Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-11-05

TIE MEANING OF INDIAN DESIGNS.
Methods Employed by the Artists OF the Wilderness
Art is Shown in the Decoration.
hunnrIu
Wilderness

| Three Of our ancestors escaped the
Hood In a big canoe and were brought
safely TO land
Colors have three slgnihcations when
used I'm decorations, one relating TO
things, one relative To- time, one Of d.
| reCtion I'm the first relation red means
triumph or success, blue means failure;
! black sigultiCes death, white stands for
happiness or peace Relatyo TO dlrec-
! ton, white stands for the east. because
the sky grows white I'm the east az the
! rising Of The sun. blue represents the
! west, because IN that direction are the
| blue waters of the Pacific, yellow Is tho
symbol of the north. for the light Of
| the morning is yellow IN the winter
| time, when the sun rises further To- the
northward; red signifies The south, be-
cause that is the region o. summer ana
the red SUM-
From this Interpretation OF color Il
Is easy TO calculate what the time Sig
niilcations are White may stand for
the morning or FOR the spriaPtme. blue
is the evening time OF the setting
sun, or autumn the season Of cgru-
lean skies yellow rs winter. the season
Of the northern sun, or mo0u when the
earth Is flooded with yellow light, red
Is the summer because It symbollzes
the land OF summer It Is also consd-
cred a sacred color because Il b. SYM
holic OF blood lie and strength OF
man. and the consequent source Of his
success and achievement
I'm many Of the baskets Of the red
man, or rather the red Womau--appcar
geometrCal figures the production NJ
which requires correct enumeration Of
the minute stitches on weavcg of the
pattern, ana SO great are the varieties
Of figures, or parts of figures. each re-
curing a different enumeration and iu-
1oNIng different numbers, that none
but accomplished mathematiciansC could
perform the works Otis r. Mason,
curator of the division OF pthnology IN
the National museum says
"A careful study OF gIl womeus work
In baskotry, as well as weaving ana
embroidery reveals the fact that both
In the woven and I'M the srWcd. or coil,
ware each stitch takes up the very
same area of surface When women
Invented bagketry. therefore. they made
art possible Along with this TACT. that
each stitch Oa ,hr Same basket made
of uniform material occupies the same
number Of square millimetres. goes the
other fdct--the most savage women
can count"
The Indian artist works without pat
tern, model-other than uature-and
without rule or compass The C0nCen
ton Of the brain Is brought directly
TO the place It is 10 occupy. Il thus
occurs that complications sometimes
arise which TO the artist of civilization
would be fatal 20 the harmony Of hls
production, but which do not worry the
pupils Of the primitive school and
which are productive Of some extreme.
~ artistic results. Quoting again
from Mason
I'VE would cousign n modern potter
20 retirement II his panels aud pictures
were not geOmetrcally accurate But
the Savage artist seems 20 relish sym.
metry She is not the least embar-
raised II, with four repetltions Of the
same group IN mind, she finds by and
by, that three OF them have nearly ex-
hausted her space The quaint man.
ner In which she compels the fourth |
TO squeeze itself into the allotted area
has been the delight Of more than on
civilized artist"
Rock carving and rock painting Il |
more a thing OF the past than Of the |
present. All through California, ArI- |