Abstract
This article addresses the question of the contemporary functioning of rock art, focusing on the question of the re/use of rock art motifs in contemporary art. As an introduction to the issue, the article discusses the situation in Australia, where the tradition of making images on rocks continued until the 20th century, and where the tradition of making images on rocks underwent a transformation into a new art tradition, this time in the form of paintings on bark. This case shows that this transformation was signifi cantly inspired by the interaction of indigenous culture with that of the European settlers. The main part of the article is devoted to the use of rock art by contemporary artists in Siberia and Canada, where similar cultural and artistic phenomena have emerged, but where, unlike in Australia, there is no direct continuity between rock art production and contemporary art. Both in Canada and in Siberia, a group of artists emerged for whom rock art, as well as the cultural heritage related to it, became an important artistic inspiration. These artists were brought up in Western culture, but some of them are also representatives of indigenous communities. The juxtaposition of the Siberian with the Canadian examples shows similarities as well as differences in the intentions to use prehistoric art. In the case of Canada, one can see a strong political commitment of the artists there, for whom the rock art became an element of the manifestation of their eternal connection to, and primacy of, the land on which they live. In the case of Siberia, this aspect is also discernible, but here rock art has become more an intellectual-aesthetic inspiration. The article argues that a holistic study of rock art should not be limited only to its archaeological dimension, but should equally take into account its role in the contemporary world, which is increasingly discussed in world scholarship.
Keywords
Rock art, contemporary art, Australia, Siberia, Canada, identity.
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