"With Primitive Tools"

One point that must be made repeatedly in trying to explain these works to viewers is that you may find that you like the work better in another position. My selection is quite often not the dominate view. I have looked at the file several times and realized that my choice was incorrect, so do rotate the images as you view the illustrations each week. Who can actually say in some cases which view is the right one? Your interest might be different. The main thing is to realize that there are other positions for any particular image. The indigenous American artist were aware of a more complicated reality with respect to the pictorial window. We may find the compositions somewhat strange but, we have to accept that the artist has a right to create his art! We also have to admit that most of us here in the post-modern era can not draw as well as these artist could and, let alone the act of engraving the image into stone. With primitive tools, I might add.

Art Old and New!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that the Pacific Standard Time exhibition is currently taking place. There are many groups involved in this large Los Angeles based organization. One of the contributing sources is the Tamarind Institute. This art school was founded in Los Angeles in the 1960's, later it became a part of the campus of the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. The focus of the Tamarind Institute is the teaching of the fine art of Lithographic printing, with a Master of Fine Arts degree as the successful students goal. There is a web site with a print gallery where visitors can brows the works of students past and present. I was very impressed, I think that the University of New Mexico is by all means living up to its reputation as one of the best art departments in the country.

I have been very busy in the last couple of months. This has caused me to fall behind somewhat, I am in the process of moving the art studio to a new location. Because of this difficulty I have only prints again this week! I will live up to my promise to show more effigy stones and unset jewelry stones. There are many miniature sculptures that I know that you will like, so please bare with me as I try to catch up. Once again, Thank You for viewing!

American Indian Art Work

Greetings! Time for another short message. Once again I would like to point out that the illustrations that you see on this blog have been printed recently, usually a day or so before the post goes up! This is the source of the prints, they are not found anywhere else in the world. The only place that the images exist is on particular individual stones. If they have ever been printed it is very likely that the proofing took place several centuries ago in most cases. The images are authentic American Indian art work. They are truly a window into the lives of the artist that created them.

There are several thousand prints in The Collection of Indigenous American Art. We will continue to explore the files in the coming months. There will also be more photographic illustrations as well. I would like to make these images available for public exhibition. If you are responsible for planning such events I invite you contact me for information. Thank You for your interest.

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.