This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/mar/13/james-luna-four-rooms-adelaide-festival

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
James Luna: "For Indigenous people, humour is a survival skill" James Luna: "For Indigenous people, humour is a survival skill"
(6 months later)
Four Rooms at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Four Rooms at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide is a rare example of something that far exceeds its inspiration. It takes its title and concept from the terrible 1995 portmanteau film set in four hotel bedrooms; but the Indigenous artists in the show use the quartet of different spaces to explore Australia and the world in a far deeper and more intriguing fashion than Quentin Tarantino and his pals did in the movie.
Institute in Adelaide is a rare example of something that far exceeds its Alfred Hickling talks about one of the four installations – Tess Allas, Charlie Scheider and Vernon Ah-Kee’s brilliant piece Andy Warhol on Aboriginal Art – here. Another room also sees a collaboration between an Australian and an American artist. Jenny Fraser and James Luna are Indigenous people from opposite shores of the Pacific. She is from Mareeba in Queensland; he is from Orange, California, and lives on the La Jolla reservation. Their room includes two films by Fraser; one of a campfire, the other of clips of films like Point Break, with pivotal scenes that take place by – or in – the sea. On the floor are shells and a sandbox, as well as what looks like the remains of a beach-cooked meal (an empty tin of Spam features). Luna placed the objects in a ritualistic performance, telling the audience stories about their significance. He finished off with a story about his uncle, and how he showed Luna the points of significance in their world.
inspiration. It takes its title and concept from the terrible 1995 portmanteau “He was curing himself of a hangover. We went up the mountain and I thought he was going to show me something sacred. He was purging himself with cold spring water and then after he was well, he looked down at the horizon and told me the story about our points. It was such a moment for me, because to be in a vantage point on the top of a mountain see the points of your Indigenous world as it was, it centred me. It not only told me who I was, where it came from, how far our nation was and what it encompassed, but showed me that if you had this kind of knowledge, wherever you went you would never be lost, spiritually, physically or mentally.”
film set in four hotel bedrooms; but the Indigenous artists in the show use the Luna and Fraser met at an Indigenous film festival in Toronto. Luna says that there is a close affinity between the Indigenous peoples of Australasia and America. “We speak – not literally – the same language,” he says. “Our world outlook, our seagoing people, our relationship with the ocean and the land – it just makes sense. How did those chickens get to New Zealand? They just followed the current. If you look at the tribes culturally, there are some similarities there in how we think and how we perform our rituals and the protocol of it all. For us, the world’s a small place and what makes us different is the intrusion on our cultures, but each of us has strived to survive despite this and carry on.”
quartet of different spaces to explore Australia and the world in a far deeper In Luna’s experience, Indigenous people from to two continents also share a laugh. “When we meet each other there’s this wonderful sense of humour, and the humour is a survival skill. I’ve been quoted as saying dammit, if you can’t laugh at it then you’re gonna be depressed, so even though it might be painful, someone will crack a joke just to break the ice and keep moving on and I like to put that in my work as well. Also there’s a story there for all people in terms of survival, difference, acceptance, outlook.
and more intriguing fashion than Quentin Tarantino and his pals did in the “I truly believe that all the strife in the world is caused by miscommunication and ignorance,” he adds. “But it’s not quite that simple because we need to rewrite history as it was written. It didn’t surprise me to go to Brighton Beach and see a big statue to the explorer that discovered Australia. It galls me, because how can you discover a culture that’s been there for thousands and thousands of years? As an artist, I can’t change the way people think but I can get some people to reconsider.”
movie.
Alfred Hickling talks about one of the four installations – Tess Allas, Charlie Scheider and
Vernon Ah-Kee’s brilliant piece Andy Warhol on Aboriginal Art – here.
Another room also sees a collaboration between an Australian and an American
artist. Jenny Fraser and James Luna are Indigenous people from opposite shores
of the Pacific. She is from Mareeba in Queensland; he is from
Orange, California, and lives on the La Jolla reservation. Their
room includes two films by Fraser; one of a campfire, the other of clips of
films like Point Break, with pivotal scenes that take place by – or in
– the sea. On the floor are shells and a sandbox, as well as what looks
like the remains of a beach-cooked meal (an empty tin of Spam features). Luna
placed the objects in a ritualistic performance, telling the audience stories
about their significance. He finished off with a story about his uncle, and how
he showed Luna the points of significance in their world.
“He was curing himself of a
hangover. We went up the mountain and I thought he was going to show me
something sacred. He was purging himself with cold spring water and then after
he was well, he looked down at the horizon and told me the story about our
points. It was such a moment for me, because to be in a vantage point on the
top of a mountain see the points of your Indigenous world as it was, it centred
me. It not only told me who I was, where it came from, how far our nation was
and what it encompassed, but showed me that if you had this kind of
knowledge, wherever you went you would never be lost, spiritually, physically
or mentally.”
Luna and Fraser met at an Indigenous film festival in
Toronto. Luna says that there is a close affinity between the Indigenous peoples
of Australasia and America. “We speak – not literally – the same language,” he
says. “Our world outlook, our seagoing people, our relationship with the ocean
and the land – it just makes sense. How did those chickens get to New Zealand?
They just followed the current. If you look at the tribes culturally, there are
some similarities there in how we think and how we perform our rituals and the
protocol of it all. For us, the world’s a small place and what makes us
different is the intrusion on our cultures, but each of us has strived to survive
despite this and carry on.”
In Luna’s experience, Indigenous people from to two
continents also share a laugh. “When we meet each other there’s this wonderful
sense of humour, and the humour is a survival skill. I’ve been quoted as saying
dammit, if you can’t laugh at it then you’re gonna be depressed, so even though
it might be painful, someone will crack a joke just to break the ice and keep
moving on and I like to put that in my work as well. Also there’s a story there
for all people in terms of survival, difference, acceptance, outlook.
“I truly believe that all the strife in the world is caused
by miscommunication and ignorance,” he adds. “But it’s not quite
that simple because we need to rewrite history as it was written. It didn’t
surprise me to go to Brighton Beach and see a big statue to the explorer that
discovered Australia. It galls me, because how can you discover a culture
that’s been there for thousands and thousands of years? As an artist, I can’t
change the way people think but I can get some people to reconsider.”