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| Figure 1 |
On May 11, 2018, I attended the City and Cosmos: The Arts of Tenochtitlan exhibition at LACMA. I wanted to see what the big hype was about and so I decided to carpool with my classmates to check out the art. I was super excited when I entered the museum, but I left with mixed feelings. It is fascinating to see how Tenochtitlan is 1,931.8 miles away, yet we get to join the experience here in LA. On the other hand, I find it devastating to know that the artifacts present in LACMA belong to Tenochtitlan, not the rich owners who donated them to LACMA. All those artifacts are taken from Mexico City, Mexico and used to make profit in the U.S.
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| Figure 2 |
I was most interested to attend this exhibition because I visited the Technochtitlan pyramids as a little girl. Ever since this visit, I became empowered by my Indigenous roots and take every chance to learn about Mexican history. There is so much to learn; one LACMA exhibition does not fully demonstrate the beautiful art Mexico has to offer.
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| Figure 3 |
When looking at the art, I would say that for the most part, the artifacts are still in good standing. After about 600 years since the beginning of the Aztec empire, the structure, color, shape, and size continues to look intact. I found it interesting how this exhibition features a variety of artifacts like pieces of the pyramids (Figure 1), decorations (Figure 2), and jewelry (Figure 3).
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| Figure 4 |
I got the chills when I looked at Figure 4 because these are the exact earrings Aztec worriers wore. They are so detailed and luxurious. Today, one may look at Figure 4 and think "How are those even earrings?" It is not often that we see people wearing earrings like the ones in Figure 4. This exemplifies how colonization not only destroyed land, structures, beliefs, and traditions, it also had a big impact on the way the Indigenous dressed.
Hello Nataly,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these pictures! I had never seen these artifacts before and I am glad that I was able to see them though your blog post, I am actually visiting Mexico City this summer so I hope to be able to learn more about other artifacts. After reading your post I thought about the comment you made about being sad that these now belong to the rich people who own LACMA and I am also devastated but then for one part I am slightly glad because then people who might not be able to travel to Mexico have the opportunity to view these. Yet, I also agree that they continue to be a source of exploitation for the rich people who glorify our culture to their benefit, thank you for sharing!