Preface 1
Mental attitude of primitive people 1
Primitive culture, historical growth 4
The object of the investigation is a study of dynamic conditions
of art growth 7
Acknowledgments 8
I. Introduction 9
What is art? 9
Technical perfection in art 10
Emotional appeal of contents of art colors 12
Historical notations 13
II. The formal elements in art 17
Virtuosity 17
Regularity of form and virtuosity 19
Lack of virtuosity and artistic form 22
Lack of effect of artistic form 25
The plain, strong line and regular curve 31
Symmetry 32
Inverted symmetry 36
Rhythm 40
Marginal designs 55
Decoration of prominent places 60
Conclusion 62
III. Representative art 64
Representation and representative art 64
Primitive symbolic and realistic representation 69
Influence of technique upon style of representation 81
IV. Symbolism 88
Wide distribution of symbolic interpretation 88
Lack of stability of explanation 102
Lack of coherence in symbols 106
Design names 109
Studies in conventionalization 113
Geographical distribution of explanations of similar designs 118
Reading in of meanings 121
Development of geometrical form according to representative
tendencies 124
Stability of patterns of action as against instability of
interpretation 128
Change of type due to slovenly execution 130
Technical motives applying to representations 138
Effect of decorative field 141
Effect of symbolic methods of representation 143
V. Style 144
The problem of style 144
Motor habits and form 145
Concentration of forms 148
Transfer of forms in new materials 150
Technical determination of form 153
Individuality of style 153
The artist in his cultural setting 155
Control of style over invention 156
Formal elements of style 161
Dissemination of art forms and local developments 161
Diversity of style in the same tribe and community 180
VI. The art of the Northwest coast of North America 183
Symbolic representations of animal forms 186
The beaver 186
The sculpin 188
The hawk and the eagle 190
The dragon-fly 192
The killer-whale 194
The bear 197
The sea-monster 198
The frog 198
The shark 198
Summary of symbols 202
Minor symbols are not strictly normative 207
The wolf; variations of form in representations of same animal 213
Variations in interpretation 214
Use of fragmentary symbols 216
Adaptation of animal forms to the decorative field 218
Formal elements in animal representations 221
Design arrangement on Chilkat blankets 257
Design arrangement on boxes 262
Design arrangement on food trays 270
Design arrangement on square boxes 275
Geometrical elements 279
Older art styles of the Gulf of Georgia 284
Realistic representations 285
Geometrical designs in basketry 289
Art of neighboring tribes 294
VII. Primitive literature, music, and dance 299
General occurrence of literature, music, and dance 299
Relation between song, music, and dance 303
Primitive prose 303
Rhythm 310
Emphasis 317
Symmetry 320
Metaphor 320
Poetic description 325
Local culture reflected in literary form 327
Symbolic meaning of narrative 337
Different literary styles are found in the same tribe 337
Distribution of literary forms 338
Music 340
Dance 344
Conclusion 349