NONFICTION - April 19, 1992

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL PAINTINGS by Jennifer Isaacs (Dutton Studio Books: $35; 189 pp.). This is Jennifer Isaacs’ fourth book on Aboriginal culture (previous volumes dealt with Aboriginal history and healing traditions), and though she’s clearly immersed herself deeply in the lore of this mysterious people, these pages are disappointingly stilted and unimaginative. Considering that the Aborigines are mystical people whose belief system revolves around a pantheistic connection with time, space and nature, to write about their art so dispassionately does them a disservice. The book is divided into sections examining styles indigenous to two regions of Australia. The painting of the western desert (mostly done on canvas, as in Tommy Lowry Tjapaltjarri’s 1986 “Warrmala the Serpent,” above) is a relatively modern movement begun in 1971, while the bark paintings of Arnhem Land date back much further (existing works date to 1879). Both styles revolve around a vocabulary of abstract patterning, with each mark telegraphing precise information about Aboriginal mythology, religious beliefs, folklore and humor. The paintings are stunningly beautiful and they’re nicely printed here in large, full-color reproductions infinitely more compelling than the text that accompanies them.