Kurtal

Date2005

Maker Ngilpirr Spider Snell Australian Aboriginal, Wangkajunga people, Fitzroy Crossing, Kimberley, Western Australia, born 1930

Label TextMeet Kurtal, a black snake spirit who lives in a sacred waterhole called a jila. This desert spring is the only reliable source of water in all seasons in the artist’s country. Kurtal is the moral protector of the right to use it and the land around it. In ceremonies to honor Kurtal, Ngilpirr Spider Snell carried long black headdresses emulating rain clouds while dancing and singing. When encouraged, Kurtal sends horseshoe-shaped clouds that bring rain. Here, these clouds float above fields dotted with bush onions.

Object number2019.20.14

Provenance[Aboriginal & Pacific Art, Sydney, Australia]; Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, Seattle, Washington, 2005

Photo CreditPhoto: iocolor, Seattle

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Ancestral Modern: Australian Aboriginal Art from the Kaplan and Levi Collection, May 31 - Sept. 12, 2012 (Nashville, Tenessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, June 23 - Oct. 15, 2017; Madison, Wisconsin, Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Jan. 26 - Apr. 22, 2018; Austin, Texas, Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, June 3 - Sept. 9, 2018; Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, Audain Art Museum, Oct. 5, 2018 - Jan. 28, 2019). Text by Pamela McClusky, Wally Caruana, Lisa Graziose Corrin, and Stephen Gilchrist. Cat. no. 33, pp. 118-119, reproduced. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, Mar. 18 - May 30, 2022.

Credit LineGift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan

Dimensions83 7/8 x 59 13/16 in. (213 x 152 cm)

MediumSynthetic polymer paint on canvas