Josh Muir Art Analysis

This term you will be writing an art analysis on Josh Muir’s artwork WAA
series no.6 Bunjil’s two helpers (2000). The story behind the artwork is based
on the Dreamtime story about Bunjil and Waa. For you to be able to interpret
the artwork, you need to be familiar with this story.

Task 1: Research Muir’s art style and the story of Bunjil and Waa
1. Watch the clips below.
2. Read the story of Waa.
3. Research Josh Muir on google and learn about his style.
https://vimeo.com/97185996
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdaEQiIdU_0
Read the following…
The Story of WAA
Once there were seven young women called the Karatgurk who lived on the
Yarra river where Melbourne now stands. They lived on murnong (yams) which
they dug out with their digging sticks, on the end of which they also carried live
coals. They kept the fire to themselves. They cooked their own yams, but gave
raw ones to Waa the white Crow. One day Waa found one of the cooked yams
and tasted it. He found it delicious and decided to cook his yams from then on.
The women refused to give him fire and so he decided to trick them out of it.
He caught and hid a lot of snakes in an ant mound, then called to the girls that
he had found a large ant mound and that the ant larvae tasted much better
than yams. The women ran to the mound and began digging into it with their
sticks. The snakes came hissing out and chased them away, screaming. But then
the women turned and began to hit out at the snakes with their digging sticks.
They hit so hard that some of the live coals were knocked off. Waa was waiting
for this. He pounced on the live coals and hid them in a kangaroo skin bag he
had prepared. When the women had killed all the snakes, they came back to
look for the coals.
They could not find them and decided that Waa had taken them. They chased
him, but he flew out of reach and perched on the top of a very high tree. Bunjil
saw what had happened and asked Waa for some of the coals, as he wanted to
cook a possum. Waa offered to cook it for him and when he had done so, threw
it down to Bunjil who saw that it was still smoking. He tried to blow it into flame,
but failed. He ate the possum and while he did so, the Kulin people gathered
around and shouted at Waa to give them fire. The noise scared him and at last
he flung some coals at the crowd. Kurok-goru the fire-tailed finch picked up
some of the coals and hid them behind his back and that is why these finches
have red tails. Bunjil’s helpers, Djurt-djurt the nankeen kestrel and Thara the
quail hawk, grabbed the rest of the coals. Then the coals made a bush fire
which burnt Waa black. It also spread over his country and Bunjil had to gather
all the Kulin to help put it out. He placed some rocks at the head of the Yarra
river to stop the fire spreading that way, and they are there to this day. His two
helpers were burnt and became two rocks at the foot of the Dandenong Range.
The Karatgurk were swept up into the sky where they became the Pleiades, the
stars representing their glowing firesticks.
One day, Waa became caught in a storm. The rain lashed down and he felt
cleansed by it. It was then that a voice was heard. It was Biame the All-Father.
He took the old Crow up into the sky where he became the star Canopus (the
second brightest star in the southern hemisphere).

Text courtesy of Mars Gallery - endorsed by the Victorian Aboriginal Cultural

Advisory Committee

Task 2: Questions.
Create a google doc write your analysis on Josh Muir’s artwork WAA series
no.6 Bunjil’s two helpers (2000). The information below is to be used as a
guide. You need to write full sentences with descriptive language and art
terminology. Don’t forget to include paragraphs. This should be at least a page
long.

Art Analysis guiding questions

Imagine you are an art critic and you are analysing this painting. As an art critic, you have to
use art terminology and descriptive language in your sentences. Imagine you are
describing this artwork to a person who has never seen it before.
Structure the analysis according to the layout below and try to answer as many of the
questions in full sentences and paragraphs (NOT IN question and answer format).
Paragraph 1: Introduction - In this paragraph you need to creatively introduce the artwork
and provide the reader with the main details of the artwork.
 Title?
 Artist?
 Date?
 Medium?diiejn ythbbdd ub du
 Size
 What will you be discussing in this analysis?

Paragraph 2: Art Elements and principles - In detail, describe where and how the artist has
used the art elements in the painting. Your sentences must be fluent. Always use art
terminology and descriptive language. You may have more than one paragraph. Below are
some guiding questions.
 Is there a focal point?
 What is the dominant art element and how does it improve the painting?
 Describe the art elements that have been used. How are these elements effective?
 How have the art elements been used to create a certain style, vibe, feeling or mood?
 What is unique about the artwork? Eg. New style, techniques, the topic etc.
 What is the artist trying to portray or what message is the artist trying to convey
through the use of the art elements?

Paragraph 3: Analyse the mediums, materials and techniques used and the process of
creating the artwork in a studio. What has the artist used to create the artwork and
what techniques were involved. Do not list the materials but rather explain how the
artists achieved creating the collage.

Paragraph 4: Conclusion - Your opinion. Now that you have analysed the artwork, you
need to provide your opinion with evidence and justification. You cannot say “I don’t like it”.
You need to continue to use art terminology. Below are some guiding questions.
What aspects of the artwork do you like best or work well and why?
 What aspects of the artwork do not work and why?
 Do you think the artwork is successful? Why or why not?
 Has the artist achieved their intention? Why or why not?