Judith Ryan studied Fine Arts and English Literature Honours at the University of Melbourne and Education at Oxford University and began her Art Museum career in 1977 at the National Gallery of Victoria where she is currently the Senior Curator of Indigenous Art with curatorial responsibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Oceanic Art and Pre-Columbian Art. Judith's special interest is Indigenous Australian art of the twentieth century - its diversity, dynamism and transformation in the face of social change. She has curated about thirty exhibitions of Aboriginal art and has published widely in the field.

Judith's publications include Mythscapes: Aboriginal Art of the Desert, Paint up Big: Warlpiri Women's Art from Lajamanu, Spirit in Land: Bark Paintings from Arnhem Land, Images of Power: Aboriginal Art of the Kimberley, Ginger Riley and Raiki Wara: Long Cloth from Aboriginal Australia and the Torres Strait, Remembering Barak and Colour Power: Aboriginal art post 1984. She has also published articles on Ernabella batik, the aesthetic principle in Aboriginal art, abstraction in Aboriginal art, Maningrida sculpture, the art of HJ Wedge, Yvonne Koolmatrie, Emily Kam Kngwarray, Tiwi ceramics, William Barak, Ngukurr art, Kitty Kantilla and on Indigenous women's art.

ABSTRACT

In the beginning was the image and not the word.

Judith Ryan will discuss the challenge of working with Indigenous art in an art museum where words are used to interpret and explain images. She will stress that where art is concerned, “in the beginning was the eye, not the word”: we need to get audiences to look at art. Forget art speak, anthropological speak, or intellectual theorising, employ plain speak: write it as you would say it in words that you and your audience can understand and remember, the maker of the work is part of your audience. We must not create libraries of the intellect or invent unfathomable theories that interfere with the power of metaphor or what the artist is saying in the work.