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Kumantje Jagamara

February 06, 2023

Kumantje Jagamara AM (c.1946 – November 2020), also known as Kumantje Nelson Jagamara, Michael Minjina Nelson Tjakamarra, Michael Nelson Tjakamarra and variations (Kumantye, Jagamarra, Jakamara), was an Aboriginal Australian painter. He was one of the most significant proponents of the Western Desert art movement, an early style of contemporary Indigenous Australian art.

Early life and education

Kumantje Jagamara (the name preferred by his family[1]) was born at Pikilyi, aka Vaughan Springs, Northern Territory (about 105 kilometres (65 mi) west of Yuendumu[2]), around 1946.[3] His parents were both Walpiri and his father was an important "Medicine Man" in the Yuendumu community.[4][5]

He lived a traditional lifestyle, and his grandfather taught him sand-, body-, and shield-painting.[3]

He first saw white men at Mount Doreen Station, and remembers hiding in the bush in fear.[5] Jagamara lived at Haasts Bluff for a time with the same family group as Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra. Later his parents took him to Yuendumu for European education at the mission school.[6][7]

Career

He left school after initiation and spent some time working jobs such as pig shooting, driving trucks and droving cattle. He spent time in the Australian Army[7] before coming back to Yuendumu and then moving to Papunya in 1976 (after the death of his father) to settle and marry[6] Marjorie Napaltjarri.[3] He worked in the government store and observed the work of many of the older artists at Papunya Tula for many years (including working under the instruction of his uncle Jack Tjurpurrula) before he began to paint regularly in 1983.[6][3] He was invited to join Papynya Artists in that year, and became one if its most well-known members.[5]

Jagamara painted Possum, Snake, Two Kangaroos, Flying Ant and Yam Dreamings for the area around Pikilyi.[citation needed]

In 1983, Jagamara was commissioned to create the forecourt mosaic at the new Parliament House in Canberra. The mosaic, Possum and Wallaby Dreaming, is based on his painting of the same name. The mosaic shows "a gathering of a large group of people from the kangaroo, wallaby and goanna ancestors [who] are meeting to talk and to enact ceremonial obligations. The work derives from the sand-painting tradition of the Warlpiri people, and has complex layers of meaning known only to Warlpiri elders". Three stonemasons took 18 months to two years to hand-cut the 90,000 granite setts[8][9] which were used in the 196-square-metre (2,110 sq ft) artwork.[10]

In 1985 he painted "Five Stories 1984".[11] In the mid-1980s, he engaged in cross-cultural collaboration, notably with artist Tim Johnson, and moved away from the usual Papunya style and colours.[12]

In 1996, Jagamara established a long-term relationship with Brisbane art dealer Michael Eather, around the same time starting to work with Brisbane’s Campfire Group.[5] He worked alongside Paddy Carroll Tjungurrayi in the second Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at QAGOMA.[3]

In 2012, he was appointed by the NT Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority as one of a group of five people to determine which of the early Papunya boards held by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) should be selected for public display.[5]

Work with Imants Tillers

In 1985, non-Indigenous artist Imants Tillers incorporated "Five Stories" in one of his own paintings, called "The Nine Shots", which ignited a debate about cultural appropriation and ethical issues surrounding the use of traditional Indigenous imagery by non-Indigenous artists. However, in 2001, the two men became friends, and collaborated over many years on a number of paintings[12] (24 between 2001 and 2018[13]).

One of these collaborations, "Metafisica Australe" (2017) is held by QAGOMA in Brisbane, in its[3] Australian Art Collection.[13] This work incorporates elements of "Five Stories", the story of the two artists' entanglement and journeys, and ethical issues relating to non-Indigenous artists using references to Indigenous art.[12] The work consists of 36 canvas boards created Jagamara as the centre of another 36 surrounding boards.[13]

Style

His painting style was initially meticulous dot-painting in the Papunya style, but he later simplified this, and by 2000 his work was described as "expressionistic and more "calligraphic" and flowing.[5]

His work and his life, Jagamara "held true to his jukurrpa", which involved the Warlpiri interconnected cultural knowledge system and its law, with especial connection to place. Pikilyi is an important sacred site for ceremonies, at the junction of a number of different Dreamings, which are represented in his art work, including Possum, Snake, Two Kangaroos, Flying Ant and Yam.[3]

Recognition, awards, honours

He won the inaugural National Aboriginal Art Award (now known as the Telstra Award) in September 1984[14][15] with his painting "Three Ceremonies".[5]

In 1987 an 8.2-metre (27 ft) long painting by Jagamara was installed in the foyer of the Sydney Opera House.[16][17][5]

He was introduced to Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 at the opening of the New Parliament House, as the designer of the 196-square-metre (2,110 sq ft) mosaic in the forecourt of the building.[18]

His 1985 painting "Five Stories 1984"[11] was one of the most reproduced works of Australian art in the 1980s. It was exhibited at the 1986 Biennale of Sydney, and was included in the South Australian Museum's Dreamings: The Art of Aboriginal Australia, which toured to the New York’s Asia Society Galleries in New York in 1988,[3] and elsewhere in the US. It appeared on the cover of the exhibition catalogue.[19] Jagamara travelled to New York City with Billy Stockman Japaltjarri for the opening of the show,[6] which was the start of his gaining an international audience.[5] (In 2016, the painting sold for the highest price ever paid for a painting by a living Aboriginal artist,[12] with £401,000 (AUD$687,877 at the time) paid for it at Sotheby's in London.[5])

In 1989 he had his first solo exhibition in Melbourne at the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, and participated in the BMW Art Car Project by hand painting an M3 race car.[6][20][5]

Jagamara was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1993 Australia Day Honours for service to art.[21][3]

In 1994 he was granted a Fellowship from the Australia Council's Visual Arts Board.[5]

He was elected president of the Papunya Community Council in the 1990s, and also 2002–2004.[5]

In 2006 his "Big Rain", a painting in Expressionist style, won the Tattersall’s Club Landscape Art Prize.[5]

From September 2016, a new Australian five-dollar note was introduced, featuring the Jagamara's mosaic at Parliament House.[22][23]

Later life and legacy

Jagamara died in November 2020, with his funeral in Alice Springs on 14 March 2021 attended by hundreds, including his longtime friend Vivien Johnson. A letter from the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, was read at the funeral.[17]

Jagamara was one of the most significant proponents of the Western Desert style of painting, which remains an important style of contemporary Indigenous Australian art.[17]

His work lives on at the Sydney Opera House,[16] at Parliament House (which was also digitally preserved after being photographed in 2019)[9] and on the five-dollar banknote (updated with new signatures in 2019).[24]

Exhibitions

Jagamara has exhibited his work in many exhibitions (including several solo exhibitions) and these include: Redrock gallery and Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne; Utopia Art Sydney; Australian National Gallery, Canberra; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; and John Weber Gallery, New York.[4]

Collections

References

  1. ^ "ABC Alice Springs". Facebook. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Yuendumu to Vaughan Springs". Google Maps. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Vale: Kumantye Jagamara". QAGOMA Blog. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Biography of Michael Nelson Tjakamarra". redrock gallery. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fairley, Gina (26 November 2020). "Vale: Michael Nelson Jagamara AM and Kunmanara Lewis". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e Johnson, Vivien (1994). Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert: A Biographical Dictionary. Craftsman house. ISBN 978-976-8097-81-1. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Michael Jagamara Nelson b. c.1949". Design and Art Australia Online. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Construction of Parliament House, 1981‒1987". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b Cerabona, Ron (22 April 2019). "Michael Nelson Jagamara's huge mosaic Possum and Wallaby Dreaming at Parliament House was hard to photograph". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Kumantye Jagamara's Forecourt Mosaic". Parliament of Australia. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Five Dreamings painting". South Australian Museum. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  12. ^ a b c d "Nelson Jagamara, Michael; Metafisica Australe". QAGOMA Collection Online Beta. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  13. ^ a b c "Michael Nelson Jagamara and Imants Tillers collaborate on 'Metafisica Australe'". QAGOMA Blog. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  14. ^ . Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  15. ^ "Northern Territory Chronicle 1984" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  16. ^ a b "International Herald Tribune - Michael Nelson Tjakamarra". Aboriginal Art News. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  17. ^ a b c Gordon, Oliver (11 March 2021). "Pioneering Indigenous artist Kumantje Nelson Jagamara remembered in Alice Springs". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  18. ^ . Australian Parliament House. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  19. ^ . Asia Story. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  20. ^ "Mutukayi: Motor cars and Papunya painting, with Vivien Johnson, John Kean, Jeremy Long and Dr Peter Thorley". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  21. ^ "Michael Tjakamarra Nelson". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 14 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ "Banknote". Reserve Bank of Australia Banknotes. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Australia new 5-dollar note (B230a) confirmed". BanknoteNews. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Australia new sig/date (2019) 5-dollar note (B230b) confirmed". BanknoteNews. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.

Further reading

  • Brody, A., 1985, The face of the centre: Papunya Tula paintings 1971–1984, NGV, Melbourne.
  • "Michael Nelson Tjakamarra: Profile". Cooee Art.
  • Johnson, Vivien, 1994, Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert - A biographical dictionary, Craftsman House, East Roseville, New South Wales.
  • Johnson, Vivien (1997). Michael Jagamara Nelson. Craftsman House. ISBN 978-976-641-013-1.
  • Papunya Tula, exhibition catalogue (1990). Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
  • Sutton, P. (ed.), 1988, Dreamings: the Art of Aboriginal Australia, Viking, Ringwood, Victoria.
  • Papunya Tula, exhibition catalogue (1990). Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
  • Tjukurrpa Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia (1971–1993), exhibition catalogue (1993). Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.

February 06, 2023
kumantje, jagamara, 1946, november, 2020, also, known, kumantje, nelson, jagamara, michael, minjina, nelson, tjakamarra, michael, nelson, tjakamarra, variations, kumantye, jagamarra, jakamara, aboriginal, australian, painter, most, significant, proponents, wes. Kumantje Jagamara AM c 1946 November 2020 also known as Kumantje Nelson Jagamara Michael Minjina Nelson Tjakamarra Michael Nelson Tjakamarra and variations Kumantye Jagamarra Jakamara was an Aboriginal Australian painter He was one of the most significant proponents of the Western Desert art movement an early style of contemporary Indigenous Australian art Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 2 1 Work with Imants Tillers 3 Style 4 Recognition awards honours 5 Later life and legacy 6 Exhibitions 7 Collections 8 References 9 Further readingEarly life and education EditKumantje Jagamara the name preferred by his family 1 was born at Pikilyi aka Vaughan Springs Northern Territory about 105 kilometres 65 mi west of Yuendumu 2 around 1946 3 His parents were both Walpiri and his father was an important Medicine Man in the Yuendumu community 4 5 He lived a traditional lifestyle and his grandfather taught him sand body and shield painting 3 He first saw white men at Mount Doreen Station and remembers hiding in the bush in fear 5 Jagamara lived at Haasts Bluff for a time with the same family group as Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra Later his parents took him to Yuendumu for European education at the mission school 6 7 Career EditHe left school after initiation and spent some time working jobs such as pig shooting driving trucks and droving cattle He spent time in the Australian Army 7 before coming back to Yuendumu and then moving to Papunya in 1976 after the death of his father to settle and marry 6 Marjorie Napaltjarri 3 He worked in the government store and observed the work of many of the older artists at Papunya Tula for many years including working under the instruction of his uncle Jack Tjurpurrula before he began to paint regularly in 1983 6 3 He was invited to join Papynya Artists in that year and became one if its most well known members 5 Jagamara painted Possum Snake Two Kangaroos Flying Ant and Yam Dreamings for the area around Pikilyi citation needed In 1983 Jagamara was commissioned to create the forecourt mosaic at the new Parliament House in Canberra The mosaic Possum and Wallaby Dreaming is based on his painting of the same name The mosaic shows a gathering of a large group of people from the kangaroo wallaby and goanna ancestors who are meeting to talk and to enact ceremonial obligations The work derives from the sand painting tradition of the Warlpiri people and has complex layers of meaning known only to Warlpiri elders Three stonemasons took 18 months to two years to hand cut the 90 000 granite setts 8 9 which were used in the 196 square metre 2 110 sq ft artwork 10 In 1985 he painted Five Stories 1984 11 In the mid 1980s he engaged in cross cultural collaboration notably with artist Tim Johnson and moved away from the usual Papunya style and colours 12 In 1996 Jagamara established a long term relationship with Brisbane art dealer Michael Eather around the same time starting to work with Brisbane s Campfire Group 5 He worked alongside Paddy Carroll Tjungurrayi in the second Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at QAGOMA 3 In 2012 he was appointed by the NT Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority as one of a group of five people to determine which of the early Papunya boards held by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory MAGNT should be selected for public display 5 Work with Imants Tillers Edit In 1985 non Indigenous artist Imants Tillers incorporated Five Stories in one of his own paintings called The Nine Shots which ignited a debate about cultural appropriation and ethical issues surrounding the use of traditional Indigenous imagery by non Indigenous artists However in 2001 the two men became friends and collaborated over many years on a number of paintings 12 24 between 2001 and 2018 13 One of these collaborations Metafisica Australe 2017 is held by QAGOMA in Brisbane in its 3 Australian Art Collection 13 This work incorporates elements of Five Stories the story of the two artists entanglement and journeys and ethical issues relating to non Indigenous artists using references to Indigenous art 12 The work consists of 36 canvas boards created Jagamara as the centre of another 36 surrounding boards 13 Style EditHis painting style was initially meticulous dot painting in the Papunya style but he later simplified this and by 2000 his work was described as expressionistic and more calligraphic and flowing 5 His work and his life Jagamara held true to his jukurrpa which involved the Warlpiri interconnected cultural knowledge system and its law with especial connection to place Pikilyi is an important sacred site for ceremonies at the junction of a number of different Dreamings which are represented in his art work including Possum Snake Two Kangaroos Flying Ant and Yam 3 Recognition awards honours EditHe won the inaugural National Aboriginal Art Award now known as the Telstra Award in September 1984 14 15 with his painting Three Ceremonies 5 In 1987 an 8 2 metre 27 ft long painting by Jagamara was installed in the foyer of the Sydney Opera House 16 17 5 He was introduced to Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 at the opening of the New Parliament House as the designer of the 196 square metre 2 110 sq ft mosaic in the forecourt of the building 18 His 1985 painting Five Stories 1984 11 was one of the most reproduced works of Australian art in the 1980s It was exhibited at the 1986 Biennale of Sydney and was included in the South Australian Museum s Dreamings The Art of Aboriginal Australia which toured to the New York s Asia Society Galleries in New York in 1988 3 and elsewhere in the US It appeared on the cover of the exhibition catalogue 19 Jagamara travelled to New York City with Billy Stockman Japaltjarri for the opening of the show 6 which was the start of his gaining an international audience 5 In 2016 the painting sold for the highest price ever paid for a painting by a living Aboriginal artist 12 with 401 000 AUD 687 877 at the time paid for it at Sotheby s in London 5 In 1989 he had his first solo exhibition in Melbourne at the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi and participated in the BMW Art Car Project by hand painting an M3 race car 6 20 5 Jagamara was made a Member of the Order of Australia AM in the 1993 Australia Day Honours for service to art 21 3 In 1994 he was granted a Fellowship from the Australia Council s Visual Arts Board 5 He was elected president of the Papunya Community Council in the 1990s and also 2002 2004 5 In 2006 his Big Rain a painting in Expressionist style won the Tattersall s Club Landscape Art Prize 5 From September 2016 a new Australian five dollar note was introduced featuring the Jagamara s mosaic at Parliament House 22 23 Later life and legacy EditJagamara died in November 2020 with his funeral in Alice Springs on 14 March 2021 attended by hundreds including his longtime friend Vivien Johnson A letter from the Prime Minister Scott Morrison was read at the funeral 17 Jagamara was one of the most significant proponents of the Western Desert style of painting which remains an important style of contemporary Indigenous Australian art 17 His work lives on at the Sydney Opera House 16 at Parliament House which was also digitally preserved after being photographed in 2019 9 and on the five dollar banknote updated with new signatures in 2019 24 Exhibitions EditJagamara has exhibited his work in many exhibitions including several solo exhibitions and these include Redrock gallery and Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne Utopia Art Sydney Australian National Gallery Canberra Institute of Contemporary Arts London and John Weber Gallery New York 4 Collections EditArt Gallery of New South Wales Sydney Art Gallery of South Australia Adelaide Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth Australian Museum Sydney Broken Hill Art Gallery Broken Hill NSW The Kelton Foundation Santa Monica California US Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection University of Virginia Charlottesville Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory Darwin National Gallery of Australia Canberra Parliament House Canberra Powerhouse Museum Sydney Queensland Art Gallery QAGOMA BrisbaneReferences Edit ABC Alice Springs Facebook 10 March 2021 Retrieved 16 March 2021 Yuendumu to Vaughan Springs Google Maps Retrieved 16 March 2021 a b c d e f g h i Vale Kumantye Jagamara QAGOMA Blog 14 February 2021 Retrieved 16 March 2021 a b Biography of Michael Nelson Tjakamarra redrock gallery Retrieved 16 March 2021 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fairley Gina 26 November 2020 Vale Michael Nelson Jagamara AM and Kunmanara Lewis ArtsHub Australia Retrieved 23 March 2021 a b c d e Johnson Vivien 1994 Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert A Biographical Dictionary Craftsman house ISBN 978 976 8097 81 1 Retrieved 16 March 2021 a b Michael Jagamara Nelson b c 1949 Design and Art Australia Online 31 October 2012 Retrieved 19 March 2021 Construction of Parliament House 1981 1987 Parliament of Australia Retrieved 16 March 2021 a b Cerabona Ron 22 April 2019 Michael Nelson Jagamara s huge mosaic Possum and Wallaby Dreaming at Parliament House was hard to photograph The Canberra Times Retrieved 16 March 2021 Kumantye Jagamara s Forecourt Mosaic Parliament of Australia 9 December 2020 Retrieved 16 March 2021 a b Five Dreamings painting South Australian Museum Archived from the original on 29 June 2009 Retrieved 31 October 2008 a b c d Nelson Jagamara Michael Metafisica Australe QAGOMA Collection Online Beta Retrieved 18 March 2021 a b c Michael Nelson Jagamara and Imants Tillers collaborate on Metafisica Australe QAGOMA Blog 14 May 2018 Retrieved 18 March 2021 Telstra National Aboriginal amp Torres Strait Islander Art Award NATSIAA Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory Archived from the original on 8 October 2012 Retrieved 18 October 2012 Northern Territory Chronicle 1984 PDF Northern Territory Government Retrieved 31 October 2008 a b International Herald Tribune Michael Nelson Tjakamarra Aboriginal Art News 28 August 2007 Retrieved 31 October 2008 a b c Gordon Oliver 11 March 2021 Pioneering Indigenous artist Kumantje Nelson Jagamara remembered in Alice Springs ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation Retrieved 16 March 2021 Architecture and Art Australian Parliament House Archived from the original on 7 October 2008 Retrieved 31 October 2008 Dreamings the Art of the Aboriginal Australia Asia Story Archived from the original on 12 October 2008 Retrieved 31 October 2008 Mutukayi Motor cars and Papunya painting with Vivien Johnson John Kean Jeremy Long and Dr Peter Thorley National Museum of Australia Retrieved 31 October 2008 Michael Tjakamarra Nelson honours pmc gov au Retrieved 14 December 2019 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Banknote Reserve Bank of Australia Banknotes Retrieved 18 March 2021 Australia new 5 dollar note B230a confirmed BanknoteNews 2 September 2016 Retrieved 18 March 2021 Australia new sig date 2019 5 dollar note B230b confirmed BanknoteNews 30 January 2021 Retrieved 18 March 2021 Further reading EditBrody A 1985 The face of the centre Papunya Tula paintings 1971 1984 NGV Melbourne Michael Nelson Tjakamarra Profile Cooee Art Johnson Vivien 1994 Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert A biographical dictionary Craftsman House East Roseville New South Wales Johnson Vivien 1997 Michael Jagamara Nelson Craftsman House ISBN 978 976 641 013 1 Papunya Tula exhibition catalogue 1990 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi Melbourne Sutton P ed 1988 Dreamings the Art of Aboriginal Australia Viking Ringwood Victoria Papunya Tula exhibition catalogue 1990 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi Melbourne Tjukurrpa Desert Dreamings Aboriginal Art from Central Australia 1971 1993 exhibition catalogue 1993 Art Gallery of Western Australia Perth Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kumantje Jagamara amp oldid 1102536686, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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