Three Quick Reasons…

….why I’d rather go to antique fairs instead of contemporary art shows just about any day of the week:

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Here are two early 20th century hats from the Yucatan

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another hat whose origins I neglected to note

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and a collection of prison shivs made from toothbrushes

All three are pictures that I took at the New York International Show of Fine Arts and Textiles of Native cultures, where I took my Mom for a belated Mother’s Day present. There were quite a few more amazing, inspiring things, some that I got photographs of and will post later on.

These however are also examples of why I need a better digital camera; my Olympus seems very mushy in the details.

0 Comments +

  1. Hello??? Kitty!!!

    Well, that you like very sharp things in pastel colors.

    I still read of attacks on guards and other inmates with modified combs, toothbrushes, and pens. I would think prisons have outlawed those by now, but I guess they’re easily smuggled in.

  2. Why can’t we have museums like that down here? You have to rut to sate a curiosity down here — well, sometimes. Sometimes your neighbor belongs in a museum.

  3. Well, you should know I love “tribal” stuff. I still go back and look in my museum catalogue from then “African Textiles and Decorative Arts” show. I can see why you’d get a rush by seeing this stuff and not contemporary art. Pretentious is a good word.

  4. My self, my sister and my mother all zeroed in on them – My sis immediately wanted to go off and make some. The thing on the cord is supposedly a “bitch necklace” give to claim a prisoner as one’s property. The same dealer had an early 19th century american wooden dildo.

  5. those hats are awesome. I’m really curious about the second one.

    Hey..i think we have a friend in common. Steve Frost? I spotted you on friendster the other day.

  6. The second one is African, but I forgot to check from where.

    Steve doesn’t ring a bell, but I’m not so surprised, because I am on the verge of deleting my friendster account anyway – most of the people I know on there are either ex-students of mine, or folks that added me out of curiousity. Most of my real friends are here.

    Of course I’m also terrible with names….

  7. My self, my sister and my mother all zeroed in on them – My sis immediately wanted to go off and make some. The thing on the cord is supposedly a “bitch necklace” give to claim a prisoner as one’s property. The same dealer had an early 19th century american wooden dildo.

  8. Yes, making weapons out of common household objects seems to be a female prerogative 🙂

    Wooden dildos? I should get out to antique fairs more often.

  9. The second one is African, but I forgot to check from where.

    Steve doesn’t ring a bell, but I’m not so surprised, because I am on the verge of deleting my friendster account anyway – most of the people I know on there are either ex-students of mine, or folks that added me out of curiousity. Most of my real friends are here.

    Of course I’m also terrible with names….

  10. I wish there had been a better catalog of all the stuff I saw, but I will post a few more of my own pics probably later on today. Great things from borneo, and I was shocked at how reasonable pre columbian pottery is – a jug from around 600 AD was $8,000.00 . I don’t have that kind of moneyto spend on anything, but given that an Elizabeth Peyton painting will tun you close to 100K, You could have a nice little collection of incredible art for what you’d spend on a mediocre contemporary thing.

  11. Yes, some Pre-Colombian stuff is pretty reasonably priced. It is not held in the same high esteem as some other old cultures are. However, there are still quite rare pieces to be had. Central and South America are the prime places for doing cultural archeology these days I think. I’m hearing about new findings in Central America all the time because the jungle has grown so quickly over ancient cultures, artifacts have yet to be found. Now that the internal warring has ceased there, it is finally possible to return to exploration.

  12. I wish there had been a better catalog of all the stuff I saw, but I will post a few more of my own pics probably later on today. Great things from borneo, and I was shocked at how reasonable pre columbian pottery is – a jug from around 600 AD was $8,000.00 . I don’t have that kind of moneyto spend on anything, but given that an Elizabeth Peyton painting will tun you close to 100K, You could have a nice little collection of incredible art for what you’d spend on a mediocre contemporary thing.

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