The Invisible Rendered Visible: The Art of Seeing Through the Shaman's Eye

Abstract

Prevailing Western world view continues to interpret traditional Native North American shamanic art as simple, static artifacts disembodied from their natural cultural context and steeped in the concepts or permanence and display. This paper submits that a more accurate and delimiting view may reflect that the shamanic complex produced living and ephemeral art forms formulated as visible embodiments or individual spiritual experience. Traditional shamanistic art dynamically articulated and codified the underpinnings of the shaman's world view. Visual metaphors and symbolism within the design structure acted as metaphysical templates and cognitive maps to encode, embody and express the complex dimensions and interrelationships which ordered and defined the shaman's role as a religious specialist within the natural and supernatural worlds.