An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Creation Myths
Each culture has its own version of how the universe began. Artist Noah MacMillan brings this “visual vocabulary” to life
- By Leah Binkovitz
- Smithsonian magazine, February 2013
(Noah Macmillan)
The world's creation stories have a colorful cast. Artist Noah MacMillan set out to capture nine such tales, from the Aztecs to the Inuit. "They almost always have the same prompt: How do you explain the sun and the moon?" says MacMillan, who researched traditional art and clothing to imbue his work with each culture's distinct "visual vocabulary." He used a combination of hand drawn and digital color processes, focusing on "how people responded to their direct environment" to tell their story.
The watercolor above is an East African myth: Juok the Creator (shown twice) molding Egyptians from reddish brown clay and Southern Sudanese from the black earth. MacMillan says this image came faster than any of the others, "I literally did the entire thing in an hour and a half, just at home with no prior planning or sketching."
Comments (8)
vyctorynotes.blogspot.com says: I loved this piece. I would love to see another article exploring even more creation myths. The art is wonderful!
Posted by Vyctorya on February 1,2013 | 08:13 PM
Why does the East African god look like a white man crafting darker skinned people? Is he supposed to be white, according to the myth, or is this artistic license? Also, are the creation myths of the Judeo-Christian tradition portrayed in the full article? There are two accounts in Genesis. Overall, the art work is beautiful.
Posted by Ruth on January 26,2013 | 08:34 AM
The rest will be in the issue yes? Loved the five I saw here, will look forward to seeing the others. :)
Posted by Nick Rowley on January 25,2013 | 09:01 AM
So???? What happened to the Judeo-Christian verson if Creation??
Posted by Mary Pristelski on January 25,2013 | 03:44 AM
That was a fun, but all too brief, tour of creation stories; the artwork is beautiful, and the stories are wonderful!
Posted by Christianna on January 24,2013 | 01:08 AM
In the National Geographic series, The Journey of Man, geneticist Spencer Wells traveled to New Mexico. As he talked to some Navajos, he casually asked them about their "creation myth." One man got upset and insisted that it’s not a myth – it’s the truth. How interesting Christianity, Islam, Judiasm and other mainstream religions are considered factual while aboriginal ones are always "creation myths."
Posted by Teresa on January 24,2013 | 12:56 AM
* very artistical - great combination of two themes. modern and ancient - also appears very spiritual - very very good art - a pleasure to see!
Posted by DANIEL JAMES FREBURG on January 24,2013 | 09:16 PM
Fantastic visuals! What imagination and creativity.
Posted by Linda Thomas on January 24,2013 | 11:18 AM