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Subject	:	Beauty as complexity within simplicity
Author	:	R. John Howe mailto:%20rjhowe@erols.com
Date	:	10-27-2000 on 07:16 a.m.

I’m going to push the envelope on your salon task here by putting up two pieces of very similar design to which I respond strongly but don’t own.

This is a central asian piece that was on the market perhaps a year ago and that I ran onto this image of by chance after it had been sold. It was labeled Tajik without explanation. It is a design/format combination that I had not really seen, I think, before but I encountered two more at ACOR 5, both, by the way, labeled Uzbek. Here is one of those.

There is an Uzbek format that has this overall shape but which seems usually to have been done in sections. Those are usually displayed with the long side on the horizontal. These pieces seem to invite a vertical positioning of the long side, since the design seems a bit directional.

This design is for me is another instance of beauty that is rooted in an initial seeming simplicity that upon examination has more complexity than one might initially discern. I have been looking at these images a lot and think I could/will look at them a lot more.

They are also instances in which the graphics are strong and in which color is used skillfully to reinforce them.

Two nice, very similar pieces that provoke a strong, emotional response in me.

Regards,

R. John Howe

Subject	:	Re:Beauty as complexity within simplicity
Author	:	Robert Anderson mailto:%20andersonr100@hotmail.com
Date	:	10-29-2000 on 10:27 a.m.

While quite similar in design concept, I find myself more attracted to the piece in the lower image. Its colors seem to be softer (in addition to having a somewhat wider color range – with more abrash in the reds and blues), and its drawing seems more relaxed and less predictable, with more subtle and interesting “symmetry breakers”. This is not to deny the strong bright colors and strong graphics of the piece in the upper image, it is very positive, the ‘yang” to the other pieces “yin”. It jumps out at me, compared to the lower image, which slowly draws me in. I’m sure other people will have different reactions. Perhaps my particular reaction has to do with my personality, quiet and introverted.

Subject	:	Re:Beauty as complexity within simplicity
Author	:	Sam Gorden mailto:%20gordsa@earthlink.net
Date	:	10-29-2000 on 03:46 p.m.

Dear Robert,
Congratulations on the excellent analysis of your reaction to John's Uzbek weavings. You hit the nail on the head when you said "Perhaps my particular reaction has to do with my personality, quiet and introverted." To produce this reaction was the intent of
"A Thing of Beauty". As you considered your response to the two pieces, you were learning about yourself. I deem that as this process continues, this growth will make you a more sophisticated and satisfied collector.
As for myself, I did not find Uzbek creations attractive. The design bored me and it seemed incomplete. The above supports my contention that aesthetic resonse is emotional and an intrinsic part of our personality. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Sam

Subject	:	Re:Beauty as complexity within simplicity
Author	:	Vincent Keers mailto:%20vkeers@worldonline.nl
Date	:	10-29-2000 on 06:43 p.m.

Dear Sam and Robert,

I think the blue background in the first image creates the difference. It's not only in the eyes of the beholder, it,s also in the way we can manipulate ourselfs.
The first observation was, I can't prefer one of them because the first image looks harder, because of the background color.

Best regards,
Vincent

Subject	:	Re:Beauty as complexity within simplicity
Author	:	R. John Howe mailto:%20rjhowe@erols.com
Date	:	10-30-2000 on 06:12 a.m.

Mr. Anderson -

Thank you for your thoughts here. In truth, we collectors celebrate both saturation of colors and the softened look to which you also refer. It is hard to tell which way we will jump.

I do not know what I would do if I were offered both pieces for the same affordable price.

On one hand, some experienced collectors have made the observation that you have about the seeming superiority of the softer colors in the second piece. On the other hand the border systems of the first piece seem to me more sophisticated (while still simple) and better handled than those of the second piece.

Perhaps it is fortunate that I'm unlikely to be confronted with this decision.

Regards,

R. John Howe