Head shawl c. early 20th century

This Head Shawl was made at an unknown time, by an anonymous artist. There’s something so satisfying about the deep black of the main field against the geometric gold patterns that surround it! I imagine the artist carefully planning the composition, deciding where each stitch should go, how the repeated patterns will come together to form a whole. It’s interesting how even without knowing the maker, we can still feel a connection to the person who put so much care and attention into this object. There’s a sense of rhythm and movement in the patterns that reminds me of the repetitive gestures in painting, like the way Agnes Martin would draw lines across a canvas, each one a meditation, each one adding to the whole. In the end, art, whether it's painting or textiles, is really about human connection and the ways we communicate with one another across time and space.