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El amanecer de las formas

Let us try to see works of pre-Hispanic art not only as an expression of a different vision of the universe, or as anthropological evidence of distant societies—let us focus instead on grasping the true value of their forms. There is an aesthetic imagination at work in deg ceramics, in inventing methods of abstraction to represent the body. Since remote times, the artists of ancient Mexico explored the depiction of the human figure—they examined movements and postures, as well as the anthropomorphous qualities of other animals.

Revealing movement, suggesting rest, lending bodies an impression of authenticity, making skin or flesh look real were quests that accompanied the very emergence of art forms in Mesoamerica. Even the depiction of facial expressions, or the individuality of character that a portrait demands, were already present in the far-off origins of indigenous art.

We can thus continue to be surprised by original art that has a very distinct personality from that of other civilizations. Inevitably, though, by grasping the value of its forms and realizing its expressive capacities, we also become convinced of its universality. We recognize what every story has in common: man, woman, vessel, king, color, smile, grimace, death. Behind the pitcher, we see the hand that clutches the handle; we perceive what everyone does, what is perfectly ordinary.

In the dawn of forms we also find the dawn of humanity.  

Pablo Escalante Gonzalbo l Curator