Art is a very realistic aspect among the Native Americans. In fact, what we call primitive art is actually symbolic objects from the process of a sacred ceremony. This concept is one not easily understood. Furthermore, this concept by Sam Gill is explained in Native American Religions. Sam Gill shows that Native American Art is different in meaning because of its contents then what modern societies consider art. Nonliterate people produce objects of beauty through ceremonial performances and rituals that keeps the cosmos in order, while modern societies over look these factors. More in depth, the entire concept of art and what is art differs in the world of the nonliterate societies. This is the first rule that needs to be analyzed. In addition to, the objects westerners view as art is actually a small piece to a bigger puzzle. To the Natives, the overall puzzle or purpose is to created and stabilize the cosmic order in which they live in. It is through this process of rituals and sacred ceremonies to keep order that objects are created of beauty, but for bigger reason. Not to hang on a wall or leave behind a glass case; but rather, keeping order and doing away with chaos that could destroy their existence. Now that this has been said, two illustrations that help us understand the way of thinking is that the Navajo Sand paintings and Seneca False Mask: two of which are rich in spiritual and cosmic meaning and power. The Navajo Sand Paintings is an example of a sacred symbolic object commonly misinterpreted as nothing more than an artistic piece of primitive art. In actuality, the beauty is being overseen because Navajo sand paintings have more significance. This so called `piece of art' serves as a major device, but in a... ... middle of paper ... ...eing more than beautiful objects for display, but rather the real meaning of these objects on a bigger scale, or in its entire contents, that keeps the cosmos the same, is a hard point to clearly. Sam Gill does a great job explaining these points through using examples such as the Navajo Sand paintings and the Seneca False Mask (and many others). These objects created by the Nonliterate societies are in fact beautiful, but the reason behind its creation and the process of its creation is also beautiful. The entire contents in which these objects are found is beautiful and it is amazing how the sand paintings and the masks help to keep the cosmic order. Therefore, these rituals that produce objects of beauty makes the Native American's reality and when we understand this, then we can begin to understand the art, or the left-over pieces from rituals, in their entirety.
The Dineh or Navajo culture, presently living in Arizona, are the largest group of Native Americans who practice dry painting. The Navajo culture focuses on different Gods or Holy spirits representing animate or inanimate objects. Therefore, evil spirits exist as well. Every unfortunate situation can be linked to the Gods causing rituals to be performed for various ailments. A crucial element in the rituals is the creation of dry paintings.
With a piece of pottery to paint, the Hopi potter uses his/hers artistic ability to produce a design that is very pleasing to the eye. Most of these designs are not intended to be symbols. But when the “white man” see’s this design he immediately thinks it is symbolism. The Indian thinks that if he tells the “white man” that this is just a design he will not believe him, so instead he makes up a story. This helps the Indian market his product as well as avoid confusion on the meaning of the pottery by the “white man” (“Museum Notes: An Introduction”1).
“Art can use the power of visual image to challenge and even change popular opinions about important and universal issues. Art can be a very influential way to give a strong, direct comments and criticisms on things that have happened in society and culture.” (Rehab-Mol J, 1998, p6) Indigenous art is mostly about connecting to their land and their religious belief; however, art has different forms, especially the Indigenous contemporary art as it uses ‘modern materials in a mixed cultural context’. (Aboriginal Art Online, 2000)
John Farella. The Main Stalk: A synthesis of Navajo Philosophy. Navajo Religion. (Tuschon: University of Arizona Press, 1984)
Wheelwright, M. (1942). Navajo Creation Myth. Navajo Religion Series, Vol. 1. Santa Fe: Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art.
The nature in which we live is truly beautiful and something to preserve and treasure. When the Europeans first came to North America, they were immediately in love with the views they encountered. They were interested in wanting to know more about the land, the animals that peeked around, and the people who called it home. Artists such as, John White had heard the tales of what Christopher Columbus had described during his time in North America, which led to them wanting to make their own discoveries (Pohl 140). Everyone had their own opinions and views of the world, but artists were able to capture the natural images and the feeling they had through their paintings (Pohl 140).
The Navajo also made blankets which have simple geometric patterns. Notice how in Figure 4 the artist combined a solid center with rectangles and diamonds on the edge to represent the Navajo’s cultural emphasis on restrained aggressiveness and controlled movement (Parr, 2002). It is important for the Navajo to maintain a balance between static and active, and so they represented this the symmetric designs of their blankets as seen in Figure 5 (Parr, 2002).
George Gustav Heye Center - The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is a fascinating building at the Bowling Green area of Lower Manhattan. It’s close to Battery Park that displays an elegant view of the water. You can see ferries floating by headed towards Staten Island, since South Ferry Terminal is nearby. It allows you to appreciate the hidden gems of the city located in the outskirts Manhattan. One of those very treasures is the museum mentioned previously.
Throughout this unique class, we have explored many amazing facets of the Dine’ people. From stories, to pieces of art, to the language itself, the beauty of Navajo culture is easily seen by all who have the fortune to come into contact with them. Unlike Navajo culture, however, the Western world uses a very loose definition for “beauty” that typically revolves around physical traits: a beautiful girl usually looks a certain way, a beautiful voice usually sounds a certain way, and a beautiful painting usually looks a certain way. The Western world merely looks at physical beauty and from this vision has developed a formula for what is and what isn’t considered beautiful. To the Navajo People, beauty is a much deeper, more meaningful concept. As we have explored in class, the beauty way of life, hozho, rules the way that a Navajo person should act and interact in daily life. Hozho is not only physical but also mental, spiritual, and purposeful.
For this research paper, I have chose to focus on the Northwest Coast Native American culture and the ceremonial raven rattle. First, it is important to examine the belief system of the Northwest Coast inhabitants and the raven which serves as a central figure in their mythologies. The story of the raven states that the sun was brought to mankind by raven through transforming himself into a boy (through the impregnation of the sun keeper's daughter) in order to enchant his Grandfather into giving him the sun which had otherwise been locked away. The raven, afer receiving this precious gift, was scorched and sacrificed his beauty for the benefit of others via the sun. The inhabitants of the Northwest Coast carried on the myth of raven through what is known as a Potlatch-a ceremony where the Chief must give away most of his wealth and possessions for the benefit of his tribe. In tribute of the raven's sacrifice, the raven rattle is used as a necessary tool for members of high rank to access the spiritual world. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss the intended use of the raven rattle, the belief system of the Northwest Coast Tribe, and what happens when a sacred object such the raven rattle is taken out of it's culture and into a public or private display.
Pottery is something that will always be treasured by Native Americans. I will always find it fascinating the culture and history behind such a beautiful work of art. Next time you look at an authentic work of art, remember that it was created with meaning and inspiration. The meaning of pottery will never be taken for granted, and it will always be recognized as a symbol of the culture that stands for Native Americans of the past, present and future.
Over the course of history, art has been used for many different purposes. It has been used to relay a message to the illiterate and show off the face of an emperor. Presently, art has no other purpose except to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Back in the days of ancient Greece and Crete, that was not the case. The Minoans were a people who lived on an island near one of the oldest and most well-documented civilizations of the Western world. While they may have been advanced for their time, much of what we now know about their culture has come from examining their art. In the Minoan culture, different forms of artwork held different religious and political meaning.
The Hopi Indians use art in their everyday life from woven rugs to clay pots. Art is a very important aspect of the tribe’s life and each piece is said to have a story behind it. The Hopi tribe even has dances said to bring luck and prosper to the community. They also have a very unique piece of art that ties directly to their religion, kachinas mask and dolls.
“Art is a recurring form of human practice. Some have argued that all human societies have shown evidence of artistic activities.” (Carroll 5)
“James Luna, A Native American Man,” is an insightful, cut the bullshit, view of the modern Indian culture. I identify with Luna’s viewpoints as I have seen many of the situations he describes with his art to be true to life. I have spent a lot of time in Northern Canada fishing with my brother and father. The areas we visit are predominantly Indian reservations. Having spent quite a bit of time getting to know these types of towns and people, I have grown aware of some of the many problems that surround the modern day reservation lifestyle.