Category: Xibalba

In Nomine Patris: Reclaiming the Old Gods

This triptych is part of my ongoing exploration of the clash between two  cultures, that of the Mesoamerican indigenous people and the conquering Spaniard Roman Catholics.  Time and again I am struck by the similarities between the two seemingly incompatible peoples. Their religious traditions revolving around sin, the fall of Man, redemption through blood sacrifice and resurrection bringing forth new life.

I wanted to explore these similarities, and differences through archetypal devices namely triptych construction, ecclesiastic, architectonic form, prayer cards and votive candles.  Working with traditions brought to (forced upon) native cultures I wanted to examine the notion of the old gods claiming the forms for themselves.  As if the priests of Tenochtitlan had not been slaughtered by the Spaniards but had in fact survived and adapted  Western  cultural norms for their own use. The following print In Nomine Patris might have been such a result of that cultural synthesis.

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On  the left,  one of the Hero Twins, Hunahpu; on the right his brother Xbalanque;  in the center their father, the sacrificed Maize God, Hun Hunahpu.

Through his sacrifice, his redemption by the Hero Twins and his resurrection, maize is brought to Man.

 In Nomine Patris

18 by 27 inches

relief print on paper

My printmaking class is winding down, I’ve made a  drawerful of plates, many prints; even a few I  like.   I had hoped to close the semester with a more elaborate version of this triptych. Ultimately this print will be colored using the pochoir technique and enhanced by applied additions. But for now, as the semester ends, it will be chastely  black and white. 

Th following print, The Gates of Xibalba can stand on its own, but it is also designed to interact with the triptych as actual sacristy gates.

IMG_3878The Gates of Xibalba

relief print on paper

According to tradition the lords of the Underworld are devious, randy and stupid; I tried to capture that spirit.

The following is an artist’s proof of the assemblage of the triptych and the gates. I will need to figure logistics, shall it be flat, shall it be cut out like a toy theatre, it should certainly be colored. All must wait until I have access to a press next semester.

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The alignment of the sacristy doors to the sacrificed  Maize God was serendipitous; or the plan of the old gods.

In addition to the triptych I planned prayer cards, familiar to Roman Catholics world wide. My first is of the Maize God, Hun Hunahpu, sadly I misspelled his tongue-twisting name. As he is the god of maize, life and fecundity, once again an erect ear of corn seemed naughtily appropriate.

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Blesses Hun Hunuhpu (sic)

relief print on paper

Going from prayer card to votive candle seemed a natural evolution. Here in southern California votive candles emblazoned with Roman Catholic saints are ubiquitous , found not only in bodegas but in mainstream grocery stores, even Target. I thought it was time for the Maize God to have his  own moment to shine. More gods/goddesses to come.

IMG_3889I haven’t much business sense but I imagine this would sell.

Speaking of which I sold (fingers crossed)my first piece of work, a print, since “retiring”  from decorative painting.  I would still make work whether it sold or not, but having a buyer is confirmation indeed, I’m pleased and grateful.

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The votive candle in place amidst his Catholic friends.

With that good news I close, take care and be well,

LG

Strange Fruit,II

Just a short post, this is the revised print that I posted on Easter, link, this time with the second color.  I’m hooked, if reduction relief did not  work for me, individual color plates do. A certain obsessive compulsive inclination is satisfied by working each plate meticulously so that the image aligns. This is by no means a perfect print, the alignment is most noticeably askew when looking at the Princess’ upward reaching hand. But now I have a better grasp on the process and feel confident enough to work with more color, quite a relief -lame printmaking pun intended.

strange fruit

Strange Fruit, II

relief print on paper

I am attending a Mesoamerican conference this week in LA, I’m very excited, two days of Meso fun. Starting off with a workshop deciphering  Mayan glyphs, I haven’t great expectations, but if I can recognize just a few glyphs I will be pleased.  The spouse has arranged a vacation in Mexico City for the Day of the Day festival ; I’m eager to check out the museums and the ruins, planning a trip to Teotihuacan as well.

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Until next time, take care,

LG

“M” is for Mictlantecuhtli and his lovely bride Mictecacihuatl

On to “M”,  I could have chosen Maize, the Maya or Monkeys; but instead  I chose some serious tongue twisting demons. That shouldn’t really be a surprise. I hope against hope that I managed to spell their names correctly on the Primer; would be rather awful otherwise.Given my dyslexia and increasingly failing eye sight I have my fears. 

“M” is for Mictlantecuhtl and Mictecacihuatl

Mictlantecuhtl is Lord of Mictlan, the seventh tier of the Underworld, a realm he shares with his bride Mictecacihuatl. He is usually depicted as a skeletal bundle, all bleached bone and red spots. As is true with all Lords of Xibalba, Mictlantecutl is a trickster but famously stupid and easily duped. I hoped to depict the arrogance and foolishness buffoons often possess, hence the priapic serpent between his legs. His bride’s disgust makes me smile.

Detail of a Randy Fool

The following is the image that inspired my little randy fool.

source

The double headed serpent motif may be familiar to visitors to the British Museum, it is one of my favorite objects.

For more information concerning the mosaic I suggest this link from the British Museum A History of the World in which they discuss 100 objects that altered the course of history; a wonderful program.

Well that is it for now.

Working on a large painting for which my weary eyes are pleased.

I begin a printmaking course on Tuesday, very excited indeed.

Until next time,

take care,

LG

Fateful Encounter at the Axis Mundi at last…

Back in March with a batch of “paper dolls” (my mother-in-law’s description of my maquettes) in front of me,I created a composition that I thought might be suitable for a painting. The painting ,to be part of a cycle devoted to the Mayan creation myth, the Popol vuh. Working from the above mentioned composition I  set about creating some sketches; discovering I enjoyed certain elements of each, I came up with what is now (for now) a final composition .

The scene depicts the moment in the Underworld Xibalba when the freshly sacrificed Maize God, Hun Hunahpu is placed upon a calabash tree (some interpretations mention the tree as the World Tree-the Axis Mundi). The orthodox depiction of the scene is one in which only his head is placed amongst the branches; as I have a difficult time resisting the full form, I took some liberties. Mayan scholars take heed.

With our hero dangling like strange fruit, the Xibalba princess Xquic searches out this forbidden treasure (sounds familiar?). The Maize God upon encountering the Princess spits into her hand (subtle romantic move on his part) and from this spittle the Hero Twins are miraculously conceived , one more virgin birth in the canon of world mythologies. It is this scene I depict, one where the infant Hero Twins float between their parents; soon the Princess will depart the gloom of the Underworld for the sunshine of the living earth. A new adventure will begin for all of the characters.

Fateful Encounter at the Axis Mundi
2012
oil on canvas
20″by30″

 The following is a detail of the Maize God,

detail of Maize God

This is of the Hero Twins, my inspiration was the many early Renaissance depictions of the Annunciation in which the Christ Child is depicted as this wee little babe floating within a nimbus of light.

detail of the infant Hero Twins

And at last, the Princess ( with her demonic cousin Ralph).

detail of the Princess and cousin Ralph

With that I close, having attempted to depict an epic tale of wrathful demon-gods,  a virtuous savior, a virgin birth and heroic infants on a rather limited 20 by 30 inch canvas.

I am now working on a primer, a primer of New Spain. The first letter of course being “A”, will be devoted to the Axis Mundi. So far it looks like it will be handsome.

Until next time,

take care,

LG

Sacrifice and Redemption

I finished this painting last week. Certain elements of the painting are experimental, most specifically the use of canvas cutouts applied to the canvas. Inspired by Clive Hicks-Jenkins’ use of maquettes, I created figures and attached them to the canvas.

It was frankly a naive understanding of how to use Clive’s technique; I have since come to better understand the actual approach. I confess  I would not suggest my version, it was a bit cumbersome, difficult to remedy errors.

But in the end I rather like the finished painting, a little  macabre puppet theatre devoted to the Mayan Underworld.

Sacrifice and Redemption
2012
oil on canvas
40 by 30


  

  

In this admittedly theatric depiction we witness two acts. On the left the Maize God Hun Hunahpu is sacrificied by the treacherous Lords of Xibalba.  The Maize God’s head is placed upon the proscenium, in the Popol vuh  it is placed upon the upper branches the calabash tree.

On the right, the celestial ball payers, the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque redeem their fathers honor. 

The following are details of the Sacrifice and the Redemption. In the sacrifice, the snakes pouring out of the torso are a reference to the Mesoamerican tradition of portraying spilt blood as snakes.That really is a very clever idea, I can imagine streams of blood seeming as frightful as venomous snakes.

detail of the Sacrifice of the Maize God


detail of the Redemption of the Maize God by the Hero Twins.

The following is a detail of the Lords of Xibalba.

For now that is it. I am finishing up another painting from the Popol vuh series, plus one devoted to Perseus and Andromedus, yes a male Andromeda. In what my friend Clive refers to as gay revisionism I am claiming this much loved theme for my gay self.

This painting, Sacrifice and Redemption caused one of my professors concern in that it might offend Chicano machismo sensibilities. She felt I should reconsider the nudity. I cannot, I see almost all of my characters in the buff, through a quasi Classical perspective. I was taken aback by her suggestion, particularly as she holds a Phd in Renaissance art history.  But there you go!

Take care, LG

I realized after making the post the head of the Maize God had become clipped, I confess I may very well be the worst photographer ever. I intend to remedy that by taking a class in the Autumn. Until that time, patience please.

Sacrifice and Redemption