Shawl (Perraje) 1930 - 1935

This ‘Shawl (Perraje)’ was woven by Maya artists, and it lives at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It's a lively piece of weaving, full of horizontal energy. Can you imagine the hand movements involved in its creation, the shuttling back and forth, the rhythmic dance of fingers interlacing threads? I’m thinking about the person who made this. It's a kind of notation, the record of an individual’s creative journey, repeated and varied. The way the colors pop—greens, blues, and purples—makes me think they're playing with the structure of the weaving itself. It's like they're seeing how far they can push a simple idea. The parallel lines and geometric motifs remind me of the Minimalist painter Agnes Martin. They are both using repetition and simple forms to create a kind of meditative space. This shawl is a reminder that artists are always in conversation with one another, across cultures and time.