2/16/2012

Omagiu Culturii Cucuteni / Small tribute to Cucuteni Culture

A fost o vreme cand mi-am dorit sa studiez folclorul romanesc si tot ce tine de traditiile noastre populare. Cand a venit insa vremea sa-mi aleg drumul mai departe, am decis altceva. Imi pare rau? Nu stiu… Dar din cand in cand, nostalgia unui “ceva” ce, poate, ar fi fost mai pe masura sufletului meu, revine precum chemarea mierlei in prag de primavara. 

Imi plac tesaturile si broderiile romanesti, in spatele carora intuiesc munca si dragostea de frumos a mii de perechi de maini, miscandu-se odata cu timpul si viata insasi. Ma fascineaza traditiile, versurile si cantecele ce-au insotit Taranul Roman in trecerea sa peste aceste pamanturi mult-incercate. Admir ingeniozitatea cu care si-a creat unelte menite a-i usura activitatea de zi cu zi, la fel podoabele si obiectele ritualice. Ador ceramica traditionala in care mesteri priceputi si-au inchis talentul si secretul povestilor pictate manual, in rotirea tainica a rotii de olar. 
Si mai mult insa, ma fascineaza cultura neolitica de pe teritoriul Romaniei, in fapt cea mai veche civilizatie din Europa: Cultura Cucuteni.
Cultura Cucuteni poarta numele localitatii in care, in anul 1884, s-au descoperit primele vestigii. Mai veche cu cateva sute de ani decat civilizatiile sumeriana si egipteana, Cultura Cucuteni se intindea pe o suprafata de 350.000 km², pe teritoriul actual al Romaniei, Republicii Moldova si Ucraina, caracterizandu-se printr-o ceramica de foarte buna calitate, bogat si variat pictata, cu motive in forma de spirala, meandre sau cercuri, culorile predilecte aplicate inainte de ardere fiind albul, rosul si negrul-ciocolatiu.

Ceramica de Cucuteni este unica in Europa, singurele asemanari gasite pana in prezent fiind intre ceramica Cucuteni si o ceramica neolitica din China, cea din China insa aparand cu aproape un mileniu mai tarziu.

Cu opera extraordinara a acestor Mari Anonimi in minte, am incercat sa-mi confectionez propriile cusaturi de tip Cucuteni. Am cumparat in, am cusut, am desenat si brodat si… iata rezultatul: 


***

Some time ago, I wanted to study Romanian folklore as well as everything related to our folk traditions. But when the time to choose a way for my future came, I decided for something else. Am I sorry? I don’t know…  But from time to time, the nostalgia of “something” which might have been closer to my soul comes back to me, like a blackbird’s call at the first signs of springtime.

I like Romanian old homespun and embroideries, in which I can only scent the hard work and love for beauty of thousands of pairs of hands, moving together with time and life itself. I’m fascinated by old traditions, poetry and songs that accompanied the Romanian Peasant during his passing over these hard-debated lands. I admire his resourcefulness in creating tools meant to facilitate the daily chorus, or jewellery and ceremonial objects. I adore traditional pottery in which exceptional artisans locked their talent and the secret of their hand-painted stories, in the magical swirls of the potter’s wheel.
And more than that, I’m fascinated by the Neolithic culture that once was on the territory of modern-day Romania, in fact the oldest civilisation of Europe: Cucuteni Culture.  

The Cucuteni Culture bears the name of the place in which the first archaeological remnants had been found, in 1884. With a few hundred years older than the Sumerian and Egyptian civilisations, the Cucuteni Culture encompassed an area of more than 350.000 km², from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester and Dnieper regions in modern-day Romania, the Republic of Moldavia and Ukraine and it’s renowned for its great quality pottery, richly and variously painted with motifs like swirls, windings and circles in white, red or chocolate-black, the main colours applied before burning.

The Cucuteni Pottery is unique in Europe, the only resemblance found so far between the Cucuteni pottery and other Neolithic pottery being in China. However, the Chinese one only sprung almost a millennium later. 

With the extraordinary creation of this Great Anonymous in my mind, I have tried to do my own Cucuteni-like homespun. So I bought linen, I sewed, I drew a pattern and embroidered it and... here's the result:









13 comentarii:

  1. Roxana, when love is inside things we do, the result is a precious work of art!
    Your work reveals what your heart feels!
    Congratulations for the excelent result!!
    Love from Brazil!

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  2. Multumesc! Orice altceva e greu de spus. Astept cu nerabdare fiecare postare.

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  3. Vera Luiza Vaz, I believe the same thing: absolutely everything we do in this life becomes a unique work of art, as long as we find happiness in doing it and also as long as we put in it "a little bit of us"...

    Thank you very much for your beautiful words and I wish you a great week-end!
    My warmest wishes and best thoughts,
    Roxana

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  4. Szusszanas,

    Si eu iti multumesc! Nici nu este nevoie de cuvinte, atunci cand impartasim aceeasi bucurie.
    Te imbratisez cu drag.

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  5. Oh, doamne, si cand ma gandesc cat am cantarit daca sa le postez sau nu! Deloc n-am fost multumita de cum au iesit fotografiile... chiar nu ma asteptam sa primesc asa feedback-uri frumoase.

    Iti multumesc pentru incurajari si aprecieri, Irina, ma bucur mult ca ti-au placut!

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  6. Nu e vorba numai despre fotografii. Dar, ca orice roman, sunt interesata de cultura noastra si ii admir pe cei care o duc mai departe.

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  7. Aha, am inteles acum!
    In privinta asta (desi contributia mea nu este una foarte semnificativa), mi-am propus sa aduc in discutie cultura noastra tot mai des de acum inainte.
    Asadar sper sa te surprind si pe viitor cu lucruri interesate. :)

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  8. The pair of cushions are perfectly lovely! You’re an artist by nature, roxana, to have designed such simply beautiful patterns on your own. I wonder what each pattern symbolizes and I guess each is related to the nature. Traditional Romanian folk art is intriguing. Thank you for the link.

    Yoko

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  9. Cat de frumos totul: arta si poezia ta:). Te imbratisez cu mult drag si astept cu nerabdare alte postari la fel de frumoase si interesante!

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  10. Dear Yoko,
    Thank you for your appreciation and encouragement!
    Yes, the Neolithic art is intriguing and fascinating at the same time, especially if we consider its artisans had lived thousands of years ago! My impression is that when we think about those people most of us are inclined to say that they were primitive. Which is far from the truth! They lived according to natures laws and they were a part of the nature herself. They were good observers and they had impressive knowledge about the Universe they lived in. We can easily see that on the artifacts they left behind.

    Your guessing was right - the symbols relate to nature, and I will try to explain in short what these ancient patterns mean.
    The spiral or the whirlpool represents the unleashed energy, a symbol of the cosmic equilibrium. Everything comes into the world from it and goes in it after death.
    The "V" or the angle represents the action towards something or someone and a zig-zag pattern (a chain of V-s united by a single curved line) suggests the combining of multiple actions in achieving a project like the combined human effort to appease the rage of the storm through a conjoint prayer.
    One of the most common geometric figures, the triangle, speaks about the unity of Heaven, Earth and Man.
    And the rhomb (diamond) with equal sides and equal opposites angles, oriented on a vertical axes, is a symbol of flowing, of ceaseless evolution and transformation. Our ancestors used to call it "the articulation of the world".

    There is a wonderful blog where I found lots of explanations about these ancient symbols, but unfortunately it's only in Romanian (http://ramaniamyblog.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/dictionar-de-aa/). I will ask if I can pick up some of the information there, translate and post them on my blog.

    Best of wishes and have happy days ahead!

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  11. Draga Denisa,
    Multumesc mult pentru cuvintele frumoase! Tare ma bucura prezenta ta aici si faptul ca am reusit sa scriu si sa cos ceva care sa-ti faca placere. Cu siguranta voi reveni si cu alte postari de acest gen!

    Te imbratisez cu drag la randul meu si iti doresc zile cat mai frumoase si insorite!

    RăspundețiȘtergere
  12. Dear Roxana,

    Thank you for the explanation about the symbols. I believe ancient people had clear understanding of how the Earth or the Universe works. The handicrafts with the patterns and stiches handed down from generation to generation are so precious and show the pride of the ethnicity.

    Thank you for the kind words on my latest post. Your thoughtful, insightful, and sometimes thought-provoking opinions resonate in my mind and make me stop and think. I’m happy to be able to exchange ideas and thoughts with you. -15 degrees C is outrageously cold! Keep you warm and take care of yourself.

    Yoko

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