Artists of Yuendumu.  “Alma Nungarrayi Granites.”  Warlu.com.  https://warlu.com/artist/alma-nungarrayi-granites/

Cecily Brown Makes her Own Mark while Referencing the Greats

Cecily Brown is an artist known for her abstract expressionist paintings.  In these works, Brown generously applies oil paint to huge canvasses, creating a sense of movement and depth.  Her glossy varnish over richly applied paint creates visceral images.  Brown expanded the figurative abstraction painting genre, which had previously been dominated by male painters like Willem de Kooning and Francis Bacon.  Many of her paintings have sexually explicit themes, with her latter works’ images more subtly suggested.

In an interview, Brown said she was conflicted about making female nudes but thought her (conflicted) feelings showed in her paintings.  She doesn’t really consider them nudes because “they feel melancholic, for the most part . . .  not titillating.”  In contrast, her abstract expressionist (mostly male) predecessors’ works have been described as objectifying women.  The Art Story says, “(her) lavishness itself is expressive, unsettling, and visceral . . . (Brown) mocks sexuality with equal parts sensuality and repulsion.”

Both of Brown’s parents encouraged her to become an artist.  Her art critic father introduced her to painter Francis Bacon, who remains a constant influence.  After graduating from London’s Slade School of Fine Art in 1993, she moved to New York City to start her career.  She experienced the stereotypical starving artist lifestyle of working in a restaurant, eating cheaply, and spending her free time creating paintings.  Fairly quickly, she was signed by one of the world’s most prestigious galleries, the Gagosian.  According to art historian Peter Kalb, “the breadth of Brown’s references and the assertive manner in which she makes them her own turned her work into statements of a late (20^th) century feminist art.”

Puce Moment
http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/cecily_brown.htm

Puce Moment (1997) is an image of excess.  Numerous human figures are sprawled across the large painting.  This piece is typical of the artist’s early work because it is crowded with partly abstract fragments of body parts, in dramatic reds and pinks.  References to de Kooning and Bacon can be seen in Brown’s figurative abstraction and assertive brushwork.  However, Brown challenges the “traditional male gaze” in depicting female nudes.  According to the Saatchi Gallery, her images are not of women to be possessed by the male gaze; the female images (like the males’) are “mounds of flesh, parts assembled in a confusing hodgepodge in which male and female are indistinguishable from one another . . .   In such a context, the gaze itself becomes repulsive and the possibility of possession is thwarted” (Saatchi).

Night Passage
http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/cecily_brown.htm

Brown’s 1999 Night Passage is a large (approximately 8 foot by 9 foot) lushly painted image of an intimate couple.  It contains elements of other famous painters: pastel colors from Monet’s water lilies, imagery similar to O’Keeffe’s flowers, and bold brush strokes of macho abstract painters like de Kooning.  Yet, Brown makes the image distinctly her own.

Aujourd’hui Rose
https://theartstack.com/artist/cecily-brown/aujourd-hui-rose-2005

Aujourd’hui Rose (2005) is another large (about 6 foot by 4.5 foot) painting with elements of famous artists represented.  It is of the “Vanitas” genre, which was popular with 17th century Flemish painters.  This style of still life painting used symbols of death (often a skull) along with images of the vanity and transience of earthly pleasures.  Also, the two Victorian-era girls in Degas’ “ballerina” pink, playing with a puppy, are reminiscent of impressionist paintings of realistic scenes of life (as opposed to composed studio portraits).  The viewer shifts from the image of a skull to focusing on the children enjoying the dog.  The placement of the sweet children within the skull provides a thought-provoking contrast of images.

For a sampling of Brown’s work and influences, and an interview with the artist, check out this Louisiana Channel video:  http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/cecily-brown-take-no-prisoners.

Cecily Brown’s art attracts viewers with its “painterly” references to other great artists, as well as her own intriguing figurative abstraction.  Brown describes that, “I have always wanted to make paintings that are impossible to walk past, paintings that grab and hold your attention.  The more you look at them, the more satisfying they become for the viewer.  The more time you give the painting, the more you get back.”  Brown honors her craft’s past while propelling it into the future.

Sources:

Art Stack.  “Aujourd’hui Rose by Cecily Brown.”  theartstack.com.
https://theartstack.com/artist/cecily-brown/aujourd-hui-rose-2005

Kalb, Peter R.  Art Since 1980, Charting the Contemporary. Pearson. New York. 2014. p. 253-4.

Louisiana Channel.  “Cecily Brown, Take No Prisoners.” .  Channel.louisiana.dk.  http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/cecily-brown-take-no-prisoners

Saatchi Gallery.  “Cecily Brown.”  saatchigallery.com.   http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/cecily_brown.htm

The Art Story/Modern Art Insight.  “Cecily Brown.”  theartstory.com.  http://www.theartstory.org/artist-brown-cecily.htm

Zhong, Fan.  “Five Minutes with Cecily Brown.”  W Magazine.  7 May 2013.  http://www.wmagazine.com/story/cecily-brown-gagosian-solo-exhibition

Kapoor’s Public Sculptures Engage Viewers with their Dynamic Features

Anish Kapoor is among the world’s most respected contemporary sculptors.  He is best known for his public sculptures, which have been displayed in a broad range of international cities.  The Lisson Gallery has described his works as “both adventures in form and feats of engineering.”  Born in Bombay in 1954, Kapoor moved to London in the early 1970s to study at Hornsey College of Art and the Chelsea School of Art Design.

In 2004, he created his first site-specific installation in the U.S., Cloud Gate, at Chicago’s Millennium Park.  This sculpture is one of the world’s biggest outdoor installations, measuring 66 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 33 feet high.  It was named after completion, alluding to the 12-foot high arch that serves as a “gate” to the underside’s concave area.

Inspired by liquid mercury, Cloud Gate is made of polished stainless steel.  It reflects the nearby city skyline as well as viewers’ images.  The public affectionately refers to the sculpture as “The Bean.”  Millennium Park visitors can touch the shiny surface and view reflections from various perspectives.  According to the Lisson Gallery, Cloud Gate, like Kapoor’s other works that have a reflective surface, “attract and swallow the viewer.”  Visitors are drawn to the large mirror-like surface, and then interact with the sculpture from many positions and angles.  They can explore “The Bean” and its distorted reflections by walking around and through the rounded sculpture.

Cloud Gate (2004) by Anish Kapoor, Chicago

http://millenniumparkfoundation.org/places/cloud-gate/

To hear a brief audio tour of Cloud Gate and Kapoor’s description, listen to: https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/dca/mpaudio/CloudGate.mp3.

“The Bean” has an internal frame of a truss connected to two large stainless steel rings, directing its 220,000-pound weight to the two bases.  Created using computer technology to cut 168 stainless steel plates, it was assembled like a puzzle, and then welded shut.  The stainless-steel covering was attached to the frame using flexible connecters that allow contraction and expansion of the sculpture, in response to Chicago’s weather conditions.

Cloud Gate Interior.  http://millenniumparkfoundation.org/places/cloud-gate/

Cloud Gate Construction.  http://millenniumparkfoundation.org/places/cloud-gate/

Another engaging Kapoor public artwork is Descension, a whirlpool of water swirling down a black hole.  This work has been temporarily displayed in various versions in India, Italy, the Versailles gardens, and Paris’ River Seine.  It is also scheduled to be on display in Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York from May 3 to September 10, 2017.  Each version has used all-natural black-dyed water, except for the Seine version.  The Brooklyn version will be a 26-foot diameter installation, which will again create the illusion of an apparent negative space in the ground.  Public Art Fund Director and Chief Curator Nicholas Baume describes that “with Descension, (Kapoor) creates an active object” that engages viewers’ imaginations.

Descension (2015), Kapoor’s solo exhibition at the Palace of Versailles

http://www.widewalls.ch/anish-kapoor-descension-seine-nuit-blanche-paris-2016/

 

Viewers become mesmerized by the sight and sound of Descension’s swirling water and contemplate its meaning.  To watch a short video of the version displayed in 2014 in Italy, view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TLBVOVkOxk.

WideWalls senior editor Angie Kordic writes that Descension “lures” viewers “into the dark void of the unknown;” possibly evoking dark feelings, “as if all our fears, vulnerabilities, unwanted emotions, are stuck in an endless maelstrom, circulating around a drain towards the unfathomable.”

Kapoor explains, “I have always thought of it [the void] as a transitional space, an in-between space.  It’s very much to do with time.  I have always been interested as an artist in that very first moment of creativity where everything is possible and nothing has actually happened.  It’s a space of becoming.” 

Descension (2016) on the River Seine

http://www.widewalls.ch/anish-kapoor-descension-seine-nuit-blanche-paris-2016/

 

Another interactive Kapoor creation is Britain’s largest public artwork ArcelorMittal Orbit.  It is a 375-foot high sculpture with observation tower in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  Affectionately known as “The Orbit,” it serves as a permanent legacy to London’s 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.  Besides viewing from 360 degrees on the ground, visitors can explore Kapoor’s red lattice tower’s twists and turns via elevators.  The “lifts” transport them to two observation platforms, which provide panoramic views of London.  They can then descend to the ground via elevator or by walking over 450 stairs while listening to a soundscape created to accompany the artwork.

ArcelorMittal Orbit (2012), London

http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/1055-anish-kapoors-orbit-in-olympic-park-major-exhibition-of-recent-wo

Anish Kapoor’s public sculptures engage viewers with their dynamic features.  Reflections are distorted and ever-changing.  Sights and sounds of water mesmerize, swirling in a state of constant flux.  Twists, turns and changes in elevation bring new views into sight.  Besides providing personal enjoyment, these works bring people together.  Watching others interact with Kapoor’s sculptures is certainly an added bonus.  Viewers engage with Kapoor’s public works; they also have the opportunity to engage with other viewers.

 

Sources

Art Fix Daily. Anish Kapoor’s “Orbit” in Olympic Park, Major Exhibition of Recent Works at Lisson Gallery. Artfixdaily.com.  27 July 2012.  http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/1055-anish-kapoors-orbit-in-olympic-park-major-exhibition-of-recent-wo

City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.  Cloud Gate [Audio Guide].  https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/dca/mpaudio/CloudGate.mp3

Elbaor, Caroline.  Public Art Fund Brings Anish Kapoor’s ‘Descension’ to Brooklyn Bridge Park.  Artnet.com. ArtNet News.  https://news.artnet.com/art-world/anish-kapoor-descension-brooklyn-bridge-park-864392

Galleria Continua.  Anish Kapoor “Descension”  .  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TLBVOVkOxk

Kordi, Angie.  The Mystery Piece by Anish Kapoor – Descension – to Become Whirlpool of the Seine.  Widewalls.  http://www.widewalls.ch/anish-kapoor-descension-seine-nuit-blanche-paris-2016/

Lisson Gallery.  Artists-Anish Kapoor.  http://www.lissongallery.com/artists/anish-kapoor

Millennium Park Foundation.  Cloud Gate.  http://millenniumparkfoundation.org/places/cloud-gate/

Tayeba Begum Lipi’s Art Cuts to the Heart

Tayeba Begum Lipi is a contemporary artist from Bangladesh.  She creates paintings, drawings, performance art, and sculpture; the latter being her most famous and interesting work.  Lipi predominantly uses razor blades as her medium, welding them together to create intricate pieces.  The artist recreates everyday objects like shoes, beds, bathtubs, baby strollers, cribs, and picture frames that appear both rigid yet fragile.  She morphs these familiar domestic items into something luminous but dangerous.  Last summer, several of her works were displayed at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.

Lipi works with razor blades in part because of the object’s association with violence.  However, the blades also remind her of her childhood.  Lipi’s art is rooted in her personal experiences growing up in a poor, large family.  As the eleventh of twelve children, she was usually home for the births of nephews and nieces who were delivered with the help of a midwife using a razor blade.  The memory of the sound of the blade tumbling in boiling water and the gleam of the sharp edge has translated into a powerful symbol, reoccurring in many of her works.  Although the artist previously used readymade blades, she now has them custom made in black and silver.  This allows her the ability to create different sizes, shapes, and colors in her works.  At the display of her first razor blade sculpture, she was surprised to see that viewers were tempted to touch the shiny, sharp material.

One of Lipi’s more personal pieces is My Daughter’s Cot (2012), a sculpture of a full-sized baby crib made of welded razor blades.  This piece represents the loss of her unborn child and the pain of miscarriage.  The blades that she had formerly associated with childbirth, new life, and hope now look brutal and painful.  The crib initially appears sterile, cold and empty.  At MSU, this piece was the only item displayed in a deep, dark room.  Yet, the soft spot lighting and shiny surface also seemed to pay tribute to Lipi’s unborn daughter.

Tayeba Begum Lipi, My Daughter’s Cot (2012)

http://hyperallergic.com/314737/an-artist-couple-from-bangladesh-shares-their-deeply-political-work/

Another intriguing piece, Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye (2015) was shown at MSU.  Viewers can almost feel the emotion radiating from the surface of this delicate yet painful piece.  The artist had connected razor blades end to end in a mesmerizing three-dimensional pattern, creating waves and curves in the mattress and an empty groove in the pillow.  The full-sized, horizontal mattress challenges viewers; a bed is usually a source of comfort and peace; however, this bed is very dangerous.  This piece’s color is generally bright while the hollows of the blade surfaces provide contrasting dark spaces and depth.  By titling the work, Lipi helps viewers interpret it.  Someone was unable – or chose not – to say goodbye, causing great pain to another person.  However, this piece also conveys respect for a deep relationship and an honoring that it had occurred.

Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye, 2015

http://www.sundaramtagore.com/exhibitions/tayeba-begum-lipi/selected-works?view=slider

Another piece, Miles after Miles (2015) shows the detail of well-worn shoes. This piece represents persistence; the shoes’ owner has traveled many miles in painful shoes.  Yet, there is a hopefulness to the image; the shoes are shiny and well arranged on a shelf, displayed with pride.

Miles after Miles (2015)

http://hyperallergic.com/314737/an-artist-couple-from-bangladesh-shares-their-deeply-political-work/

Listen to a short interview with Lipi at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s8car33rp8 in which she discusses some of her other mediums and Britto Arts Foundation, which she co-founded.  The Foundation is not a commercial space but a place for creating, teaching, supporting, and exhibiting work by Bangladeshi artists.

Lipi’s work attracts viewers with its shiny yet dangerous medium.  The works have an edginess and element of pain.  But, viewers also see a positive message in her work, represented by silver reflections, lighting, and object placement.  The artist has commented that she always tries to include the possibility of hope or something positive in her work.  Her art cuts to viewers’ hearts, but leaves them with a silver lining.

 

Sources:

Asia Society Hong Kong.  Interview: In Conversation with Tayeba Begum Lipi. 3 Feb. 2014.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s8car33rp8

Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum.  Exhibitions: The Artist as Activist: Tayeba Begum Lipi and Mahbubur Rahman, March 5 – August 7, 2016.  Michigan State University.  http://broadmuseum.msu.edu/exhibitions/artist-activist-tayeba-begum-lipi-and-mahbubur-rahman

Pi Artworks.  Tayeba Begum Lipi Biography. http://www.piartworks.com/english/sanatcilar_det1.php?recordID=Tayeba%20Begum%20LIPI

Rink, Jonathon. “Sharp Commentary.” International Sculpture Center. 25 May 2016.  https://blog.sculpture.org/2016/05/25/sharp-commentary/

Sharp, Sarah Rose.  “An Artist Couple from Bangladesh Shares Their Deeply Political Work.” Hyperallergic.com.  29 July 2016.  http://hyperallergic.com/314737/an-artist-couple-from-bangladesh-shares-their-deeply-political-work/

Spence, Rachel.  “Visual Arts, Q&A: Tayeba Begum Lipi.”  Financial Times.com. 18 March 2014.  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/f60927e0-adf1-11e3-9ddc-00144feab7de.html#axzz4ETjncnlS

Sundaram Tagore Gallery.  Tayeba Begum Lipi, March 3-April 2, 2016 Exhibition.   http://www.sundaramtagore.com/exhibitions/tayeba-begum-lipi/selected-works?view=slider