Aboriginal Art Expert Wally Caruana To Speak At TMA

Eye On Art  |  05/22/2013

Acclaimed Aboriginal art expert Wally Caruana will discuss “The Emergence of Aboriginal Australian Art ” on Thursday, June 6 at 6pm in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle. This free presentation is offered as part of the Masters Series, sponsored in part by the TMA Ambassadors.

Aboriginal art, or Indigenous Australian art, traditionally has been based on ancient stories and symbols related to ancestral stories about the creation of the world (“the Dreamtime”). Many of these stories are over 50,000 years old. Some contemporary Aboriginal artists, particularly urban artists, have focused more explicitly on identity politics and social issues. The first use of canvas in Aboriginal art was a mere 40 years ago, a medium now used by a number of contemporary Aboriginal artists.

Caruana is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on Aboriginal Australian art. Currently an Aboriginal Art specialist with the Michael Reid Gallery in Australia, he is also a visiting fellow in the Department of Art History at the Australian National University and is the senior consultant of Aboriginal Art to Sotheby’s Australia.

While senior curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the National Gallery of Australia from 1984?2001, he oversaw the development of a significant collection of Indigenous Australian art and curated numerous major exhibitions.

Caruana is the author and editor of several books and catalogs on Aboriginal art, including Aboriginal Art, available in the Museum Store and online at tmastore.org ($21.95). Other publications include Windows on the Dreaming: Aboriginal Paintings in the Australian National Gallery and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art: Collection Highlights.

His presentation complements two current TMA exhibitions: Crossing Cultures: The Owen and Wagner Collection of Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Hood Museum of Art, on view through July 14, and Prints by Australian Artists: The Bicentennial Folio, on view through July 21.

Crossing Cultures showcases 120 works from the 1970s?present, while Prints by Australian Artists was commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Australia’s settlement.

Music and refreshments will be available in the Museum Caf? preceding Caruana’s talk from 4?6pm. Tickets for the pre-lecture food and one drink are $15 members/$20 nonmembers and can be purchased at the main Information Desk, or by calling 419-255-7000, ext. 7448. The Museum Store will be open until 6pm.