“Following Kungka Kutjarra,” in Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu | Past and Present Together: Fifty Years of Papunya Tula Artists

Publication Details Cara Pinchbeck, “Following Kungka Kutjarra,” in Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu | Past and Present Together: Fifty Years of Papunya Tula Artists, edited by Fred Myers and Henry Skerritt. Charlottesville: Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection and the University of Virginia Press, 2021. pp.65-73.
(ISBN: 978-1-7353-2692-4)

Author and/or Editor name/s Cara Pinchbeck

Author and/or Editor bio/s Cara Pinchbeck is a member of the Kamilaroi community of northern New South Wales. She is the senior curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where her exhibitions and publications include Yirrkala Drawings (2013), When Silence Falls (2015), Art from Milingimbi: Taking Memories Back (2016) and Noŋgirrŋa Marawili: From My Heart and Mind (2018).

Publisher University of Virginia Press

Abstract In her essay “Following Kungka Kutjarra,” Cara Pinchbeck explores the history of the women’s painting movement at Papunya Tula Artists. In an incisive essay that balances perceptive visual and art historical analysis with an attuned eye to the cultural values of the artists themselves, Pinchbeck presents a highly original and compelling account of this important chapter in Australian art history.

Pinchbeck’s essay is included in the exhibition catalogue Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu | Past and Present Together: Fifty Years of Papunya Tula Artists edited by Fred Myers and Henry Skerritt. Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Papunya Tula Artists, from the very first experiments on scraps of cardboard, linoleum, and Masonite through to the epic abstract paintings that are showcased internationally today. Motivated by the artists’ desire to preserve and transmit their cultural knowledge, the movement quickly grew into a powerful medium for economic and social justice. From humble beginnings, a multimillion-dollar industry would emerge, changing the face of contemporary art and creating a powerful voice for Indigenous artists.