DINNI KUNOTH KEMARRE & JOSIE KUNOTH PETYARRE BUSH FOOTY INTERPRETIVE GUIDE

ART AND SPORT COLLIDE

I like to gather around the television with my sons and watch the AFL. Even better is going to see my sons play for the Apungalindum Eagles in our local bush football competition. Families come from all around to watch the bush football games – although not as many people as at the MCG. Dinni Kunoth Kemarre

AFL football is so popular in outback communities that people drive for hours to see a game. Crossing country in cars and trucks, people from different communities, and sometimes from different language groups, come together for the sake of footy. These colourful community events are captured in these paintings by Josie Kunoth Petyarre and sculptures by Dinni Kunoth Kemarre.

This husband-and-wife team lives in Apungalindum, on their traditional lands in Utopia, 250 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs in Central Australia. They are Anmatyerre people. Josie began working as an artist in the 1970s. She started working in batik but now works as a sculptor and a painter.

In 2006 her husband Dinni began carving 3D football sculptures. Before becoming an artist, Dinni worked on cattle stations, branding and mustering cattle. Since 2006 they have both been making art that celebrates the role of Australian Rules football in Central Australian communities. They have nine children and nine grandchildren.

Together they go on long trips into the bush to find the bean tree (Erythrina vespertilio), from which they make sculptures using hand tools such as small axes and rasps. The bean tree wood is very light, which means it is easy to carve and to colour.

The Bush Footy paintings are painted on canvas with acrylic paint. Painted on the ground, the footy oval appears in the centre as the focal point from which all of the action radiates.

RESPONDING

See how many different things you can identify in one of the Bush Footy paintings by Josie. Make a list of everything you can see. Can you tell who is winning the game?

How many of the AFL teams can you recognise? Dinni and Josie’s home team is the Apungalindum Eagles. The names of some of the other teams that play at Utopia are the Soapy Bore Crows, Mulga Bore Magpies, Arlparra Dockers, Arnkewenyerra Swans and the Delmore Demons. Create your own fantasy team name. What animal or supernatural mascot would you choose?

Dinni’s sculptures and Josie’s paintings are very colourful, reflecting the energy and fun of their subject matter. Research other artists, subjects and techniques from Utopia. Present your research to the class and compare your findings.

MAKING

Make a line drawing of your favourite sport. Sketch the event as though you are seeing it from above the ground. Try and capture the players and the spectators from this bird’s eye perspective.

The sculpting technique used by Josie and Dinni is called a reductive sculpting technique; that is, the works of art are made by taking away (or reducing) the materials. Write a list of materials that could be used to make a sculpture in this way. Select your favourite and make a sculpture that captures your favourite person or animal.

One of the series of sculptures is called Dinni’s Dream Team. If you could assemble a dream team for your favourite sport, who would be in it? Design the sports uniform that your dream team would wear.

Imagine being invited to visit Dinni and Josie’s home in Apungalindum. If you could make a video of this experience of meeting the artists, what would it look like? Make a storyboard where you sequence the things that you would capture on film.

DINNI KUNOTH KEMARRE born 1954, Utopia Homestead, Northern Territory Anmatyerre people, Northern Territory

JOSIE KUNOTH PETYARRE born 1959, Utopia Homestead, Northern Territory Anmatyerre people, Northern Territory

Dinni Kunoth Kemarre, born 1954, Utopia Homestead, Northern Territory, Anmatyerre people, Northern Territory (left to right) Port Power Peter Burgoyne #7, 2007, Sydney Swans Adam Goodes #37, 2010, Adelaide Crows Andrew McLeod #23, 2007, 2007–10, Apungalindum, Northern Territory, synthetic polymer paint on bean tree (E. vespertilio), dimensions variable, Courtesy the artist and Mossenson Galleries. Photo: Saul Steed

GLOSSARY

3D: works of art with depth, as well as height and width, such as sculpture and installation

craft: an intellectual and physical activity where artists explore the materials and processes to produce unique objects for the purposes of: experimentation with form or function; exhibition; production; and personal or community need. Aboriginal cultures draw no distinction between art and craft and, similarly, contemporary culture values the interplay between art /craft, design/craft, the art /designer or the design/maker. The crafted and handmade sit alongside the manufactured design object as part of historical, national and cultural identities.

design principles: accepted conventions associated with organising design elements and can include unity, balance, hierarchy, scale, proportion, emphasis, similarity and contrast

materials: physical resources, equipment including the technologies and information used to make a work of art

technical skills: combination of skills in control, accuracy, alignment, strength, balance and coordination in an art form. These develop with practice.

RELATED WORKS IN THE COLLECTION

HERMANNSBURG POTTERS, Hermannsburg, Northern Territory, Australia Hayley COULTHARD, Australia, 1967, Arrernte people, Northern Territory, Football culture – St Kilda versus Collingwood, 2012, Hermannsburg, Northern Territory. http://bit.ly/1KTP0rW Rona Panangka RUBUNTJA, Rona Panangka, Australia, 1970, Arrernte people, Northern Territory, Football culture – Adelaide Crows versus Geelong Cats 2012, Hermannsburg, Northern Territory. http://bit.ly/1O9pnKL

IWANTJA ARTS & CRAFTS ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, South Australia, Australia Mary Tjapukula BRUMBY, Australia, 1958, Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia, Toyota Dreaming 2004, Indulkana, South Australia. http://bit.ly/1QMaLyt

Dinni Kunoth Kemarre, born 1954, Utopia Homestead, Northern Territory, Anmatyerre people, Northern Territory Arlparra Sports Weekend 2014, Apungalindum, Northern Territory, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 120.0 x 182.0 cm Courtesy the artist and Mossenson Galleries. Photo: Saul Steed

DINNI KUNOTH KEMARRE & JOSIE KUNOTH PETYARRE BUSH FOOTY Art Gallery of South Australia North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000 Tel 61 8 8207 7000 www.artgallery.sa.gov.au www.tarnanthi.com.au

TARNANTHI | Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art 8 October 2015 – 10 January 2016

Open daily 10am – 5pm, FREE ENTRY

Information and quotes have been derived from the accompanying TARNANTHI exhibition catalogue. Information and hyperlinks correct at time of print. Writer: Lisa Slade Editor: Penelope Curtin Design: Sandra Elms Design Art Gallery of South Australia staff Mimi Crowe, Nici Cumpston, Tracey Dall, Elle Freak, Laura Masters, Ryan Sims and Lisa Slade, and DECD Education Manager Mark Fischer, assisted in the development of this resource.

Warning: Members of Aboriginal communities are respectfully advised that some of the people mentioned in writing or depicted in photographs within this resource have passed away. All such mentions and photographs in this resource are with permission.

Note to the reader: Unless otherwise noted, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander words mentioned in this resource are spelled as advised by the relevant cultural authority. Approval for use of ‘Tarnanthi’ has been granted by Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi.

Presented by TARNANTHI Principal Partner

Supported by

BHP Billiton is proud to be the Principal Partner of TARNANTHI | Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia and supported by the Government of South Australia. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

Education Partner

RESOURCES

Closer Productions 2015, Dinni Kunoth Kemarre and Josie Kunoth Petyarre (video portrait, 04’03”), Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. http://bit.ly/1FGRONh

Cumpston, Nici 2015, TARNANTHI exhibition catalogue, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. http://bit.ly/1iKlcrd

Cumpston, Nici (with Barry Patton) 2010, Desert Country, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. http://bit.ly/1iKlcrd Desert Country Education Resource. http://bit.ly/1FJGKi8

Mossenson Galleries, ‘Josie Kunoth Petyarre’ (artist profile). http://bit.ly/1O9v1wv

Mossenson Galleries, ‘Dinni Kunoth Kemarre’ (artist profile). http://bit.ly/1O474ox

Dinni Kunoth Kemarre, born 1954, Utopia Homestead, Northern Territory, Anmatyerre people, Northern Territory, Dinni’s Dream Team 2009, Apungalindum, Northern Territory, synthetic polymer paint on bean tree (Erythrina vespertilio), dimensions variable, Image courtesy the artist and Mossenson Galleries.

Cover image: Josie Kunoth Petyarre, born 1959, Utopia Homestead, Northern Territory, Anmatyerre people, Northern Territory Football Alice Springs 2010, Apungalindum, Northern Territory synthetic polymer paint on linen, 152.0 x 151.0 cm, Courtesy the artist and Mossenson Galleries. Photo: Saul Steed

Dufour, Gary 2008, ‘Dinni Kunoth Kemarre’, Art Gallery of Western Australia. http://bit.ly/1FGWBhO

Dufour, Gary 2008, ‘Josie Kunoth Petyarre’, Art Gallery of Western Australia. http://bit.ly/1MIhDMx

Skerritt, Henry F.; ‘Preview: Josie Kunoth Petyarre: Sugarbags’, Artist Profile Magazine, Issue 15, May 2011, pp. 122–123. http://bit.ly/1OIeyza

Perkins, Hetti 2010, Art + soul: a journey into the world of Aboriginal Art, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne. http://bit.ly/1KKgnYr Art + Soul study guide. http://bit.ly/1jxOUjN Based on the television series about contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art; a DVD of is also available. http://bit.ly/1O74os0

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) promotes the knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures, traditions, languages and stories, past and present. http://bit.ly/1KQZVDJ Culture. http://bit.ly/1YNV5AG