Museum Visit

Museum Receipt

For my museum visit I went to the San Jose Museum of Art. The exhibit was called "Roots in the Air, Branches Above," and displayed a variety of Indian artists. This exhibit was related to the concept of the mestizo, particularly of symbols being mixed. Also, the artists focused on how the colonization of India by Britain has increased the value of consumerism. One piece is called "Induced Epidemic," made in 2007 by Ashutosh Bhardwaj. This piece shows the unhealthy obsession to reduce the size of the nose, hence the clamp that the hands reach towards. The building in the background represents corporations that encourage this mutilation.
 

Another piece is "Lucky, Lucky, Lucky," a mixed media piece by Alexis Kersey in 2008. It combines symbols from both Indian and Western culture, and depicts a scene of a woman with two young children, all of which appear to have leucoderma.
  

I find it interesting and tragic that cultures that have been colonized tend to be wounded by this experience, and it changes their culture forever, and not necessarily for the better.

History and Identity

This week I read about the resistance to colonialism through paintings, sculpture, and collage. Many of these art pieces were very stirring and tragic. The World Promised to Juanito Laguna, a collage by Antonio Berni, depicts an apocalyptic picture. There are mushroom clouds sprouting from the earth, and the destitute stand in the foreground. The piece is meant to show the people who stand on the margins of all cities. I was interested to find out that the materials used for the piece were actual objects found on the outskirts of the city of Juanito. These objects, while discarded by the rich, were used by the poor for shelter. It shows the polarization of the rich and poor in South America, an issue that still is very prevalent today. It reminds me of my visit to Lima, which showed me the level of poverty that is not obvious in the U.S.. I think that pieces like Berni's are essential to our understanding of the world that we might turn away from.      

Blog # 7

My paper topic came quite by mistake. I was looking for a topic to use, something original, but was at a loss. All I knew was that I wanted to do some research on Peruvian art, but what kind? I skimmed through images on google, until suddenly, I encountered one that I recognized. It was a wooden box, with intricately carved tiny figures arranged in a religious scene. I remembered seeing something just like this box when I was little, on that had been given to me by my mother, who had brought it from Peru. It caught my interest, and when I clicked on the image, I found a site on Peruvian retablos. Hence the inspiration for my topic.
So this week I was researching retablos for my paper topic, and was amazed at what I found. It turns out that, like in Mexico, the retablos were originally religious items, but they stopped being made long ago. EXCEPT for in small villages in Peru, which specialize in a very different type of retablo. Retablos were brought to Peru to convert the locals there, by telling them stories with the scenes depicted in the retablo. Now retablos are made not only as religious objects, but also a vessel to tell stories, protest against tyranny, and reaffirm Peruvian identity.

Blog # 6

I find it sad that even when there was a revolution that succeeded in Mexico, it was not the natives who succeeded, it was the rich Spanish who could not get enough power. It bears a parallel to the early U.S. with the American Revolution. It was the rich, who, being kept out of the inner circles of the British, riled up the farmers and common folk. Not because they cared about what happened to those less fortunate than them as they claimed, but because they wanted more than what they had.

Blog 4

It amazes me how little religion has really changed over time. The way we practice it has, but the religion itself is still true to its roots. Almost every  religion has one thing in common: guilt. It keeps us in line when we think a higher being is watching us. Also, people have always wished for a better tommorrow, and the promise of a heaven keeps them going. I think that being alone in such a vast world can be terrifying, and having an explanation for everything is comforting. I am sure that that is a large part of the reason that the Spanish and Indian religions merged, as they needed that hope to carry on in hard times.

Blog # 3

This week's lesson about the guilds and how they work reminded me of the contrast between now and then. I think that it would benefit our society immensely to bring back guilds of sorts, where young people who wished to pursue a certain career could experience it firsthand by shadowing a more experienced worker. Our downfall is that we have not provided students with this opportunity to do more hands-on experience.

The Encomienda: Blog #2

When reading about the Encomienda and the Spanish, it reminded me of two things: One, missionaries in the current time, and two, the injustice against illegal immigrants in the United States. I know that when missionaries go abroad to help those that are impoverished, that they mean well. But it is wrong to have an ulterior motive when wanting to help others. The expectation that "If we help you, you have to practice our religion," is an insulting one, especially to the individuals who are accepting the help. This "holier than thou" view reminds me of the motives of the spanish that I read about, in a much less cruel way.  But it is still unacceptable.
I also was reminded of the treatment of illegal immigrants in the US. We treat them with no respect, like they are less than us, but they do all of the work that keeps us well-fed and comfortable. These immigrants are taken advantage of by their employers, are paid less, and still don't complain. The same people who moan about immigrants "taking American jobs" eat the strawberries that are picked by these immigrants. Plus, who will do these jobs if the immigrants weren't doing them? The fact is, no one wants to do these jobs unless they are forced to. It's easier to turn the other cheek and complain then to put yourself in another person's viewpoint.