Oaxaca Wood Carvings
Wood carving is a noble art that some of the most respected artists in history have chosen as their outlet for creativity. The art of wood carving has made an impression in the lives of countless people among generations and has also helped to shape the art and mindset of many cultures, dating back millennia.
Consider the Oaxaca wood carvings from the Oaxacan tribe in Southern Mexico. One look at these ornate and unique sculptures and it is immediately evident that no two pieces of wood art are alike. The Oaxaca wood carvings are immediately distinguishable because of the outlandish colors and designs that mark true oaxaca wood carvings. No other culture on Earth has even come close to the kind of art evident in Oaxaca wood carvings, and part of the reason why this is so is because the Oaxaca tribe spent much of its time alone without influence from other cultures. This helped their particular wood art to grow unobstructed.
Another good example of wood carvings that immediately illustrate the point of the relationship between culture and art is the wood carvings of the Maori people. Much of this ancient art can still be found in New Zealand, where the original Maori people brought their unique vision of wood art to the masses. Instead of the extremely colorful and almost playful wood art of the Oaxaca people, the Maori wood carvings bring to mind a culture that both celebrates and fears its gods. They show illustrations of power in their wood art but also benevolence and wonder. The wood art that came from the Maori people helped to show just how varied the mindset of this culture was when it came to worshiping and praise.
There are countless other examples of the relationship between wood carving and the culture that nurtured it. Perhaps this is why the worlds of art and culture are both converging cornerstones in archeology and anthropology. Understanding a culture through its customs and its laws is always a good way to make sense of the minds of certain groups, but only in the art of a culture can we truly find exactly what these people cherished, loved, and respected. The interweaving threads of art and culture are always at the forefront, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we all pay attention. In the future, when the world as we know it is a bygone relic, who knows what tomorrows researchers will uncover about our culture and art? Hopefully, we will be seen as purveyors of beauty and not destroyers of iniquity.
