Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 21, 2008|Volume 36, Number 22

This Aztec beaker or vase was created between 1325 and 1521 A.D. The human skull motif demonstrates the central role of ritual sacrifice and death to Aztec culture and cosmology.

Exhibition explores ‘mosaic’
of Mexico’s artistic traditions

From the ancient worlds of the Mayans and Aztecs to the 20th-century works of Miguel Covarrubias and Diego Rivera, the diverse artistic traditions of Mexico will be highlighted in a new traveling exhibition opening on Saturday, March 22, at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Titled “Las Artes de México,” the exhibit examines over 3,500 years of art and culture and of tradition and change across the broad spectrum of Mexican life. Developed by the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the exhibit will continue through July 19. The on-site curator is Marcello Canuto, assistant professor of anthropology and director of undergraduate studies in Latin American and Iberian studies at Yale.

In addition to the objects already featured in the traveling exhibition, “Las Artes de México” includes a selection of material from the Peabody’s own collections — most notably, an Aztec calendar stone.

While the nation of Mexico was formally established in 1821, Mexican culture today is rooted in a mosaic of traditions founded deep in antiquity. The art of the ancient Mexican world was often centered on ritual and performance. “Las Artes de Mexico” explores these traditions

with artifacts from over a dozen pre-Columbian cultures. Sculptures from the Olmec, Mayan, Vera Cruz and Toltec traditions reveal a world of ceremony and celebration, of ritual warfare and the veneration of the dead. The unique world view of the Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima peoples are captured in their ceramic effigies.

The radical changes to the culture and religion of the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica wrought by the founding of New Spain in the 1500s are explored in the exhibit through colonial-period retablos and bultos, the folk portraits and carvings of patron saints, which show the merging of Spanish culture, Catholic iconography and native art.

While Spanish influences greatly impacted Mexican art and belief, many traditional practices continued through the colonial period as important forms of expression. “Las Artes de Mexico” explores the tradition of Mexican weaving and the role of the loom with a display of Zapotec blankets that employ centuries-old techniques and iconography.

The exhibition includes colorful costumes and glittering fabrics that have long been a mainstay of folk celebration, as well as a collection of colorful dance masks from the folk artists of Guerrero. While these masks were often used in important feast days and religious celebrations, they could also be a form of political satire to protest the sometimes violent relationship between Europeans and indigenous Mexican peoples.

The social commentary that became a hallmark of Mexican art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is explored in paintings and works on paper created during the development of the modern Mexican state. The exhibition includes a number of works by influential 20th-century Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. Also on view are creations by the founders of the Taller de Grafica Popular (People’s Print Workshop), Leopoldo Mendez, Raul Anguiano and Alfredo Zalce. The exhibition includes the work of Carlos Merida whose “Estampas del Popol Vuh” employs images from ancient myth and Mexican history. The melding of Christian and pre-Hispanic subject matter is illustrated in Jose Chavez Morado’s “Annunciation of the Nahuatal,” while Miguel Covarrubias’ “Tehuana” evokes themes focusing on a common humanity.

Special events

To mark the opening of “Las Artes de México,” the Peabody Museum will host a program of special events on March 22. The day will include a new Roxi Fox puppet show by Betty Baisden at 11 a.m.; a Mariachi performance by Fiesta del Norte at 12:30 p.m.; and traditional Mexican craft activities for children 10 a.m.-2 p.m. These events are free with museum admission.

Curator Canuto will discuss his discovery of a long-lost Mayan city in Guatemala in a talk titled “From Site Q to Sak Nikte: Chronicle of a 40-Year Classic Maya Mystery,” which will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 3. This talk is free and open to the public.

The Peabody Museum will also be hosting special docent-led tours for K-12 students, as well as a teacher professional development workshop.

The Peabody Museum of Natural History, located at 170 Whitney Ave., is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Easter Sunday, July 4, Thanksgiving, Dec 24, 25 and 31, and Jan. 1. Admission is $7 for adults; $6 for seniors age 65 and older; $5 for children ages 3-18 and older students with I.D. There is free admission for all 2-5 p.m. on Thursdays. Museum members, Yale community members with a valid I.D. and children under age 3 are always admitted for free. The museum is wheelchair accessible. Parking is available in the Peabody Visitor Parking Lot, entrance off Whitney Avenue, one block north of the museum. For directions, news about events, or other information call (203) 432-5050 or visit the website at www.peabody.yale.edu.

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