Primitive Weapon #2 by Southern California artist Jim Olarte is a unique one-of-a-kind work of macrame. For Olarte's series "Primitive Weaponry" the artist intricately knotted black nylon or cotton rope along with with beach rocks that had pre-existing holes pounded into them by the sea to create something a neanderthal might use in battle or for hunting down dinner.
Mixed media, 2014
80" x 6"
A self-described “beach person,” Olarte is drawn irresistibly to tide pools; he recognizes in every one a perfectly contained world constructed by the vagaries of water and rock. Inspired by this microcosmic significance, he frequently incorporates into his artwork the detritus he has lovingly collected on beaches over the course of years. Detritus has become the central concept upon which several of his series are based. In his hands these sea-salvaged objects become the aquatic artifacts that characterize his hanging sculptures. Each piece, whether a delicate shard of seashell or a fragment of beach & rock-tumbled fiberglass from a shipwrecked boat, is treated with respect, as coequal elements of an infinity of integrated life cycles.