Word: motif
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...Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan to the flashy Brazilian-flag wear of Candela Hip Hop, performers were radiantly attired. The set designed by Illiana C. Quimbaya ’05 featured the flags of Latin America, as well as some palm trees to add to the outdoor night-club motif of the second half of the show...
Viewed today, the choice of motif sometimes looks entirely whimsical: a pumpkin done in black lacquer and silver leaf, or an iron eggplant. Sometimes they are ironically lowly: a rustic straw bag done in gold-and-silver-inlaid iron, or a common rice bowl. Some convey (at least from inside a glass case) a feeling of sacerdotal calm rather than ferocity, like a wonderful 17th century helmet in the form of a courtier's hat, rising like an inverted keel some two feet above the head and decorated in a tortoiseshell pattern of black and honey-colored lacquer. Others seem...
...modern officer might not wish to appear before his men with a pair of enormous formalized rabbit ears stuck to his helmet. One might as well pretend to be a chicken. But not in 17th century Japan, where rabbits symbolized long life and virility and were a favored helmet motif. (Americans see an old man in the moon; Japanese saw the silhouette of a rabbit with mortar and pestle, pounding out the elixir of life.) Likewise, the clam is peaceable to us; but when one sees the magnificent 17th century helmet in this show, with the two halves...
Like The White Stripe’s “Fell In Love With A Girl” video, “Dream” takes its visual motif from the toy bin. Instead of Legos, “Dream” features bubble-headed marionettes and dollhouse-scale tin cars and airplanes...
...tapering to his ankles, look either vintage '80s or just unfashionable--it's hard to tell. His sweatshirt sleeves are pulled up to his elbows to show off the intricate tattoo that covers his right forearm, a mix of Pueblo tribal bands embellished with dots and a central star motif that he designed...