Monday 12 January 2015

ABC Wednesday, A for Anmatyerre is an Australian spirit








Spring cleaning has its advantages. Among other things, I found several Australian art calendars. One of them is dedicated to the work of Sakshi Anmatyerre. And I hope that you find the pictures as beautiful as I do in spite of the allegations expressed in Daily Telegraph London. 


I wrote this 6 years ago and about 45 people sent me a comment, only three of them are still reading my posts, so I am sending this story of Sakshi Anmatyerre again. As you see you can also link this post to the previous one, dealing with zoomorphism.


Sakshi Anmatyerre is an Australian spirit, a traveller in this great country, who records the land and its stories, interpreting them in dazzling colours and with the intuitive eye and sure hand of a master painter.In him is the harmonious meeting of cultures, ancient and modern. Through his paintings, which he creates using modern materials and techniques, he expresses his love and respect for these ancient islands, Australia- the people and the wild places and creatures. He is the proud father of three boys and a girl, and to them he passes his wisdom, his lore and his stories.But each startlingly beautiful painting tells its own story and to each person the story is different- it belongs to the beholder alone. But what to think of this article???



"By David Rennie in Sydney

AUSTRALIA'S aboriginal art industry, has been shaken by an allegation that one of its brightest stars, Sakshi Anmatyerre, is in fact an Indian from Calcutta. ABC, Australia's state television station, reported that Mr Anmatyerre had changed his name .Mr Anmatyerre numbers the actor Paul Hogan, the Sultan of Brunei and members of the Packer media dynasty among his clients. His work also appears on a range of best-selling postcards.Leading dealers recently met to discuss a system of authentication and ratings and nominated the Sydney dealer Adrian Newstead to act as their spokesman. Mr Newstead admitted yesterday that, if the allegations about Mr Anmatyerre are true, his paintings, while no less visually appealing than they were before, are now "not worth a brass razoo". (Daily Telegraph London)


Brass razoo is an Australian phrase that was first recorded in soldiers' slang in World War I. It is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a non-existent coin of trivial value". It is commonly used in the expression I haven't got a brass razoo, meaning the speaker is out of money.



ABC is created by Denise Nesbitt. It has been an enormous success. Today we start with the sixteenth round and the letter A. See more lovely and interesting words starting with A.Click on the logo in the sidebar. Don't forget to mention mrs. Nesbitt!

28 comments:

Cloudia said...

STUNNING, Wil! Great choice for your header!




ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3

Sylvia K said...

Ah, I do agree with Cloudia!! Stunning indeed, Wil!! A wonderful and fascinating post as always!! Hope your new year is off to a great start!!!

Arija said...

Beautiful portrayals of the legend of the rainbow serpent. Love all his paintings and would adore to have one om my wall whatever the dealers think.

Miss_Yves said...

C'est magnifique!

Roger Owen Green said...

These are AMAZING, beautiful!

ROG, ABCW

Hildred said...

Well, whatever they say in London, I find these paintings absolutely beautiful, and the colours and composition magnificent.

Unknown said...

Ondanks dat ik dit soort werken wel mooi kan vinden kijk ik er niet graag lang naar want zulke kleurexplosies veroorzaken veel onrust in mijn hersenpan.

Fijne week Wil. Groeten

Anita Sabat said...

Very interesting & creative, Wil :)
Thanks for sharing.
Have a great week!

fredamans said...

Lovely, colorful artwork!

Trubes said...

Hello Wil,
I like the picture with the kangaroo in the foreground and the underwater scene, depicting the shark and a very brightly coloured small fish.
Unfortunately I have a horror of snakes so couldn't really look at their pictures.
Also, some of the colours and shapes make me feel slightly giddy.... strange but true!
Best wishes,
Di. xx
ABCW team.

A Colorful World said...

I haven't been a participant in ABC Wednesday in quite some time, plus I had a rough year last year and was on-again-off-again with my blogging (well, actually that was year-before-last now that it is Jan) Anyway, I haven't been on your blog in quite a while. It's nice to visit again. This was a fascinating post! The artwork is wonderful! Did they ever decide that the artist was indeed from India and not Aboriginal.

Lmkazmierczak said...

Creativity can hail from anyone regardless of their origins...glad you shared his artwork♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/artsy-folks/

Photo Cache said...

these are spectacular.

My ABC WEDNESDAY

Anonymous said...

How very interesting! The art work is very beautiful indeed!

Meoww said...

Love the art. Colorful and intricate.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I'm not sure what a 'brass razoo' is but whoever the artist is or where he is from it is amazingly beautiful work, so that seems like it would make it worth something. But I know nothing about the art market. I guess it would be very wrong to represent yourself as being from one culture when you weren't. Did they ever make a final decision.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

what a rich art form. I like the ocean painting.

Latane Barton said...

Wow, those calendar pages are stunning. I love them. and the history behind the spirits.

aspiritofsimplicity said...

the paintings are absolutely beautiful regardless of the origins of the artist. I believe that since we are all brothers and sisters it doesn't really matter where we come from. Perhaps he was meant to be Aborigine all along but somehow got mixed up and then found his way home to where he belongs. Either way, he is quite a talented artist and has left quite a legacy.

Nonnie said...

perhaps the artist is not a native of Australia, he still turns out stunning compositions through paint! I would frame these gorgeous prints. I have a calendar page of Van Gogh's Sunflowers on the wall over my computer so that I can enjoy it every day. Would it be okay for me to copy my favorite of your images? Please let me know.

Gerald (SK14) said...

Fantastic colours - their authenticity and "value" is for those who care for money rather than aesthetics to decide.

Su-sieee! Mac said...

They are beautiful and spirited. I don't think it makes a difference the background of the person who did them. I think, though, that it is a shame the artist put himself in the position to mislead and misinform about himself.

Indrani said...

Amazing creations!
Never seen something like this before!

Happy ABCW!

Patty said...

The colors are magnificent. Hope you've been well.

ChrisJ said...

I remember from when we were in Australia and New Zealand that Aborigine art was often made up of many dots and circles. Next week I will be posting a piece of my art using this method for the first time. I find it very intriguing. The paintings above are beautiful.

Powell River Books said...

I love the colours and stylistic designs. - Margy

Unknown said...

such a wonderful creations. . .

Unknown said...

I am the owner of one of the paintings pictures above (7th one down,ocean scene) does anyone know what eventuated from this