According to Karen Sullivan's 2009 analysis of 160 painters' statements in New American Paintings, "all types of artists describe their work metaphorically as linguistic communication via words such as language, conversation, vocabulary and dozens of other terms and phrases related to language." This captured my attention immediately as it relates to the rock art we discussed in class (in case it wasn't immediately apparent, I am very fixated on rock art, and find it a beautiful example of culture and history).

I would love to hear the Aboriginal perspective on art and language. If I remember correctly, one of the movies shown in class -- I can't remember which -- suggested that much of the art we see on the rocks was intended to be a sort of dialogue between the painter, the medium (which extends to the earth itself), and the viewer. Furthermore, the art can communicate complex ideas and meanings, just as written language can. Would a rock artist from one of these cultures consider their own art a form of language? If not, why not?

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