Australian Aboriginal art: Destruction, appropriation or protection?

Abstract

This work thinks of the process of creation of the Australian Aboriginal art and its use in the Western market. The consequences of this use are analysed in terms of appropriation, protection and destruction. Therefore, an anthropological perspective is proposed in order examine the market of the symbolic goods nowadays. It also analyses what social knowledge is generated in this context, both for the Western and Aboriginal perspectives. The latter, transform the meaning of its oldest and newest artworks, by accepting Western influences. The implications of this work suggest that Western art management focuses on the economic benefit and the good reputation of the Australian art. This last point is developed in terms of cultural appropriation, authenticity and power relations.