ISAACS, Jennifer
272 Pages
Published 1984
[Ure Smith Press]
This is the first book to bring together the different facets of Aboriginal art, from painting, sculpture, ceremony and dance, to the making of body ornaments, carved utensils and spun or woven articles for everyday use. Some of the art forms presented, such as bark painting, will already be familiar to non-Aboriginal people, but others, such as body painting, feather work and fibber, may not be known at all and will impress the reader by their remarkable beauty. The practice of the arts is central to aboriginal culture, for they express universal beliefs about the land, the laws of the Dreaming, and the relationship of Aboriginal people to their ancestral spirits. For Aboriginal people, the arts are a proud heritage that expresses the Dreaming. In a broader sense however, Aboriginal arts are a heritage that can be shared and appreciated by all people.