Necklace 1900 - 1920

This necklace was made by a Navajo artist, location unknown, from an unknown date and with unknown materials. Isn’t it funny how each of these little silver shapes is similar, but not exactly the same? That’s what grabs me. It’s like a song that changes slightly each time it’s sung. The surface is pretty smooth, but not too shiny, and feels like it’s aged with grace. My eye keeps going to those little fringe details along the bottom. Each one of those dangles has been carefully placed, right? I love that balance between order and just letting it be. It kind of reminds me of Ruth Asawa’s wire sculptures, each piece building on another in a repetitive, but never identical way. When I look at art, I think about this give-and-take between the artist’s hand and what the material wants to do. In the end, art is really a conversation.