Essays on Adornment

Introduction

The Navajo beadwork is well-known and recognized for its unique style and design. Most of the beads are made of silver, iron, copper and steel. The first form of recent beadwork was started by the blacksmith called Atsidi Sani. This fact occurred in the 19th century, and soon more people began to do the artwork (Karasik). However, there are many signs that the beadwork started long before the arrival of the Europeans. It is a fact that beads can be able to last for thousands of years. The Navajo community has a firm belief that a human being should ...

Introduction

Jewellery has been in existence since the early humans began to become civilized. The human desire is to be adorned with precious metals and gems. This has been evident since the Neolithic and Palaeolithic eras. The early humans made jewellery that was formed from claws, bones, teeth and shells. This has been documented by archaeologists. The Egyptians, the Romans and the Greeks applied distinct methods for the creation of jewellery (Cartlidge 1985; Dorner & Turner 1985; Druff and Dormer 1995; Druitt 1986; Falk 1989; Game and Goring 1998; Gilhooley and Costin 1998; Grant 2005; Grant 2007; Hinks 1983; Hughes 1972; ...

Bindi

Bindi: Then and Now A “bindi” has traditionally been used mostly by South Asians from countries like Bangladesh, India, Mauritius, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It is often placed on the forehead between the eyebrows. It is also considered a spot of concealed wisdom, or as some may call, the “sixth chakra”. Even the very positioning of the bindi between the eyebrows plays a significant role. Most meditation practitioners focus their concentration on that spot, in respect of the inner god that resides in all of us. This inner god helps us transcend our earthly limitations and attachments. In addition, women ...

- Evaluate personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty - Investigate how physical appearance affects definitions of identity and belonging - Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, sub-cultures and generations Artifact: People Watching in the street and the reflection about how my personal values and beliefs influence the way I dress.

This assignment made me realize how I judge people by the way they dress. I chose to analyze three women of different age and styles. Each of them was different and unique in many ways. I tried to ...

My personal beliefs and values are supported by my dress and body adornment. Sometimes I wear jewelry that represents my individuality and sometimes I wear symbols of my religiousness and spirituality, like a temporary tattoo of an image of a dragon for example. For me it represents freedom, strength, independence and discipline. These values are very important for me. I also wear t-shirts with the image of a tiger, because this animal represents dignity, courage and fierceness and these values are, in my opinion, necessary to survive in the modern world.

I also like to be mainstream, so I wear jeans like ...

The poem entitled “I Ask It,” written by a renowned Aztec poet Nezahualcoyotl is a very short piece, though very potent as it touches upon profound human truths of existence and being, which is actually what the Aztec religion concerned itself with. The Aztec people understood their place on earth; that all life is transitory, and that humans are not granted the life cycle of nature, which is to die and be reborn every spring. The life of a human being is merely a speck in time, barely perceptible, and their fate is subject to the whimsies of the gods, who ...

South Asian Visual Art in the Context of Cultural Literacy

In the modern world of rapid processes of scientific and cultural development our life seems to be a competitive and stressful rat race. But it doesn't matter how difficult and unpredictable our life is, when we have something that helps us to run away from our problems and everyday routine. It helps us to find a place where we can feel nirvana and harmony. Furthermore, this mysterious thing is still be a part of everybody's life and surrounding. It is art – the reflection of human understanding of the world. “The visual plays a central role in South Asian culture, high and low, ...

EXPLORE 'THE LANGUAGE OF CLOTHES AND BODILY ADORNMENT' IN AT LEAST TWO EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM CULTURE (E.G. FICTION, FILM, MEDIA, DIGITAL MEDIA ETC). YOU MIGHT LIKE TO START BY FIRSTLY EXPLAINING YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF 'LANGUAGE' IN THIS CONTEXT Communication is the key and critical part of our daily lives and the activities that we engage in our lives. Entertainment industry in general that include fiction, media and film among others besides bringing fun to our lives it also communicates and pass on messages that educate, caution or inform its audience on the various themes that the particular piece ...

The Written Garment: Fashion and Fiction

Communication in life happens through various means and methods that convey different meaning to different people. Communication it is asserted can be either verbal or non-verbal. Language is the medium through which various ideas and messages are conveyed in the process of communication. In the field of arts and architecture, communication happens in a different way that in most cases does not convey a message or idea directly as with the other cases in most situations. In many occasions, it requires an in depth analysis that has been termed by others as the ‘‘third eye’’ that can enable one grasp the ...

Introduction Begun with the cathedral complex at Pisa and expanded upon in the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, Italian architects of the 11th century were not only able to glorify their own Christian God and saints, but also asserted their dominance over eastern ‘heretics’ through the adaptation and outright theft of eastern architectural influences. These influences can be seen in everything from the bulbous form of the domes to the minor adornments of the cathedrals. The earliest Italian architects were priest and monks who used skilled craftsmen to carry out their ideas of communal Christian living. Italian buildings ...

1 Overview In order to assess the importance of modest concept in Islamic fashion especially for Muslim women out-wear this study investigates the effects of western fashion on the Islamic fashion. 1.1 Objectives - Evaluate the likelihood for long term adoption of emerging fashions. 1.2 Research questions - How can we define Islamic fashion concept? - How does a man’s concept of Islamic Fashion differ from a female? - What is the importance of modest concept in Islamic Fashion? - Is the Islamic world exposed to a wide variety of fashion or a narrow? ...

People posses the unique skill, which separates them from other species. It is called verbal communication. It helps people to transmit their thought from one person to another as well as to share their experience, to teach and to learn. The science would have never been on such a level without verbal communication. Yet even the largest vocabulary cannot guarantee the full interpersonal understanding. There are many other factors, which influence the communication. They are for example body adornment, influence of touch and so on. The communication starts with understanding of its needs. Abraham Maslow developed a whole hierarchy of ...

Native Americans are the indigenous people of America. They had lived in America for thousands of years before the Europeans began exploring the continent in the 15th century. The Native Americans are made up of numerous distinct American tribes and ethnic groups. They are categorized as the American Indians or Indians, the native Hawaiians, and the Alaskan Natives. Currently, the Navajo tribe is the largest Native American tribe of the North American Indians. The first part of this paper discusses the Navajo tribe. It provides a brief history of the tribe, highlights where they originated from, and reveals where they ...

Summary

This paper discusses the impact of globalization and fashion media in the clothing of Saudi Arabian men and women. Saudi Arabia's apparel industry has enjoyed a massive growth due to the changing fashion orientation of the people and the infiltration of Western influence on the fashion designs and styles. These designs and styles, however, are adjusted to conform to the teachings of Islam. A comparison is then made between the traditional and modern styles of Saudi Arabian clothing and it is evident that only the clothing styles are changed while their purpose and meaning remain the same. They remain ...