Lines on the Horizon :: de Young Museum

My interpretation of (figure inside fish)

There is a delightful exhibit at the de Young Museum right now called Lines on the Horizon :: Native American Art from The Weisel Family Collection.  As soon as I walked into the space I was smitten with all of the clean lines on the Navajo blankets hanging on the walls and drawn immediately to the display case full of ceramics.

Bowl (figure inside fish), ca. 1010-1130
Mimbres
Earthenware with pigment

The Mimbres tribe populated the semiarid river valleys in what is now southwestern New Mexico.  The distinctive Mimbres style was developed by a group of artists who captured their distinct worldview in precisely rendered black lines on white backgrounds inside hemispheric vessels.  Painted with yucca-fiber brushes, the confident, elegant images range from geometric motifs to legible representations of human figures and animals.  

Mimbres designs suggest a complex relationship between the supposedly abstract line and possible representations of the natural world.

~ Lines on the Horizon by Matthew H. Robb and Jill D'Alessandro

Isabella and the Fish

I absolutely loved all of the clean lines and fun imagery in this exhibit.  I was floored most of it was approximately 1,000 years old.  It appeared so modern and the lines were impeccable, especially considering the fact that most renderings appeared flat, but were actually done on hemispheric surfaces.  Absolutely gorgeous.

I doodled a bit with Grady this morning and we each came up with our own interpretations based on one of my favorite pieces (figure inside fish).  His god sister is not faring very well in his rendering (above).

I see some art retaliation from Isabella in the near future.

At least I hope that's what happens.