Geoffrey Robert Bardon AM (1940, Sydney – 6 May 2003) was an Australian artist and school teacher who played a "significant" role in the "development of the Western Desert aboriginal art movement". Bardon studied law for three years at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, before changing to study

art education Visual arts education is the area of learning that is based upon the kind of art that one can see, visual arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practi ...

at the

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts ...

in Sydney, graduating in 1965. He taught art at various

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

country high schools before taking up a posting in 1971 to teach at the primary school at

Papunya Papunya ( Pintupi-Luritja: ''Warumpi'') is a small Indigenous Australian community roughly northwest of Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is known as an important centre for Contemporary Indigenous Australian ar ...

, a remote Aboriginal settlement 250 km west of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. After encouraging the children to record their sand patterns in paint, he went on to encourage the adult men of the community to paint their Honey Ant Dreaming on the school wall, preserving their traditional Dreamings, or Tjukurpa, and stories in paint. Eric Michaels comments on this in his essay ''Bad Aboriginal Art'': "... irected by Bardon, the eldersbegan to interact with certain issues in 1960s and 70s international painting, especially the extreme schematisation of New York minimalism." Bardon, however, claimed non-intervention. Michaels went further to say that arguably the choice of materials (

acrylic paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Dep ...

) was also an influencing factor. The artistic movement unleashed at Papunya spread over

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

and has since achieved international acclaim. Bardon experienced many difficulties in his time in the desert, due to the indifference, neglect and criticism of government departments towards his work – the Honey Ant Dreaming mural painted by the Aboriginal elders was painted over with white paint by the authorities. Eventually, Bardon suffered a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and upon his return to Sydney underwent a period of

deep sleep therapy Deep sleep therapy (DST), also called prolonged sleep treatment or continuous narcosis, is a discredited form of ostensibly psychiatric treatment in which drugs are used to keep patients unconscious for a period of days or weeks. The controversi ...

with the controversial psychiatrist

Harry Bailey Harry Richard Bailey (29 October 1922, Picton, New South Wales – 8 September 1985, Mount White, New South Wales) was an Australian psychiatrist and hospital administrator. He bore the primary responsibility for treatment of mental health pati ...

, which left him weakened. Bardon worked closely with the Aboriginal painters who became the founders of the

Papunya Tula Papunya Tula, registered as Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 in Papunya, Northern Territory, owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovativ ...

painting movement during 1971 to 1973, and devoted many years after this to documenting and promoting the Aboriginal art which he so admired. He was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1988 for service to the preservation and development of traditional Aboriginal art forms. He was survived by his wife Dorn and their sons, James and Michael.

Recognition

In the

1988 Australia Day Honours The 1988 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1988 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen. The Austr ...

, Bardon was appointed a Member of the

: "in recognition of service to the preservation and development of traditional Aboriginal art forms".

Works

Books

*Geoffrey Bardon, ''Aboriginal Art of the Western Desert'', 1979, . *Geoffrey Bardon, ''Papunya Tula: Art of the Western Desert,'' 1991. *Geoffrey Bardon and James Bardon, ''Papunya: A Place Made After the Story'', 2004, , Miegunyah.

Filmography

*''The Richer Hours'' (1971) *''A Calendar of Dreamings'' (1976) *''Mick and the Moon'' (1978)

References

External links

Mr. Patterns
a 2004 documentary of Bardon's life, available for digital download. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bardon, Geoffrey Australian schoolteachers Australian artists Australian film directors Members of the Order of Australia 1940 births 2003 deaths