The Dazzled Eye: Navajo Textiles

“Gaudy”, “Barbaric”, “An aesthetic debauch”.  These were the opinions of many Western critics who, during the Victorian age, found Navajo Eyedazzler weavings jarring and ill-fitted to their décor. Not until the Op Art movement during the 1960's did collectors and artists alike go wild for these weavings that produced similar tricks on the eye as Opt Art did but were created far earlier. 

Featuring selections from world-renowned collectors Steve and Gail Getzwiller, The Dazzled Eye contrasts these works of woven art with American Op Art by exploring the popularity and history of Navajo Eyedazzlers and optical weavings. This exhibition will also show how these works by Navajo weavers epitomize Navajo aesthetics and a mindfulness of movement.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website