In describing the Navajo Indians, Sides writes
“…And they were never finished. Navajos hated to complete anything - whether it was a basket, a blanket, a song, or a story. They never wanted their artifacts to be too perfect, or too closed-ended, for a definitive ending cramped the spirit of the creator and sapped the life from the art. So they left little gaps and imperfections, deliberate lacunae that kept things alive for another day. To them, comprehensiveness was tantamount to suffocation. Aesthetically and literally, Navajos always left themselves an out.
Even today, Navajo blankets often have a faint imperfection designed to let the creation breathe - a thin line that originates from the center and extends all the way to the edge, sometimes with a single thread dangling from its border; tellingly, the Navajos call this intentional flaw the “spirit outlet.”
© 2004 Jane Fulton Alt; Winged
3 comments:
This is a concept I'd never before considered. My own spirit would more than likely be well served incorporating some of these beliefs into my life.
Thank you for sharing this and your photograph. Tell me, what do you think is imperfect about that?
not sure what "that" is...
please clarify
I've heard it said that da Vinci never actually finished the Mona Lisa. Probably for very different reasons (the same story goes that he was never all that fond of that painting) but perhaps not.
But that sharp intake of breath you just heard was my reaction to this photo. Which is the only way I can put that reaction into words. Because all of the words I know seem inadequate.
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