The Canvas as a Common Ground Cross-Cultural Communication through Indigenous Art in Australia
Date of Award
2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Vesperi, Maria
Keywords
Aboriginal Art, Australia, Communication
Area of Concentration
Anthropology
Abstract
This thesis weaves together art and anthropology in a series of ethnographic studies focused on three specific Australian Aboriginal paintings. The paintings are followed from the circumstances that generated them to their present-day locations through different levels of production, sales, and acceptance. The thesis explores various social issues associated with Australian Aboriginal art, including assimilation, authenticity, appropriation, and commodification. In the process, it illustrates how Aboriginal art has been a cultural common ground which has helped to shaped the difficult yet increasingly productive history of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in both Australia and the Western world.
Recommended Citation
Steen, Katie, "The Canvas as a Common Ground Cross-Cultural Communication through Indigenous Art in Australia" (2007). Theses & ETDs. 3862.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3862