PAINTING CULTURE OBJECTS / HISTORIES CriticalPerspectivesonArt,MaterialCulture,&Representation AserieseditedbyNicholasThomas PA I N T I N G C U LT U R E The Making of an Aboriginal High Art Fred R. Myers DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS Durham&London2002 ©2002DukeUniversityPress Allrightsreserved PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaonacid-freepaper(cid:4) TypesetinMinionbyTsengInformationSystems,Inc. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData appearonthelastprintedpageofthisbook. ForFayeandSamantha Thisbookcontainsimagesandnamesofdeceased peoplethatmaybesensitivetosomeAboriginal communitiesinCentralAustralia.Pleaseconsult withknowledgeablelocalpeoplebeforesharingit withmembersofthecommunity. Contents Acknowledgments xi Prologue xv Introduction:FromEthnoaestheticstoArtHistory 1 1 TruthorBeauty:TheRevelatoryRegimeofPintupiPainting 17 2 PracticesofPainting:ALocalHistoryandaVexedIntersection 54 3 TheAestheticFunctionandthePracticeofPintupiPainting: ALocalArtHistory 80 4 MakingaMarket:CulturalPolicyandModernityintheOutback 120 5 BurnedOut,Outback:ArtAdvisersWorkingbetweenTwoWorlds 147 6 The‘‘Industry’’:ExhibitionSuccessandEconomicRationalization 184 7 AftertheFall:IntheArtsIndustry 209 8 MaterializingCultureandtheNewInternationalism 230 9 PerformingAboriginalityattheAsiaSocietyGallery 255 10 Postprimitivism:LinesofTensionintheMakingofAboriginal HighArt 277 11 UnsettledBusiness 315 12 Recontextualizations:TheTrafficinCulture 342 Appendix:AShortHistoryofPapunyaTulaExhibition,1971–1985 363 Notes 365 References 373 Index 391