Sunday, May 23, 2004
Arts Sunday
Ancient Maya at the National Gallery of Art, Buddhist sculpture at the Sackler
Took some time on Saturday to head down to the mall and hit up some exhibitions. Spending time on the mall in spring, our peak tourist season, is not for the faint of heart. Bus loads of school kids and families mill about, and of course it's hot an humid. But the trip yesterday was well worth the hassle. Stopped in to the National Gallery of art to visit The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya.
The Maya exhibit was truly eye opening. On display were dozens of Mayan sculpture depicting Mayan royalty in various situations. The detail was astounding and more interesting were the comic book like 'glyphs' describing the images. Mayans, like the Egyptians, had a form of writing based on pictographs which were rendered with fine detail in the rock panels. A mokey holding a jaguar head and some beads, for example, was a numerical indicator. Also amazing was the fact the scholars have deciphered this writing. Apparently the Maya had an extremely accurate calendar as a result. One of the most interesting artifacts on display was a rock medallion about two feet in diameter from the center court of a Mayan sports arena. It depicted a player in full uniform hitting a ball with his hip. The Maya were, apparently, very into this ball game as evidence indicates that nearly every village had a ball court.
What's interesting about the stone carvings is their similarities to other cultures. (Elephant has visited the lost city of Angkor in Cambodia and is very interested in stone temples and such) Clearly the medium itself results in some of the similarities in structural shape and carving techniques, but more interesting was the Mayan culture peaked around the same time as ancient Khmer Civilization and its great stone cities, centered at Angkor Thom. Meanwhile in Europe, the coliseum was already about 400 years old and the Roman Empire was in tatters. Anyway, the exhibit will be touring the U.S. (next stop is LA) so if it is your town, it is truly worth a visit to your local museum to see.
The Lost Buddhas of China
Meanwhile across the mall at the highly underrated Sackler Gallery was an exhibit of ancient Buddha statues from China. Ironically the Buddha statues are from the same period (roughly 500 A.D) as the Mayan sculpture. Displayed on pedestals in black rooms with subtle lighting, the statues seems to hover in space. The roughly 40 or so statues depict various visions of the Buddha and were discovered in 1996 when local authorities were clearing a field to build a sports arena. The calm, enlightened gaze of the various statues were very relaxing. What I noted in both exhibits was how the artists portrayed images of deities in their work. Oddly enough in both Maya and the Buddhist art, deities were often depicted in groupings of three and usually in some type of depiction of death, birth and renewal. The Elephant is curious as to the number three and religion. Clearly in Christianity it symbolizes the Holy Trinity, but the triad concept seems to permeate other religions too. What is the genesis of this? How did this permeate through various cultures that may or may not have had contact with each other? Is evidence of some universal truths or traditions that permeate all cultures. Visiting museums sometimes make you think....
For More information on the Maya Exhibit:
http://http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/exhibits.htm#maya
For More Information on the Buddha Exhibit click here:
http://http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/returnBuddha.htm
For Information on Angkor Wat try here:
http://http://http://www.angkorwat.org/
Took some time on Saturday to head down to the mall and hit up some exhibitions. Spending time on the mall in spring, our peak tourist season, is not for the faint of heart. Bus loads of school kids and families mill about, and of course it's hot an humid. But the trip yesterday was well worth the hassle. Stopped in to the National Gallery of art to visit The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya.
The Maya exhibit was truly eye opening. On display were dozens of Mayan sculpture depicting Mayan royalty in various situations. The detail was astounding and more interesting were the comic book like 'glyphs' describing the images. Mayans, like the Egyptians, had a form of writing based on pictographs which were rendered with fine detail in the rock panels. A mokey holding a jaguar head and some beads, for example, was a numerical indicator. Also amazing was the fact the scholars have deciphered this writing. Apparently the Maya had an extremely accurate calendar as a result. One of the most interesting artifacts on display was a rock medallion about two feet in diameter from the center court of a Mayan sports arena. It depicted a player in full uniform hitting a ball with his hip. The Maya were, apparently, very into this ball game as evidence indicates that nearly every village had a ball court.
What's interesting about the stone carvings is their similarities to other cultures. (Elephant has visited the lost city of Angkor in Cambodia and is very interested in stone temples and such) Clearly the medium itself results in some of the similarities in structural shape and carving techniques, but more interesting was the Mayan culture peaked around the same time as ancient Khmer Civilization and its great stone cities, centered at Angkor Thom. Meanwhile in Europe, the coliseum was already about 400 years old and the Roman Empire was in tatters. Anyway, the exhibit will be touring the U.S. (next stop is LA) so if it is your town, it is truly worth a visit to your local museum to see.
The Lost Buddhas of China
Meanwhile across the mall at the highly underrated Sackler Gallery was an exhibit of ancient Buddha statues from China. Ironically the Buddha statues are from the same period (roughly 500 A.D) as the Mayan sculpture. Displayed on pedestals in black rooms with subtle lighting, the statues seems to hover in space. The roughly 40 or so statues depict various visions of the Buddha and were discovered in 1996 when local authorities were clearing a field to build a sports arena. The calm, enlightened gaze of the various statues were very relaxing. What I noted in both exhibits was how the artists portrayed images of deities in their work. Oddly enough in both Maya and the Buddhist art, deities were often depicted in groupings of three and usually in some type of depiction of death, birth and renewal. The Elephant is curious as to the number three and religion. Clearly in Christianity it symbolizes the Holy Trinity, but the triad concept seems to permeate other religions too. What is the genesis of this? How did this permeate through various cultures that may or may not have had contact with each other? Is evidence of some universal truths or traditions that permeate all cultures. Visiting museums sometimes make you think....
For More information on the Maya Exhibit:
http://http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/exhibits.htm#maya
For More Information on the Buddha Exhibit click here:
http://http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/returnBuddha.htm
For Information on Angkor Wat try here:
http://http://http://www.angkorwat.org/
