Título del libro: Fanning The Sacred Flame: Mesoamerican Studies In Honor Of H. B. Nicholson
Título del capítulo: The posthumous history of the Tizoc stone
ALFREDO FEDERICO LOPEZ AUSTIN;
Autores externos:
Idioma:
Inglés
Año de publicación:
2012
Resumen:
Ancient stone monuments, preserved thanks to the tenacity of material almost immune to the passing of time, are testimonies to the thoughts and actions of vanished generations. They offer the illusion of clearly transmitted messages through the hardness of form, the perfection of contour, and the harmony of composition. Because we can see them, we also believe we can hear through them the distant voices of their creators. But we forget, at least momentarily, that the ancient message is not automatically crystallized within its stone medium and that the carved forms are simply triggers waiting to fire the imaginations of the varied beholders. Meanings are created and recreated differently depending upon their viewers' chronological and cultural position. Thus the objective appearance of any sculpture will continue to be subjectively transformed into idealizations: anthropomorphic figures will be turned into priests or warriors or philosophers or dancers, assumed functions will become astronomical or magical or recreational or commemorative, and volumetric quantity will becomes sacred flows, gods, demons, or simply mere collections of atoms. All such interpretations depend upon who is looking at the ancient monument and what his or her point of view is. This potential plurality of readings, even more mutable in the clash of cultures and the passing of centuries, is often the most important factor in the fate of individual monuments, for it will determine whether they survive. © 2012 by University Press of Colorado, All rights reserved.
Entidades citadas de la UNAM:
ISBN:
9781607321613
Editorial:
University Press of Colorado Nombre de la publicación:
The posthumous history of the Tizoc stone
Página inicial:
439
Página final:
460
Tipo de producto:
Capítulo de un Libro
