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What exactly does the word “primitive” mean? Today, we have a relatively new embroidery style that folks are calling “primitive.” This embroidery genre is based on simple line drawings of angels, pumpkins, houses, fences, and other “folksy” designs, all drawn to give a purposely unschooled look. There is nothing fancy about the work. It is often worked on tea-dyed fabric and executed with straight lines or outline stitch. The idea of “primitive” motifs has led me to think about the term, as it applies to ancient people and their art.

First, the work of prehistoric, Paleolithic man comes to mind, as seen in the images that were painted, incised, or sculpted onto the walls of a cave in Altamira, Spain. The most famous of the figures, perhaps, is a wounded bison that has fallen to the ground.

Cave paintings are a reflection of the culture that created them. Nor is that cave in Spain the only one to feature “art.” One lesser known cave in Spain depicts the processes of procreation and reflects an early understanding of biological actions and results. A cave in Lascaux, France also feature painted animals. Some art historians have considered the hunting scenes of early cave paintings to have been used as a good luck omen to cast a magical spell on the good fortunes of the hunt.

Another group, North American Indian “artists,” has now, mysteriously, disappeared. Once a thriving population, the Anasazi Indians of the Four Corners region of the U.S., were an advanced, sophisticated, and savvy group. Their ruins are a place that still calls many visitors to the southwest, each year. On rocks, the Anasazi etched “petroglyphs,” still studied by artists and archaeologists.

A third group of “primitive” people were the Mayans. They also had a very advanced culture. Please read the entry under “Art Discoveries,” on this blog, that describes how a professor from the University of New Hampshire discovered some new “finds,” not too long ago.

People have always found art to be pleasing, hopeful, satisfying, expressive, a good luck omen, spiritual, magical, reflective, and many other words we could use to describe what we generally just call “art.” The lesson to be learned, in this discussion, is that there really is “nothing new under the sun,” as is stated in the Bible. As long as there are people, I predict that many of those individuals will continue to want to create “art,” for its own sake. Primitive Art, in general, gives us a window into the creative processes of the human mind and its expression in art from times passed.
Patricia Cummings