Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

An Anthropology of Identity Production in Far North Queensland

Gretchen M. Stolte

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000182378
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art explores the effects of Queensland government policies on urban First Nation artists. While such art has often been misinterpreted as derivative lesser copies of 'true' Indigenous works, this book unveils new histories and understandings about the mixed legacy left for Queensland Indigenous artists.

Gretchen Stolte uses rich ethnographic detail to illuminate how both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists understand and express their heritage. She specifically focuses on artwork at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art studio in the Tropical North Queensland College of Technical and Further Education (TNQT TAFE), Cairns. Stolte's ethnography further develops methodologies in art history and anthropology by identifying additional methods for understanding how art is produced and meaning is created.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Art and identity
• 2 Curios and artefacts
• 3 The history of the studio
• 4 The studio today
• 5 Disciplining the artist
• 6 Value creation and the market
• 7 Design elements
• 8 Cultural content
• 9 True North
• Images Section
• Bibliography
• Index