Timeless Art

 

Hello! And welcome to another posting of The Collection of Indigenous American Art. I hope by now that you agree that with me that “Primitive” art really does have a place in a contemporary art collection. I mean now that there are dozens of prints for you to view here on the blog archive do you agree that it is hard to accept that all of these art works are better than 250 years old. I constantly wonder when I print the proofs each week, they seem so modern and post-modern, I think that they could easily be a part of the Pacific Standard Time Exhibition that is the talk of the art world right now. In Fact it is true that the work of the indigenous American artist has had an influence on the contemporary artist. We should all be very proud of these works and the artist that created them. Know matter who we are, we are all men and the artistic achievement of mankind is our common bond.

There are no photographs this week, but I would like to point out a photo from last weeks post. It is a little difficult to see at first view. The balance of this stone is the first thing of beauty. It is a freestanding sculpture, very stable indeed. Now see if you can find the fantastic image of a water bird with a graceful neck and along pointed bill. The entire anatomy of the creature is represented, only the legs are omitted. It is a thing of contemporary beauty

Write it down!

Are you ever confused? Do your ideas sometimes change from day to day? I mean that an idea that seemed good, right and logical yesterday, for some reason is not at all proper for today! If you are a normal person the answer is probably yes. Our minds are constantly developing and evolving, as we think, we figure things out. As this process takes place we say that our mind is changing, or that “We have changed our mind”.

When I work with my art work I often say to myself “Why didn't I see that yesterday”? This realization is often particularly true when I work with these artifact stones. I am always amazed when a view that I have become accustom to changes in a flash! Now suddenly the composition is closer to being totally realized. Please do let me point out that it has been my experience that vigorous exercise does often play a part in these realizations. The best time to judge any problem or work is after a walk or some exercise in the gym. One other point, it may help to write what you think in notes to yourself because you may find that the realizations vanish as your metabolism slows down.

Rare Stone Birds!

Greetings! I'm sure that everybody is ready for some fall weather as long as it is cool. It has been a hot summer. This weeks post is to be brief. There are several new prints and still more birds! We photographed a number of stones from that part of the collection because it was what I had on hand and I must admit that I particularly like the bird motif. The next round of work will come soon and then there will be rabbits and jewelry stones. So without further a due...

This blog is about a year old. I have enjoyed the process. I hope to serve you better in coming post and do let me hear from you if there are questions or comments that you would like to make.

"Supernatural Powers"

Many of the viewers of this blog are interested in jewelery craft. It is true that the American Indians were highly skilled in this fine work. Some of the effigy stones that we will look at over the next few months will be examples of art objects intended as adornment. There was belief in the supernatural powers of some stones. These treasures were guarded and often hidden from view. Sacred rituals were associated with the wearing, and many times these were symbols of maturity and rank. It is also interesting to note that the desire to create miniature art works led to the development of the delicate technologies that have produced our post-modern world.

This week we once again have two birds. The first is very real, a more or less “Traditional” pose. The second is somewhat stylized to fit the cubic nature of the material of its manufacture. This motif is a very common effigy in American Indian art work. Do notice that the head faces the birds tail which seems to emphasize the agility of these delicate creatures.

"Respect for all Indigenous People"

Hello! Hope that you are ready for another blog post. I did some printing over the long weekend and let me say that I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day holiday. I would like to point out that this blog is under development. I work from week to week, the photographs and graphic prints are as new as the illustrations in a local news paper. The plates and effigy sculptures are several hundred hundred years old, but the printing work is weekly.

Much of the art work and tradition of the American Indians has been lost. This fact makes it difficult to understand many of the examples that we do have. One thing is for certain, they had a well developed work ethic and an eye for beauty. I believe that the exhibition of these works will furnish motivated individuals with subjects to ponder, and that their thoughts will lead to a greater search and respect for all indigenous peoples.

A window into the past...

A window into the past...

Hi! Welcome to this weeks blog post here at The Collection of Indigenous American Art. First I would like to point out that I started This blog about a year ago this month. I wanted to give you a view into the developing archive. Recently we added photographs of the effigy stone collection. I would like to point out that the works that you see here have never been shown before. I never fail to be astounded when I work with this project. The quality of the work is in many cases magnificent.

There are two photos this week, the first is a large bird effigy which bears some engraving on its surface. This stone is primitive as is the second specimen. The second is a human face. This sculpture probably had set stone eyes at some time in the past.

" Both Tool and Fine Art"

I will start this post by offering a simple explanation of the illustrations that appear here on this blog. There are new viewers that may not have read the earlier post, so an update of simple proportions is in order. There are two types of art work shown here each week. The first type are printed images from stone graphic plates. These are printed with a wax crayon I use dry media to print the artist proofs because ink might damage the fragile stone surface. At some point these stones will be printed by expert hands with the proper tools, but that is beyond my work. The second type of illustration is of course a photographic image of a particular rock that is the art itself, such as a particular effigy stone. So now with this explained lets look at the two photographs of the week.

The first is a beautiful sculpture based on the bird motif. A long graceful neck is folded back in traditional “Sleeping”or possibly this might be a “Preening” pose. The second photographic image is both sculpture and tool which is often the case in effigy stones. Here we see the outline of a rabbit, note the ear that makes this stone pallet easy to hold. It is a shallow bowl about 4 inches long. When not in use, it is a free standing sculpture carefully balanced to stand with amazing stability quite literally on its edge!