Post 13: Review of art

I chose the 'Medicine Man Gallery' from the list on DMOZ. This gallery focuses on Native American Indian baskets, trays and ollas. The gallery shows baskets from different cultures such as the Pima and the Hopi. Baskets are one of the most valued forms of Native art according to this website. As the different groups, such as the Apache, become less nomadic, the need for baskets and ollas decreased. The decrease in production makes the Apache ollas very rare, a very well made Apache ollas can sell for over $100,000 today. Collectors look for pieces that "have great symmetry, size, and feature polychrome and multi figures". Pieces are represented as authentic or traditional by the materials they are made out of the patternization and area they originate from. My impression is that the cultural expression is more important to the collector, than the individuals creative expression. Only more recently has the individual artist been important. Basket weaving originally began out of practicality. The women made baskets to collect food an water. From this tradition, the art of basket weaving arose. Therefore, the objects in this Medicine Man collection are both art and ethnographic objects.
My overall impression of the objects is that they are very intricate, and take a lot of skill to create.The intended audience of the gallery seems to be collectors and people who are uneducated about basket weaving. The website offers free evaluations of peoples baskets. The art fits all of the categories of indigenous art, fine art, tourist art, folk art, handicrafts and fine arts depending on how well its made, when it was made and who made it. For example, baskets could be seen as tourist art when they are sold at airports in Arizona.
Here is a video with some more info about basket weaving.
The picture is of a native american indian basket, Ca. 1800 found here.