I have always appreciated certain kinds of textiles, especially ethnic traditions. My original B.F.A. show involved a traditional method of surface-dyeing Japanese kimono cloth, and the use of special paper stencils involved in that process. Navajo weaving has always fascinated me. Supposedly the Navajo learned how to weave from pueblo tribes, and then branched out in their own directions, which are incredibly inventive in the use of color in their design elements. This example dates from around 1880, and even though Navajo rug purists don't always like examples such as these utilizing harsher, commercial aniline dyes, I think the color scheme is amazing. This type of rug is sometimes referred to as an 'eyedazzler' style, and you can see why.
Friday, November 6, 2009
'Germantown eye-dazzler' Navajo rug
I have always appreciated certain kinds of textiles, especially ethnic traditions. My original B.F.A. show involved a traditional method of surface-dyeing Japanese kimono cloth, and the use of special paper stencils involved in that process. Navajo weaving has always fascinated me. Supposedly the Navajo learned how to weave from pueblo tribes, and then branched out in their own directions, which are incredibly inventive in the use of color in their design elements. This example dates from around 1880, and even though Navajo rug purists don't always like examples such as these utilizing harsher, commercial aniline dyes, I think the color scheme is amazing. This type of rug is sometimes referred to as an 'eyedazzler' style, and you can see why.
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I wish I could read some ethnographic work on how a rug like this fit into the overall life of the tribe. What kind of function did having one's eye dazzled hold for them?
ReplyDeleteIt's always interesting to me how some purists, almost always from outside of a group in question, want to isolate an artistic tradition from encounters and changes. Because then what you end up with is a kind of "museum" culture closed to future innovations.