Posted by Tom Cole on February 03, 1999 at 07:49:13:
In Reply to: Re: Religions or east&west? posted by Steve Price on February 03, 1999 at 07:03:20:
: Dear Folks,
: I agree with much of what Sophia Gates has to say here, but I do think she missed the ball on a few points.
: 1. Our ability to see the landscape spread out below us from an airplane is a pretty recent development, and probably doesn't figure very strongly in the western artistic tradition.
: 2. Westerners did weave rugs (Spain and France, in particular), and those rugs were no more likely to depict humans than rugs woven in the orient.
: Regards,
: Steve Price
The tradition for weaving rugs in Spain came from where? To what, and to whom, do we attribute the influence on rug production in Spain? Easy answer, the Arabs. Personally I want to thank both Erol and Sophia for making some sense on this subject. Ah, the mysteries that we can create when the answers are actually so simple. If we let them be. No reason to make a mountain out of a molehill. Perpetuating our western myths regarding anthropomorphic representation in oriental rugs through a discussion of matters in which most of us are not equipped to participate does no service to the question at hand. Erol, coming forth and informing us, from a Moslem perspective, is a welcome breath of fresh air, hopefully once and for all dispelling the myths which we have created for ourselves. And Sophia ALWAYS has some remarkably perceptive comment to add when she so choses. Thanks to both of them.