Aboriginal Art, Identity And Appropriation

by Coleman,Elizabeth Burns

• ISBN13: 9780754644033
• ISBN10: 0754644030
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The belief held by Aboriginal people that their art is ultimately related to their identity, and to the continued existence of their culture, has made the protection of indigenous peoples' art a pressing matter in many postcolonial countries. The issue has prompted calls for stronger copyright legislation to protect Aboriginal art. Although this claim is not particular to Australian Aboriginal people, the Australian experience clearly illustrates this debate. In this work, Elizabeth Burns Coleman analyses art from an Australian Aboriginal community to interpret Aboriginal claims about the relationship between their art, identity and culture, and how the art should be protected in law. Through her study of Yolngu art, Coleman finds Aboriginal claims to be substantially true. This is an issue equally relevant to North American debates about the appropriation of indigenous art, and the book additionally engages with this literature.

Author Biography

Elizabeth Burns Coleman is Lecturer in Philosophy, School of Communications, Arts and Critical Enquiry, La Trobe University, Australia.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
Acknowledgements	xi
Series Editors' Preface	xiii
Mapping the Problem	1	(14)
Cultural Appropriation	15	(16)
Culture and Property	31	(12)
Domestic Questions	43	(10)
Identity and Images	53	(12)
Religion and Significance	65	(18)
Art Fraud and the Ontology of Painting	83	(18)
Applying the Criteria for Authenticity	101	(12)
Insignia and Collective Entities	113	(14)
Cultural Vandalism	127	(14)
Interpreting Aboriginal Claims as Rights	141	(14)
Freedom of Expression and Insignia	155	(14)
Responding to Aboriginal Claims	169	(4)
Bibliography	173	(10)
Index	183