Public Invited to Nov. 16 Symposium Focusing on Australian Aboriginal Art

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (NEHMA) at Utah State University presents a symposium “Then and Now: Australian Aboriginal Painting of the Western Desert (1971-present).” The symposium is Monday, Nov. 16, 1:30-5:30 p.m., at the Caine Performance Hall on the main USU campus in Logan. The public is invited to the event with a $20 admission and is free to USU students and faculty.

The symposium focuses an exhibition featuring artists from the Australian Western Desert currently on display at NEHMA “Abstraction and the Dreaming: Aboriginal Paintings from Australia’s Western Desert” (1971-present).

“Abstraction and the Dreaming” includes more than 50 artworks spanning the emergence of painting at Papunya, a remote Australian Indigenous settlement, to the present day. The early “Papunya boards” are descendants of mark-making that dates to well over 100 centuries ago and are the beginnings of the Western Desert art movement. With fewer than 600 in existence, the “Papunya boards” (1970s) have a singular status within the history of Australian Aboriginal art.

Symposium times and speakers include:
 

1:30 p.m.

Howard Murphy, professor of anthropology in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University

Topic: The role of abstraction in Australian Aboriginal Art prior to 1971

2 p.m.

Fred Myers, Silver professor of anthropology, New York University
Topic: First-hand experience working with Aboriginal Artists in the Western Desert in the early 1970s (via Skype)

2:10 p.m.

Katie Lee Koven, NEHMA director and chief curator
Topic: Moderate a discussion featuring collectors John and Barbara Wilkerson (John is an alumnus of Utah State University) and Dennis Scholl who are lenders of works to the Aboriginal art exhibition

3:30 p.m.

Margo Smith, director and curator, Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia, and guest curator of the NEHMA Aboriginal exhibition

Topic: Women artists of the Papunya/Tula regions

3:55 p.m.

John Carty, anthropology research fellow, Australian National University

Topic: Presentation on Aboriginal abstraction in the 21st century

4:20 p.m.

Question and Answer with Margo Smith and John Carty

4:35 p.m.

Reception at NEHMA

Those interested in attending the symposium may contact Andre DeHaan, administrative coordinator at NEHMA, andrea.dehaan.usu.edu.

“Abstraction and the Dreaming: Aboriginal Paintings from Australia’s Western Desert” is on view through Dec. 12.

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting modern and contemporary visual art to promote dialogue about ideas fundamental to contemporary society. Admission is free and open to the public. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment. Visit the NEHMA website for more information.

Contacts: Katie Lee Koven, NEHMA executive director and chief curator, 435-797-0164, katie.lee.coven@usu.edu or Maren Aller, USU Public Relations and Marketing, 435-797-1355, maren.aller@usu.ed