Earth Art Project Inspirations: Native American Art

As you can see from my earlier posts, I have quite an affinity for that which is ancient. It is in this style which utilizes the different principles of earth art, albeit inadvertant. Perhaps it is this inadvertant nature of it that adds to its beauty. The intricacy of design can be appreciated exponentially more due to this fact. In those times, aesthetic was probably not the creator's primary concern. Despite it's beauty, ancient Native American art is no exception. Lucy Lippard describes such a piece in her book Overlay. She describes the "Big Horn Wheel," a medicine wheel in the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. This structure, built by prehistoric Native Americans between 1500-1765 AD, measures 80' across and has a 245' circumference. It is said that the structure may represent the sun, but it also has 28 spokes that may suggest lunar months. It consists of six cairns that may stand for the planets; interestingly, they are aligned to sunrise and sunset on the summer solstice and to the rising points of select stars. Another purpose of this wheel may have been to signal the proper day to begin the Sun Dance. The spokes of the Big Horn Wheel, like other medicine wheels on the Plains, nearly always point to other distant wheels and cairns. Another famous medicine wheel "Majorville Wheel" in Alberta, Canada, was created up to 5,000 years ago, as the Egyptian pyramids were under construction. Key concepts to take note of are the symmetry and usage of sacred numbers. Although not a perfect circle, considering the size of the piece, it is quite remarkable how circular its creater made it with their resources. Another less obvious feature of these medicine wheel is its use of sacred numbers. The Big Horn Wheel's 28 spokes are surprisingly there for a reason. It is the product of 4 and 7; 7 is the sum of 3 (which represents odd numbers) and 4 (which represents balance), and is itself a prime number. Structures such as these let us delve into the creators culture, gives us glimpses of what seems to be either an integral part of every day life or ceremonial practice.

Utilizing these concepts, I tried to replicate a bit of the symmetry and usage of numbers that is present in these medicine wheels. I tried to incorporate the circular shape to the best of my abilities, manipulating my piece into having concentric circles to further the notion of symmetry. The numbers 3 and 4 are integral parts to my piece, for basically the same reasons that have noted by Lippard other analysts. As she stated in Overlay, "contemporary artists are looking for ancient forms to restore that breath and also to take it for themselves. The animating element is often ritual." My piece is no exception to this way of thinking.