Many indigenous American artist sought to create strong psychological effects with their art, it is indeed a universal theme. The elements of the human face become abstracted, quite often several faces are combined to form a graphic composition. The irregular surface of the unfinished stone to some extent dictated how the design would be placed. The facial elements were distributed according to the surface contour of the particular plate.

In the works of Pablo Picasso, the artist creates or recreates his compositions using the same primise, the facial elements are distributed in what are unusual arrangements. In some compositions more than one face are combined. We will note here that Picasso's works were created on carefully prepared “flat” surfaces. He obviously choose to abstract his compositions for the psychological effect that could be created in this manner.

I often refer to the Collection of Indigenous American Art as pre-modern. While the American Indian Nations lived in simple primitive surroundings, their minds conceived of many of the evolved concepts that would become modern and post-modern art.