CELEBRATING THE ARTS
The distinction between fine art and craft does not exist in many world cultures. Fresco, marble, oil and bronze are valued more than watercolor and terra cotta in the traditional Western academic ranking of mediums.
To the same extent, the hierarchy of subject matter in which history painting, including religious history, is most influential, is irrelevant to non-Western Art.
Producing objects as works of art were never the intentions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, the Pacific Islands. All pieces were created as utilitarian objects, adorned in ways necessary for their intended purposes.
A work was valued for its effectiveness and the role it played in society. As an example, a West African water jug eased the burden of daily life; or, a Sioux baby carrier that enriched mundane life with aesthetic qualities.
Others such as the woven Pomo baskets were used to gather and prepare native plant foods for their families. The function of a Hopewell effigy pipe, an Inca tunic, or Ikere palace doors may have conferred status on their owners or users through their material value, or symbolic associations.
Many pieces had great spiritual or magical power. Such works cannot be fully comprehended or appreciated when we view them only on pedestals or encased in glass in museums. These items must be imagined, or better yet, seen as used in their societies.
How completely might we be engaged if we witnessed Kwakwaka’wakw or Bwa masks functioning in a transformative drama, changing not only the outward appearance, but also the very essence of the individual.
Beginning in the 20th century, American and European artists broke away from the academic bias, embracing the classical heritage of Greece and Rome. Instead, they found new inspiration in the art, or craft, of many non-European cultures.
Artists used this newfound freedom to use any material or technique, effectively challenging the status quo and opening the way for extreme pleasure in, and understanding of, Native American, African and Pacific Island art.
Thankfully academia, along with collectors, dealers and critics, have come to appreciate non-Western aesthetics, and to consider forgotten and ignored arts on their own terms. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries academia’s, et. al., conception of art as a multimedia adventure is assisting in validating works of art that were, at one time, seen only in ethnographic collections and in private collections.
Today, objects once called primitive are recognized as great works of art and acknowledged to be essential to a 21st century worldview. The line between art and craft seems less relevant than ever before.
Your thoughts? Comments? president@hccarts. org.
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Hill Country Council for the Arts Calendar
'Art After Hours': 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays in The Classroom at The AgriCultural Museum and Arts Center, 102 City Park Road, Boerne. Supplies are included; class size limited. Fees and registration at: www.hccarts. org. Discounts with HCCArts membership. Send inquiries to president@ hccarts.org, or call Paula, 210-2698349.
— Feb. 25: Batik. Be a part of the comprehensive resist process of batik. In this two-hour class, we will examine the procedures for applying wax to create design, and color with dye, and finally the finishing technique of removal. The result is a vivid individualized piece of cloth ready for display or fabrication.
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