Posted by Marla Mallett on December 18, 1998 at 13:00:14:
There is certainly nothing wrong with enjoying children's art, but there is little justification for comparing such work with that of mature artists. It's for good reason that we tape our kids' drawings to the refigerator door, but frame and hang serious adult art in galleries and museums.
Village weavers display the same values. I have never seen a Turkish mother criticize or correct her daughter's work, yet she unhesitatingly critiques the products of her adult friends. She'll tell you in a minute who she thinks is the best weaver in the village--who is the best colorist, the best craftsman, or the most creative.
I readily admit that much competent village and nomadic weaving is so rigid, uninspired, and sterile that naive children's work is preferable. We simply can't apply the same criteria to both.
Marla Mallett