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Mexican Art History Lecture Series 

10 Lectures by

 

10-12 PM Tuesdays  Virtual 

 

Important Spring 2024 Session Dates: March 25th to June 8th (10 Weeks Total)

March 13th (Wednesday) - Registration Begins

March 25th (Monday) - Spring Session Begins

April 8th -13th - Spring Break (no classes)

May 27th (Monday) -  Memorial Day Holiday (no classes)

Schedule: 

  • 10 AM Meet on Zoom 

  • 10:10-11:00 Lecture with Images and Video

  • 15 minute break

  • 11-12PM Group Discussion (Optional)  and question and answer based on provided prompts and suggested readings.

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An introduction to Mexican art History and Art History in General

This class is for you if any of the following questions  are exciting!

  • Where and what is Mesoamerica?

  • What does art look like in Mexico City today?

  • What were the fist major cities of the America's like?

  • How can art help us understand cultures of the past?

  • Who were the Olmecs, the Teotihuacáns, the Zapotecs and the Aztecs (Mexicas)?

  • How do we talk about art or objects rom 1600 BC?

  • What story does the archeological record tell the world?
    What are the 6 original cradles of civilization in

  • Who built the pyramids in Mexico?

  • What are the origins of the ball game?

  • How do we talk about the meaning of sculptures and murals? 

  • What were the fist major cities of the America's like?

  • How do  the murals of the 20th century relate to nation building and identity for Mexico?

  • How can art help us understand cultures of the past?

  • What are some modern art historical methods?

  • How does our historical perspective determine our critical assessments of history and the past?

Course Description: Relaxed art appreciation course covering Mexican art history from Pre-Columbian to contemporary times. Topics include the Olmecs, Teotihuacan, Post-Revolution Muralists, and Contemporary Artists in Mexico City

Lectures will be recorded for students to watch independently when they cannot attend the class. Group discussion is optional. If you can only make the lecture that is fine! 

Optional Texts for independent reading (I will suggest excerpts pertaining to talks):

     The Broken Spears. The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Edited and with an Introduction by MIGUEL LEON-PORTILLA

      1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Charles C. Mann

Mexico From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. Michael D. Coe

Lecture Videos: The videos below contain content related to the current course but the in-person course at Pacific Grove Adult School contains variations thereof.

Lecture 1 + 2 (Divided into 5 video sections): Olmec art works from 1600BC to 300BC.

A cursory survey underpinned by 

the notion of artistic modalities available for the representation of leadership figures within historical moments of state formation.

Art historical concepts including, metamorphosis, description, illusion, relief sculpture and the representational or theatrical plane.

Lecture 3 +4 : Teotihuacan

A cursory survey underpinned by 

the notion of self-arranging state formation and abstraction bound by practices such as mold-making and interchangeable parts.

Art historical concepts including painting, abstraction and community sculpture.

Lecture 1 + 2 (Divided into 5 video sections): Olmec art works from 1600BC to 300BC.

A cursory survey underpinned by 

the notion of artistic modalities available for the representation of leadership figures within historical moments of state formation.

Art historical concepts including, metamorphosis, description, illusion, relief sculpture and the representational or theatrical plane.

Olmec Lecture 1 and 2

Lecture 3: Teotihuacan

A cursory survey underpinned by 

the notion of self-arranging state formation and abstraction bound by practices such as mold-making and interchangeable parts.

Art historical concepts including painting, abstraction and community sculpture.

Teotihuacan Lecture3

Class Links for media from discussions.

 

Class 1 and 2:

 

Olmec:

 

Here is a 3d rendering

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/672/olmec-colossal-stone-heads/

Working with Jadeite Video min 0:54

https://youtu.be/d1oO1kbtt4s

Tourist video of La Venta heads at museum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js149dCqbjQ

 

Movie of transport of heads to American Museums. 20:41 dragging head out. 5:24 helicopter view

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZD15dVL6GY

 

Indonesian rock workers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkGdwjHgXGc&list=PLXBxk_BCZ5sFi0SgV0LLboiw9sD14nIL5&index=26

What is ignacious rock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCnAF1Opt8M&t=21s

 

Video of difference between basalt and granite.

https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvmn-sci-granitebasalt/wgbh-nova-making-north-america-granite-vs-basalt-formation/

 

Viscosity (for Basalt) video

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscosity

 

Minute 25: rubber ball artifact:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTuab0SNuPA&list=PLXBxk_BCZ5sFi0SgV0LLboiw9sD14nIL5&index=4

Votive Axes

https://youtu.be/qfz1k_yU3d4

Masks

https://youtu.be/D9uJxXnDTU8

Muybridge movie of running horse

https://youtu.be/heRuLp7CyTM

Links

Notes from  Lecture 1 Spring 2023

1st Lecture –

Spring 2023

 

General Introduction

We looked at introductory  images of Olmec, Teotihuacan and Diego Rivera art work. 

We looked at the geography of the Tehuantapec Isthmus and the ecology of the cradles of civilization briefly mentioning circumscription theory.

We looked at the plateau of  San Lorenzo and  discussed the amazing female archeologists that have uncovered the history of Mesoamerica. such as Cyphers.

We started to talk about the unique character of the  skin, face and heads. Students pointed out the surprising realism and we discussed the idea of a ruler with tired eyes. . We  showed  a movie  from  60's of moving

 one of the heads. from Veracruz to Texas

We talked about the city of Teotihuacan and the middle class apartments that had mural paintings. 

Questions  from students included:

How many man hours to make a head?

IIs it like in Egypt where the sculptures were planned far in advance?

Where in India was Indian cradle of civilization?

What is iconography of the Diego tree scene The characters in the background?

Are the hollow baby sculptures actually hollow? How  were they made?

Have you seen the murals of  Bonampak - the Mayan site in Chiapas?

Are they art for arts sake?

Or are they for memory and remembrance?

Is this the original color?

Are they flat on the back?

What year were they moved?

Who were these paintings for?

What is the difference between a symbolic/ abstract representation and a 'perceptual' rendering of a face?

Notes from  Lecture 2 Spring 2023

We briefly went over unique verse general in terms of a representation of a face and zooming out verse in on an art object

We discussed the idea of the snap shot and the theatrical stage of an art work and the ways in which the Olmec work represents frozen moments. 

Looked at the buried floor art - who is an artwork made for? Examples such as tomb paintings were brought up. 

We looked at a video of contemporary Basalt rock mining in Indonesia and talked about the movement of the material.

We looked at a video of the first rubber ball in Mesoamerica.

We talked about the 2000 cores that Cyphers project produced to understand the Olmec culture.

Questions from class included:

Was there any writing?

Does writing remain

Are there Olmec glyphs?

What is the deal with the helmets?

Were the Olmecs African?

How is play such as the wheeled objects significant to the evolution from chiefdoms to state civilization?

What are these wheeled objects you are showing?

What kind of ceramic are the black animal works?

Lectur 1 Spring 2023
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