Outsider (painting)
Encyclopedia
Outsider is a painting dated from 1988 by post-modern indigenous Australian artist Gordon Bennett
. The painting focuses on issues of the increasing isolation Indigenous Australians feel in their own country, with the date the painting was painted in (1988) being the bicentennial anniversary of white settlement in Australia
. The painting is 290 × 180 cm, and was painted on canvas
using oil
and acrylic
.
"Outsider" was painted while Bennett was in art school. Bennett appropriates famous works Van Gogh, including "Vincent's Bedroom in Arles" and "Starry Night", and uses the paintings to represent his own life. Bennett identifies with Van Gogh’s metaphysical quest for meaning and identity, in such a way that the decapitated figure could be interpreted to be either Bennett or Van Gogh.
"Outsider" is a painting charged with feelings of the frustration and confusion of the Aboriginal peoples. He got his inspiration from the tragic things that happen between Indigenous Aboriginal people from Australia and the white settler.
Gordon Bennett (artist)
Gordon Bennett is an Australian artist of Aboriginal and Anglo-Gaelic descent. Born in Monto, Queensland, and now working in Brisbane, Bennett is a significant figure in contemporary Indigenous Australian art.-Biography:...
. The painting focuses on issues of the increasing isolation Indigenous Australians feel in their own country, with the date the painting was painted in (1988) being the bicentennial anniversary of white settlement in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The painting is 290 × 180 cm, and was painted on canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
using oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and acrylic
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
.
"Outsider" was painted while Bennett was in art school. Bennett appropriates famous works Van Gogh, including "Vincent's Bedroom in Arles" and "Starry Night", and uses the paintings to represent his own life. Bennett identifies with Van Gogh’s metaphysical quest for meaning and identity, in such a way that the decapitated figure could be interpreted to be either Bennett or Van Gogh.
"Outsider" is a painting charged with feelings of the frustration and confusion of the Aboriginal peoples. He got his inspiration from the tragic things that happen between Indigenous Aboriginal people from Australia and the white settler.