Welcome! I am glad to have chosen a subject that led you to post.

It's good to have a Neff and Magg enthusiast in company.

As someone who sees some advantage in the perspective Neff and Maggs recommend, what are your suspicions about why so few have followed their lead?

There are a lot of full- color rug books being published nowadays and color separation appears to be getting better and cheaper all the time. But no one else is really doing it.

Regards,

R. John Howe

A more "atomistic" analysis of this bag reveals an asymmetric knot open left and the wefts are silk. All very different than any other Tekke in my collection. And, yes, the back looks like an Eagle gul back or a Salor back - neither of which I believe this is. I'll stick with my usual rug analysis; thak you.
Best regards,
Marvin

Thanks for this useful counter example.

It does seem to show that the recognitions made on the level of weave pattern can on closer examination be mistaken.

And it reinforces Yon's suggestion earlier that the most useful examination of the issues surrounding the gestalt perspective versus the atomistic one is probably not a dichotomous one. We don't have to and shouldn't choose. Better probably to notice the distinctive things that these two perspectives can provide.

Despite your useful example here, do you not find the notion of our rather precise but unanalyzed ability to recognize family and friends (and even a relative stranger perhaps seen only once before and that a long time back) as interesting and perhaps indicative of something?

It would be useful to see this back and the close description side by side.

Regards,

R. John Howe

You and Wendel are both touching on the question of perception - how do we make sense of the information our senses send to our brain? It is hardly virgin territory for psychologists, physiologists or philosophers, to name a few.

It is quite remarkable, when you think about it, that we can recognize each other not only face to face, but by watching the gait when we walk, any number of mannerisms, and even in a small black-and-white photo (a 3 x 5 black and white photo of me is about as unrelated to my physical presence as something can be).

The topic of perceptual styles came up in some of our earlier Salons, too. I expressed the opinion then (and still believe) that there are people who perceived details and others who tend not to, but perceive a gestalt. I am sure this is related to their reactions to arts.

Regards,

Steve Price

Wendel and I and some other folks are meeting this morning at my office a the Department of Labor to do some ICOC work. I have warned everyone that they will need photo ID in order to get past the guards.

Wendel, is playful this morning and has said that he is sure that he will not need it because he has a written description of himself once provided him by Marvin and Yon.

We'll see.

Regards,

R. John Howe

Sorry not to report sooner.

Wendel did get in but I was not an eye witness to his dealings with the DOL guards, so you'll have to find out from him whether he was forced to resort to a photo.

Regards,

R. John Howe

This illustrates, I believe, that neither written descriptions nor photos are ideal under all circumstances.

Wendel