Anatjari Tjakamarra
Encyclopedia
Anatjari Tjakamarra was a Central Australia
n Aboriginal artist
who was part of the Papunya Tula
art movement. He came from the area of Kulkuta, southeast of Kiwirrkura in Western Australia
. He was a Pintupi
man.
He came into Papunya in the early 1960s from the Western Desert. He was working there as a gardener when Geoffrey Bardon
began encouraging the men to paint using western style materials in the early 1970s.
He left Papunya at the start of the outstation movement
, establishing Tjukula in Western Australia, southeast of his birthplace and near the Northern Territory
border. During much of the 1980s, when this painting was done, he worked and sold his art independently.
After settling at Kiwirrkura late in the decade, he began working through Papunya Tula
Pty Ltd. He has his first solo exhibition at the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in 1989, and another in the same year at the John Weber Gallery in New York
. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired his painting Tingari
Dreaming Cycle that year; this represented the first acquisition by a major international museum of a contemporary Aboriginal artwork
.
Central Australia
Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...
n Aboriginal artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who was part of the Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula, or Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 that is owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovative work with the Western Desert Art Movement, popularly referred to as "dot painting"...
art movement. He came from the area of Kulkuta, southeast of Kiwirrkura in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. He was a Pintupi
Pintupi
Pintupi refers to an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose homeland is in the area west of Lake MacDonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia. These people moved into the Aboriginal communities of Papunya and Haasts Bluff in the west of the...
man.
He came into Papunya in the early 1960s from the Western Desert. He was working there as a gardener when Geoffrey Bardon
Geoffrey Bardon
Geoffrey Robert Bardon AM 1940, Sydney – 6 May 2003) was an Australian school teacher who was instrumental in creating the Aboriginal art of the Western Desert movement, and in bringing Australian indigenous art to the attention of the world....
began encouraging the men to paint using western style materials in the early 1970s.
He left Papunya at the start of the outstation movement
Outstation movement
The Outstation movement refers to the relocation of Indigenous Australians from towns to remote outposts on traditional tribal land.As described in the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody a range of problems faced Aboriginal people living in towns.During the 1980s a number of groups...
, establishing Tjukula in Western Australia, southeast of his birthplace and near the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
border. During much of the 1980s, when this painting was done, he worked and sold his art independently.
After settling at Kiwirrkura late in the decade, he began working through Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula, or Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 that is owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovative work with the Western Desert Art Movement, popularly referred to as "dot painting"...
Pty Ltd. He has his first solo exhibition at the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in 1989, and another in the same year at the John Weber Gallery in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired his painting Tingari
Tingari
The Tingari cycle in Australian Aboriginal mythology embodies a vast network of Aboriginal Dreaming songlines that traverse the Western Desert region of Australia...
Dreaming Cycle that year; this represented the first acquisition by a major international museum of a contemporary Aboriginal artwork
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians. It is generally regarded as beginning with a painting movement that started at Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in 1971, involving artists such as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri...
.