While the formal elements which we have previously discussed are
fundamentally void of definite meaning, conditions are quite different
in representative art. The term itself implies that the work does not
affect us by its form alone, but also, sometimes even primarily, by its
content. The combination of form and content gives to representative
art an emotional value entirely apart from the purely formal esthetic
effect.
If has been customary to begin the discussion of representative art
with a consideration of the simple attempts of primitive people or of
children to draw objects that interest them. I believe that the art
problem is obscured by this procedure. The mere attempt to represent
something, perhaps to communicate an idea graphically, cannot be
claimed to be an art; just as little as the spoken word or the gesture
by means of which an idea is communicated, or an object,—perhaps
a spear, a shield or a box,—in which an idea of usefulness is
incorporated, is in itself a work of art. It is likely that an artistic
concept may sometimes be present in the mind of the maker or speaker,
but is becomes a work of art only when it is technically perfect, or
when it shows striving after a formal pattern. Gestures that have
rhythmical structure, words that have rhythmic and tonal beauty are
works of art; the implement of perfect form lays claim to beauty; and
the graphic or sculptural representation has an esthetic, an artistic
value, when the technique of representation has been mastered. When a
tyro attempts to create a work of art, we may recognize and study the
impulse, but the finished product teaches only his vain efforts to
master a difficult task. When man is confronted with a new problem like
the building of a house of new, unfamiliar material, he is apt to find
a solution, but this achievement is not art, it is a work adapted to a
practical end. It may be that the solution is intuitive, that is, that
it has not been found by an intellectual process, but after having been
solved it is subject to a rational explanation.
Just so when man has to represent an object, he is confronted with a
problem that demands a solution. The first solution is not an artistic
but a practical achievement. We are dealing with a work of art only
when the solution is endowed with formal beauty or strives for it. The
artistic work begins after the technical problem has been mastered.
[Illustration: Fig. 59 _a_. Embroidery, Huichol Indians, Mexico.]
When primitive man is given a pencil and paper and asked to draw
an object in nature, he has to use tools unfamiliar to him, and a
technique that he has never tried. He must break away from his ordinary
methods of work and solve a new problem. The result cannot be a work
of art,—except perhaps under very unusual circumstances. Just like the
child, the would-be artist is confronted with a task for which he lacks
technical preparation, and many of the difficulties that beset the
child beset him also. Hence the apparent similarity between children’s
drawings and those of primitive man. The attempt of both are made in
similar situations. A most characteristic case of this kind was told
to me by Mr. Birket-Smith. He asked an Eskimo of Iglulik to draw with
a pencil on a piece of paper a walrus hunt. The native was unable to
accomplish this task and after several attempts he took a walrus tusk
and carved the whole scene in ivory, a technique with which he was
familiar.
[Illustration: Fig. 59 _b_. Embroidery, Huichol Indians, Mexico.]
[Illustration: Fig. 60. Decorated fishskin garment, Amur River.]
The contrast between representation for the sake of representation and
representation as a work of art appears clearly in many cases. I select
a few examples. The Indians of the mountains of northwestern Mexico
wear beautifully embroidered or woven clothing, the designs of which
are largely based on Spanish motives. Heraldic patterns and isolated
animal figures combined with geometrical forms are the constituent
elements (fig. 59 _a_). Besides these embroidered and woven fabrics,
which are of excellent workmanship, we find small embroidered rags
(fig. 59 _b_), which are attached to arrows and serve the purpose
of representing a prayer to a deity. A roughly outlined figure of
a child expresses a prayer for the health of the child; that of a
deer, a prayer for success in hunting. The arrows with the attached
rags are stuck into the thatched roof of a temple where they are
allowed to decay. They are not intended as works of art but only as
representations that serve a temporary purpose; hence the disregard of
form and of exactness of workmanship.
[Illustration: PLATE VI.