Linking Cultures half a world apart

Tuesday, April 9, 1996

Now showing in the Kerckhoff Gallery

With a little help from her computer, artist Rosemarie McKeon
explores the world of the Ngunnawal people in the Kerckhoff Art
Gallery’s newest exhibit, ‘On Ngunnawal Land’By Elizabeth Bull

Daily Bruin Contributor

Even though a computer isn’t traditionally as artistic a tool as
a paintbrush or a sketch pad, it can be just as creative.

"Painting, photography and drawing all represent an idea to an
artist," says artist Rosemarie McKeon, "but they’re essentially
just tools. For me, the computer is a tool, as well. It allows me
to use any and all mediums to communicate a message as an
artist."

And McKeon’s message, through use of a website, CD-ROM and
computer-manipulated portraits, is clear in its portrayal.
Currently at the Kerckhoff Art Gallery, her exhibit, "On Ngunnawal
Land," explores the strength of the Aboriginal tribes in and around
the Australian capitol, Canberra.

"I went to Canberra, where Aboriginal people have been killed by
the Australian government simply to build a capital on the land,"
says McKeon, who is a Native American and feels she can empathize
with modern Aborigines. "I wanted to explore more about these
people and I really wanted to get a nonwestern, theoretical
model."

McKeon, at 41, returned to the University of California at San
Diego three years ago to finish her undergraduate degree. Though
satisfied to be at the forefront of using computers as an
expression of creativity, she was wary of the limits in studying
art at the university level.

"UCSD is a very conceptual school of art ­ and most of what
I learned about was western art," she says. "You take a few years
in art theory and history before you even start to create. But, for
myself, I wanted to get away from this ­ to find something
new."

And what she did find in the history and community of the
Ngunnawal people was a world that mirrored her own struggles as a
Native American.

"My father is an Apache Mescalaro and Cherokee and my mother
comes from indigenous tribes in Nicaragua," McKeon says. "I think
that, as an artist, to produce work that is really important to
you, you go through a process of self-portraiture, and as I went
through this process, I realized how little I really knew about my
own identity. To become a part of the Aboriginal community was a
way for me to find out who I really am.

"At the Australian National University I was invited to attend
and videotape an exhibition about Ngunnawal people by Ngunnawal
artists," she says. "It’s translated title was, ‘The lay of the
land is how you know your country. When you look behind you you can
always see your tracks.’ This means you know where you are by
looking behind you and you can look behind you to know who you are.
I thought, ‘wow,’ because I was trying to do the same thing,."

With their permission and friendship, McKeon has collaborated
with the Ngunnawal people in 11 portraits, a computer-manipulated
photograph of the Aboriginal embassy in Canberra, a website,
historical video, slides and multimedia CD-ROM in which the
Ngunnawal’s ideas were put into words and pictures.

"These people are so strong," McKeon emphasizes. "Even though
they have been written out by white historians, they still know
their presence and they are still involved with each other and
their country.

"I want students to walk away knowing all about the love, care
and history that is in the Aboriginal community and how this can
relate to their own lives ­ how everyone can make a difference
in his own land."

And to McKeon, the best way to represent the Aboriginal
community was through a modern tool ­ the computer.

"I believe the computer can be used to help indigenous peoples’
causes by allowing people to learn about them," she says. "The
computer is a channel for open communication and it’s a tool that
is very familiar to this population.

"There is so much to do in computer imaging and multimedia. It’s
amazing," McKeon continues. "It allows me to get a new or different
angle on the people and culture, and it’s great that I get to use
my skills in not only educating others but in finding my own past,
and therefore, my identity."

ART: "On Ngunnawal Land" by Rosemarie McKeon. Reception today at
6 p.m. in Kerckhoff Art Gallery. For more info call (310) 825-6564
or (310) 825-7315. Please RSVP for the reception.
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/student.projects/ccas/submission.html

All photos by FRED HE/Daily Bruin

"On Ngunnawal Land" artist Rosemarie McKeon identifies with the
plight of modern Aborigines in Canberra.

Kerckhoff ArtGallery