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The Tingari are commonly described as a group of ancestral beings, with one or more dominate men or women, who brought law and culture to the people of the western desert regions. The Tingarri stories recount creation time travels of a particularly important group of elders who taught ritual knowledge to younger initiates. These designs are derived from ancient ground and sand paintings and from body decorations. It is said that this knowledge gifted group of men travelled across the country. This painting shows patterns relating to these travels, Ronnies designs will show one or more campsites as they systematically travelled across the country. This painting forms part of the post initiate teachings for youths today and explains contemporary and traditional customs of the aboriginal people. During the initiation ceremonies, sacred information about the aboriginal Dreamtime are passed on to the initiates. The Pintupi believe as you reach your senior law man status you become one of these Tingarri elders. Even after death your spirit will roam the land looking over and protecting important sites totems and the Law in that region. As these ceremonies are sacred to the Pintupi people, no further information could be given by the artist.
Ronnie Jampitjinpa The
Pintupi men have a relaxed and simplified way of painting. Indeed,
commenting on this in 1999, Clifford Possum Tjapltjarri, a Warlpri man,
suggested that Pintupi art was too refined - too simplified. This was not
meant as a criticism, in fact there was a great deal of respect implied. Ronnie
Tjamitjinpa’s work is characteristic of the Pintupi, relying for its
effectiveness on a repetition of forms which are geometric, simple and
bold. Other Pintupi painters who have a similar stylistic approach include
Turkey Tolson (qv), Mick Namarari (qv), Anatraji Tjampitjinpa and Dini
Campbell. Pintupi
homelands stretch well into Western Australia beyond the Northern
Territory border and beyond the Kintore Ranges. Like many other families
of their time, Ronnie’s relatives and forebears moved continuously
across their territory living a traditional, nomadic way of life. Those
traditions coupled with a deep knowledge of his land formed the basis of
his art. Ronnie
was born near Muyinga about 1943 and was initiated into manhood at Yumari
near his birthplace. The difficult drought conditions of the 1950s meant
that the family group moved in from the inhospitable desert towards the
settlement at Haast Bluff. After the federal government established a
settlement at Papunya in 1959, Ronnie’s family eventually settled there.
In his late teens he found work as a fencer on government projects. Papuyna
is situated 32km north of the McDonnell Ranges and the government felt
secure in their judgement that the settlement would faclitate the
assimilation of the desert people. Regular supplies of food and bore water
were the basic reasons why Pitupi, Warlpiri, Luritja, Arrernte and
Anmatyerre people agreed on an attempt to co-exist in a situation which
was far from ideal. None of the tribespeople there were on traditional
territory. Indeed Geoff Bardon, resident school teacher there in 1971-2,
later described Papunya as an abysmal place where alcohol, tribal
jealousies and violence were rife. This was the situation in which Ronnie
Tjampitjinpa grew up. He commenced painting at Papunya in 1976. During
the years between 1981 and 1999 Ronnie Tampitjinpa has remained one of the
outstanding contributors to the Papunya Tula Pty Ltd company. This
organistaion had its beginnings in October 1971 when Geoff Bardon arranged
the formation of the Papunya Artists’ Co-operative.
The company was named in June 1972, after the smaller of two hills
not far from Papunya. According to Bardon the name means ‘a meeting
place for all brothers and cousins’. The name was acceptable to all the
different Aboriginal groups involved in the decision and its
ramifications. Ronnie’s contribution to the rapid flowering of desert art is not confined to the Aboriginal-owned company. His work has been shown in international exhibitions many times and he is represented in major private collections such as the Donald Khan Collection and the Kelton Foundation in the United States of America. He prospered as an artist during the late 1980’s winning the Alice Springs Art Prize in 1988. The following year he travelled to Melbourne for his first one-man show at the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi. Subsequently he was included in 'Australian Perspecta 1993' at the Art Gallery of NSW. From 1993 Ronnie was Chairman of the Kintore Outstation Council, residing at his outstation at Redbank (Ininti). His work was displayed prominently in Sydney at the Jinta Gallery in 1998 in their ‘Pintupi Men’ exhibition. These successes have established him as one of the masters of desert art. He was there at the beginning of this movement and continues to work strongly while his contemporaries have either passed away or become to old and infirmed to paint. Ronnie
Tjampitjinpa is the personification of a linkage to the traditional ways
and beliefs that certainly
will be modified by the current generation of painters. Whilst his works
may be regarded as ‘contemporary art’ in the great galleries of the
world we should remember that his beliefs and background exemplify the
ancient nature of his people. His is one of the last of the genuine desert
nomads. Consequently his art takes on a meaning and importance well beyond
the expectations aroused when we are confronted with visual art of our own
Euro-centric culture. |
