[Aztlan] Ancient Columbian Ceramics at the UCLA Fowler Museum

[michael ruggeri]

‘‘Fowler in Focus: Ancient Ceramics from Colombia”
Opens Oct. 5 at the Fowler Museum at UCLA

More than four thousand years ago, Colombian men and women began to  
model their universe in clay, creating miniature impressions of the  
people and things that held special meaning for them. Before long,  
these works took on ritual and religious significance. In “Fowler in  
Focus: Ancient Ceramics from Colombia” —on view from Oct. 5, 2008– 
Feb. 22, 2009— visitors can see more than forty examples of these  
ancient works, including vessels ornamented with colorful designs  
adapted from weaving patterns, relief plaques depicting a couple  
embracing or a father and child, and numerous figures of people and  
animals.

The works on display represent a large variety of styles, from  
naturalistic to abstract. While one sculpted image may represent a  
true portrait of a defeated captive, others feature exaggerated body  
proportions and broad facial expressions. In some, a flat rectangular  
panel represents the human head, with just a few elegant lines  
signifying the nose, eyes and mouth. Sculpted clothing is often  
limited to a simple headdress, while line work or paint have been  
applied to define a skirt, tunic, or hip cloth. The jewelry that is  
shaped around the nose, ears, and the neck of many figures is  
representative of these ancient peoples’ magnificent cast gold  
traditions.

Many of the figures on display are thought to represent shamans in a  
trance-like state. Such representation of humans transforming into  
animals is pervasive, and alludes to the widespread belief that  
shamans could change themselves into animal spirit counterparts to  
perform acts of divination by contacting the supernatural.

The works in this exhibition are from the Muñoz Kramer collection,  
acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as a shared  
resource for LACMA and the Fowler as part of an ongoing collaborative  
collections/exhibitions initiative. The collection is meant to foster  
study into the origins and development of the indigenous societies of  
lower Central and upper South America between B.C.E. 500 to C.E.  
1500. A selection of works from this collection is also on display at  
LACMA.

Says John Pohl, the Fowler’s curator of the arts of the Americas,  
“Together with the Fowler's collections of Andean and West Mexican  
ceramics and LACMA's strengths in Olmec, Maya and Aztec objects, Los  
Angeles has one of the premier Pre-Columbian collections in North  
America. The goal of this partnership between the two institutions is  
to promote access to these collections for the public, as well as for  
scholarly investigation by both UCLA students and Latin America  
scholars. This is an important collaboration in that it involves both  
a leading metropolitan museum and a leading university museum.”

“Fowler in Focus: Ancient Ceramics from Colombia” will be on view in  
the Fowler in Focus gallery, the central space within “Intersections:  
World Arts, Local Lives.” Fowler in Focus is dedicated to rotating  
installations of new acquisitions, sub-collections, and particular  
artistic genres in the Fowler's permanent holdings. The Fowler is  
open Wednesdays through Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m.; and on  
Thursdays, from noon until 8 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays and  
Tuesdays. The Fowler Museum, part of UCLA’s School of the Arts and  
Architecture, is located in the north part of the UCLA campus.  
Admission is free. Parking is available for a maximum of $9 in Lot 4.  
For more information, the public may call 310/825-4361 or visit  
fowler.ucla.edu.

http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/incEngine/? 
content=cm&cm=current_exhibitions&article_id=1052158426&art=&did=53

fowler.ucla.edu



Mike Ruggeri


Mike Ruggeri's Ancient America Museum Exhibitions, Conferences and  
Lectures
http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/AncientAmerica/