Milledge, Russell (2012) The new Melanesian art of Brian Robinson. In: Mitchell, Beverley, (ed.) Brian Robinson: men and Gods. KickArts Contemporary Arts, Cairns, QLD, pp. 55-81.

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Abstract

Torres Strait Islander artists provide significant character to the cultural and intellectual life of Australia's North. Judging by the interest in and popularity of their work, nationally and internationally, they have also marked an extraordinary place in the artistic and cultural life of Australia. Brian Robinson has been in the vanguard of Torres Strait Islander art for two decades. Clearly he understands the place of the new and the neo-traditional in the contemporary Pacific situation. Despite the sacrifices and prolonged disregard of Islander values by successive regimes over much of the twentieth century, Torres Strait Islander artists have emerged to provide us with the evidence of a remarkable cultural determination. To witness the thriving reanimation of Torres Strait Islander art is to also acknowledge a manifestation of an inherently Melanesian continuum. Yet in the urgency to reconcile the indifferences of the past in the imagination of the present, have we missed the consequences of new Melanesian art in Australia?

Brian Robinson's generosity and commitment to the creative arts of Northern Australia and the Pacific has manifested in a particular visual language that encompasses the New Pacific. It is through the intellect and textuality of his work that we begin to understand the implications of appending the Torres Strait Islander artists as a Melanesian enclave to Australia’s creative arts identity.

Item ID:	23452
Item Type:	Book Chapter (Non-Commercial)
ISBN:	978-0-9803402-6-6
Keywords:	Brian Robinson, 1973, artists Australia biography, art Queensland exhibitions, arts, Australian Queensland, north exhibitions arts, Aboriginal Australian Queensland, arts, Torres Strait Islands
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Date Deposited:	01 Mar 2013 06:10
FoR Codes:	19 STUDIES IN CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING > 1901 Art Theory and Criticism > 190104 Visual Cultures @ 100%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970119 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of the Creative Arts and Writing @ 100%
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