I mentioned earlier that I attended a two day conference last weekend in LA, devoted to Mesoamerican art and culture. Many prominent scholars were at hand, some personal heroes, I was enthralled.
One of the topics that many of the scholars returned to time and again was the issue of culture clash. Dr. Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, Professor of Art History, California State University, Los Angeles, summed up this clash as Culture A crashing into Culture B creating Culture C, a distinct and legitimate aesthetic.
This is a very appealing notion as the colonial period has for some time been dismissed as inferior to the indigenous creative efforts and I assume to its Spanish roots. I have never felt this prejudice personally, Indian Christian art (Dr. Aguilar-Moreo’s phrase) always seemed terribly vital to me and brought me great pleasure.
This quick little relief print, dashed off this afternoon is an attempt to capture that clash, the Christian God bringing the Maize God to his knees. It is the first state, done awkwardly with my trusted wooden spoon, I will clean it up a bit and make a proper series of prints when I return to class on Tuesday. But in the spirit of keeping up momentum I decided to post it.
Perversion Therapy
relief print on paper
That’s it for tonight, until next time, take care,
LG
Boondocks Babylon 