Happy Thanksgiving!

The time of Thanksgiving has come once again. I have been cutting firewood and preparing for winter in general. The firewood is a pretty good job,so I am sore all over! Of course it is the exercise that I need and the cooler temperatures make it a pleasure.

I haven't prepared a regular blog post, instead I would just like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Season and point out that the first turkeys that the settlers ate in this land were gifts of the indigenous population. I think that we should remember that fact as we celebrate this fine holiday

You can reach me ,Larry David McCarty at the following email address...

lmccarty.fa@gmail.com

My fascination with stones and rocks extends backwards in time to my early childhood. When I was about three years old, my Father built a driveway at our family home, a large pile of gravel stone was required as a foundation. I was preoccupied with the gravel. Throughout my lifetime since, I have collected minerals and fossils.

Let me assure you that most gravel stone do not have art work as a feature. It is also very difficult to recognize one stone from another, that is a stone bearing graphic art from a more common blank piece. I like to point out, that on any gravel bar along the bank of any stream or river, very few of the stones have ever been touched by a human hand.

When I find a likely stone I do feel great excitement and suspense, knowing that there will be another time of revelation. If you are reading this I know that you probably understand seeing an art work for the first time, possibly lost for hundreds of years, even older than a millennium. I have seen masterful art works appear, visions of divine craftsmen. I have the honor of once again holding their work in my hand.

Likewise I have also seen the destruction of tons of beautiful artifacts,either through ignorance or out right disrespect. Often in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries Indigenous American stone art deposits were used as road fill! Many times the rare art works simply washed away with heavy rains. Even today these conditions still exist, There has been no proper organized effort to locate and protect misplaced deposits. It is my hope that this blog site will help to awaken the readers and viewers to the National Treasure that are the stone art works of Indigenous America.

You may contact me at the following e-mail address...

ciaamuseum@gmail.com    

One of the mysteries of the historical past of the Americas is what routes did the first inhabitants use to get here and where did they come from? It is beyond the space available here to deal with such a topic,however I would like to point out some interesting considerations.

In 1947 Thor Heyerdahl proved that a raft could be used to cross the Pacific Ocean. Heyerdahl wrote the book , Kontiki which is the story of this voyage. Heyerdahl was of the persuasion that we as modern men tend to underestimate the stamina and intelligence of stone age men. I think that he thought and actually knew that there had been many unrecorded voyages, and furthermore that many records were just simply ignored by those with preconceived theories about the history of our planet.

China's Historical record is several thousand years old. It may be that the Chinese made many trips to the Americas; better than 3500 years ago. There does appear to be Chinese influence in the art of Eastern Mexico. The Olmec society may have contained Chinese immigrants that came by water, traveling on ships under sail.

Art historians tell us that fine art print making originated in China and Japan. The oriental people were very generous with their knowledge, they were quick to share unselfishly the art with all interested cultures. They no doubt realized that print making was the basis for creating a written language form. Written language is of course the prerequisite for proper records keeping.

Does the above reasoning seem to support the idea that the bird mound at Poverty Point in Eastern Louisiana, and the many other mound sites along the Mississippi River are the result of middle American and Chinese influence?

This is my point, I definitely feel that the print making we are viewing on this Blogspot post is the work of master artist. I believe that from somewhere the American Indians learned first hand about the sophisticated printing practices that their guilds taught. In closing please let me repeat from the above writing, We as Modern Men tend to underestimate the stamina and intelligence of Stone Age Men.

 

In the last years of his life Pablo Picasso painted many paintings. It is interesting to note that in some circles these works were not received as well as his earlier works. Some viewers were disturbed by the shapes or movements in the canvases, they said that they were grotesque. These were strong words for criticizing the works of a master artist. Let me say here that I find the paintings as beautiful as any of his other works. I am particularly interested in these works, because they occur at the end of his life, when he has obviously achieved the ability to paint. I think that it is in these works that we see most clearly his enchantment with the art of the indigenous American artist craftsmen, and even if he knew nothing of their work, the likenesses between the works speaks for its self.

First let us look briefly at “Cubism” as Henry Matisse refereed to the works of Pablo Picasso and George Braque. Barque's paintings were images that reflected a 3 dimensional world, in this way he is connected to centuries of European tradition. On the other hand, Picasso's works were flat, 2 dimensional creations much different in concept. Picasso's paintings were the beginning of a new era in art , an era where abstract designs would replace realism and its insistence on Renaissance perspective.

Now, the point that I would like to make here is that the indigenous American artist had few straight lines in their works, and by all means they cared nothing about square corners! The fact that they were carving or etching the surface of irregular stone, usually a fossil formation, made straight lines difficult or even impossible. Instead they worshiped the beautiful natural designs of nature, the natural capture of life its self, frozen in time. Their compositions were created after careful study of the particular plate.

I think that Picasso was aware of the indigenous American art works, he did tell many people that he was fond of primitive art. He collected African art for certain. I find it strange that we do not find reference to American Indian, that is Indigenous American Indian art more in historical records. Furthermore I even find it difficult to speak of this art, as primitive!

Are you having trouble trying to visualize the illustrations exhibited on this site? While some are simple and direct others are more complicated and thus more difficult. I myself have to look many times to see some of the designs. Once again we should take note that the most recent of these works would probably be 250 years old, and most are older than that. Also the harsh exposure to weathering has made many difficult to recognize. Indeed I have learned to print proofs in one session and evaluate at a later time, to give my eyes time to rest and refocus. I would also add that vigorous exercise before study, and even during study periods is a secret for success! Visual literacy is developed it is cultivated, it grows with exposure to art works.

At any rate here are several more prints to view. See what you might make of them. At sometime in the future I hope to exhibit all of the prints in public exhibitions, there are many to study and enjoy.

There are also a large number of Effigy Stones in the collection, these of course have to be photographed, and will then be displayed as photographic illustrations. Small stone effigies were a delight of America's early inhabitants, humans, birds,rabbits,rats ,monkeys, dogs, cats and so on. So we will continue for some time to come! I have noticed that you can access the earlier post that have been made, see the right side bar. So that is all for this post, Thank You for taking the time to visit me here at The Collection Of Indigenous American Art.

In my last post I related of conversations with local Artist and Folklorist that suggested that these stones bearing engravings were valued as trade objects. That each stone had a value , and to some degree that the quality of the art work was an important factor in determining its worth. Note of course that the particular stones value was not fixed as it is in modern money systems, quiet often it did depend on what hand held the stone.

Another point and the subject of this post, is that each stone bore a unique original design. While many are somewhat similar, no two are exactly alike. This is an important point, that the design was by all means a product of the surface of the particular rock. Lets say that the stones shape was a factor that the craftsman had to take advantage of or likewise overcome.

Now, doesn't the preceding paragraph seem to define problems that are more sculptural than graphic? This is true especially when we take into consideration that most of our modern art printing methods by definition require a flat surface as a starting point. So here we see that another dimension has been added, there are hills, valleys,and other imperfections to take into consideration and deal with . Finally, we see that these factors to a great extent, dictate how the final art work will appear.

In future post we will explore the possible reality that art in the 19^th and 20^th centuries was in great part defined by the graphic works of indigenous American craftsmen, that the somewhat strange and stunningly beautiful faces of a master like Pablo Picasso , may have been inspired by the works of unknown stone age craftsmen endeavoring to place an exquisite face on the irregular surface of small but very significant stones.

When I began to collect the images in The Collection of Indigenous American Art , I had little knowledge of the magnitude of the art form that I was studying. I had learned of the cultural habit from class mates while in college. I was told that the American Indians were extremely fine stone carvers and print makers ,and that they worked beautifully in miniature fore mats.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to observe many examples of American Indian stone craft. Most of these works were smaller than 3 inches in diameter. My standard documentary proof is created on a page 2.125 inches by 2.75 inches. I would point out that this is smaller than a standard playing card.

Images of human faces dominate as subject matter, occasionally animals are seen, these images may represent mask or face paintings. It is interesting to note that many of the faces are very modern in appearance, and that some works represent Europeans and African people.

Artist do not always have a purpose in mind when they create art, however in this case I was told that these objects were used as money, that in fact this art form is the source of the custom of imprinting a human face on coins and notes. We should take note here that if this is true the American Indians engraved each piece individually.

What I have written here is as it was explained to me by various people, It is most probably correct and factual information, however I will ,to be honest and on the safe side, say that it is the opinion of layman.