Framing Infinity

Tribal and village rugs can be confusing. A person can be captured by their colors and designs and the richness of their obvious historical and artistic importance, and at the same time stumble over the irregularities found in the overall patterns and design of the piece. The questions begin. Why are the edges uneven? Why isn't the blue background the same shade thrughout the rug? Why is there only fringe at one end? And.....why isn't the design symmetrical?

These questions make sense. The western eye, for many reasons, has a preference for regular, symmetrical, beginnings and ends, predictability, control, evenness, containment. Even in artwork. So lack of symmetry is especially challenging - to appreciate and to understand.

When a tribal or village woman begins a rug she sees the weaving as having infinite possibilities. From her vantage point the design stretches in a plane out beyond the universe if you will. This means that there is no logic or rule for where to begin or end the weaving. Rug shoppers will see vertical assymetry with two ends that look different. The repeated motifs at one end might be only partialy finished, looking rather cut off. The corners of the border, or frame, of the rug rarely have symmetry. Some rugs have lateral assymetry, and others might be unbalanced in both directions. 

Rather than contrive a system of rules that confine creativity and conflict with the infinite nature of design, the weaver simply ends the rug wherever she decides. So what looks like sloppy design or unskilled work turns out to be a highly philosophical approach the the vastness of the univese and the mind's ability to conceive of concepts such as endless and eternal. Once this is understood we become more involved in the "seeing" of the rug and, therefore, in the weaving of the rug. The design creates a sort of journey from one end to the other, and when we reach the far end of the rug, the journey continues in our mind's eye as it did for the weaver.

I hope that this enhances your appreciation of these beautiful rugs. Let me know what you think.

Diana