Blog Post 2

Lucy Lippard describes “landing” as “a matter that is not always a matter of geographical turf, nor of coming to rest; it can be equally a process of change, of being sent away or of “taking off” n a quest for home that may never be satisfied” (105).The examples of Native Americans going back and forth from reservations and living in cities brings up the point of what really is “home” and landing there. They are strained to reinvent themselves because such a significant history is in between their past and what they have lost. Lippard has an interesting take on religion and land. “The relationship between religion and land is often forgotten in modern belief systems. Yet even those religions that have been carried across oceans and around the world bear the imprint of their original places” (108). I see this depicted in Islam quite often when it comes to dress and where in the worlds you choose to live. For the Native Americans their religion is their land, unlike Muslims and Christians their holy sites do not just consist of one place, but the Earth and all that’s in it is very sacred to them. The portrayal of land figuratively and literally in Native American art shows just what a deep meaning it truly has. Lippard opened my eyes to the fact that land does not only belong to people but people belong to a land. And “landing” does not necessarily have to be on your land but rather is a state of mind. I found a connection with the indigenous people’s relationship to their land and the religions like Christianity and Islam with their Prophets. The teachings and sayings of Jesus Christ or Muhammad (pbuh) are passed down, granted it was an oral culture. With the indigenous people their land is their culture and becomes a tradition and is incorporated into their everyday life which in many ways can be interpreted as teachings and beautiful elements of their religion shown in art