Posted by Randy Crist on November 22, 1998 at 22:09:29:
In Reply to: A repainted Khamseh rug posted by Daniel Deschuyteneer on November 20, 1998 at 19:27:13:
The deletions made in the field of this wonderful rug (yes-I am one of those people who would lust after this nifty piece) are very instructive to me. I have to first admit that I am a sucker for South Persian pieces-they are definitely my favorite type of tribal and village weavings. I don't mind the "crowding" that occurs in the design of many of these pieces. I find it pleasing, thinking of the gardens that the weavers might imagine in their minds as they create these rugs and bags (although there are limits to even my tolerance of this).
What I find most interesting about this deletion experiment is the way I instantly reacted to the new half of the rug as being something other than South Persian. Perhaps it is the seeming random distribution of elements. Somehow the original crowded field masked this effect to my eye. Would fewer elements make the rugs better? I think it is akin to saying that someone's nose is too long or too bad this person's head is not on that person's body. Each is an individual and I try to enjoy them for what they are rather than try to think about what they are not. No criticism of anyone's POV is intended-I think this experiment was really interesting and helped me think on this issue more than before.
By the way-I would like to compliment everyone involved with the resurrection of Turkotek. It is wonderful to see a forum where interesting conversations can occur without some of the unpleasantness and wackiness of other sites. Bravo!