Stripes between the Sacred and the Profane

Ljiljana Stošić

doi:10.13189/sa.2017.051208

Abstract

During the Renaissance, in the West, stripes gradually ceased to be used as a sign of the evil, sinful and negative. It was probably under the influence of the Crusades and vast epidemics of plague that striped patterns covering entire fabrics or only their borders to be perceived as an expression of constant movement and life, bearing previously unimaginable connotations of such concepts as ceremony, exoticism and freedom. What remains and persists to this day are the visual accent and the perceptual priority of striped patterns. The relationship between stripes and proscriptions and punishment, especially temporary exclusion from social life, is not coincidental. As kind of barrier, passage or protection from evil powers and diabolical creatures, stripes were early visualized as a warning, they became a kind of protection cages, and they have remained this, in the true sense of the word, to this day. Stripes always bring system and order into world of chaos, indicating the belonging to a particular zone, level or sphere and offering an opportunity for a hierarchical classification.

Highlights

In most Western European languages, the verb strip has a double meaning; along with its basic meaning, this word implies deletion, removal and elimination, in terms of expulsion or exclusion from a list
Acting as a kind of barrier, passage, gate, filter or defence against evil powers and diabolical creatures who never leave people alone, stripes were rather early visualized as a warning and they became sort of protective cages, which they truly remain even today
The sleeveless cocktail dress Homage to Mondrian, launched in 1965 as a great fashion hit by Yves Saint Laurent, was perceived as "the art that walks": the black stripes on it delimited fields and the basic colors – red, yellow and blue – were used as the means for liberating the spirit to embrace infinite possibilities [14]

Summary

Introduction

In most Western European languages, the verb strip has a double meaning; along with its basic meaning, this word implies deletion, removal and elimination, in terms of expulsion or exclusion from a list. Judging by these early examples, as well as by some other instances (Hosios David, Dečani), Oriental striped fabrics had found their place in the art of the Christian East as a distinguishing mark of holy characters considerably earlier than in Western European painting, without being assigned negative secular meanings.

Results

Conclusion