lord_whimsy ([info]lord_whimsy) wrote,
@ 2008-06-24 18:41:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:aesthetics, emblems, history, style

AMERICAN TEXTURES: NATIVE MEETS EUROPEAN, PART I


It's somewhat fitting that a man named Charles Bird King--a name both eminently European yet vaguely Amerindian--would depict the natives of the American East (Creek, Crow, Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw, Iowa, Fox, Winnebago, etc) at a time when there was a semblance of parity (parody of parity?) between the Old and New Worlds. This was expressed in the dress of natives as well as many whites who lived among them: European brass gorgets and artfully knotted cravats around the neck of a men with painted faces and feathers in their hair. The synthesis is breathtaking: both fierce and fey. It's a damn pity the European influence eventually crushed the Native--this could very well have become our national mode of dress.





(Post a new comment)


[info]ohmeohmy
2008-06-25 01:24 am UTC (link)
so amazing.

(Reply to this)

[info]olamina
2008-06-25 05:39 am UTC (link)
So beautiful and all so distinct. I'd be so very interested to know how much of the decoration was cultural and how much of it was a reflection of personal style (for both European and Indian). i bet personal style meant much more than we usually assume.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]lord_whimsy
2008-06-25 06:05 am UTC (link)
It may have, but just like in ours, that individual style exists within a larger cultural context. The leeway for personal expression probably varied from tribe to tribe, but many of the markings and decorative items had a great deal of symbolic power and cultural significance: you had to earn them. The Cheyenne dog soldiers come to mind.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…