Color Chips Rule

I always felt guilty walking out from the paint department of a home improvement store with a handful of color chips. I loved shuffling through them, comparing them, wondering at their subtle shades, juxtaposing them, again and again. As a child I always had a love of color, thinking that my Crayola colors looked delicious enough to eat, and now and then I bit into them, never tasting lime, only wax. More appealing than just the single color swatches in the store were the strips with bars of different values, swinging my eyes back and forth from light to dark. Seeing them brought the dawn of understanding that my professor in two-dimensional design class didn't seem to get through to me.

How to use them in my art was the challenge. Just gluing them onto paper or canvas wouldn't be good enough. The challenge was integrating them into the composition, making them emerge, or reveal a little surprise to the viewer.

Not long ago while visiting a Robert Rauschenberg exhibit, I couldn't help but step close to explore one of his collaged paintings. It was utterly sensuous, a feast for hand and eye, and rewarded me with an "aha" moment--there it was--the paint chip--embedded into the thick paint along with scraps of cloth and used coffee filters. It was a masterwork of color, texture, and value, the chips nestled in the luscious goo of paint, their subtle values meek but visible.

Naturally I went home and got out my paint swatches, intent on giving them a place in one of my artworks, an homage to my Crayola days, to Rauschenberg's daring use of the banal details of life, and that "aha" moment I hope someone else might have. Paint chip A183 became part of my collage painting , a touch of my world within rememberances of the Minoan past. A priestess brings an offering to the Goddess, amidst a background of frescoed walls, one of which is the color of A183.

Now I see that the paint chip has taken a spotlight all on its own! What better way for Sherwin-Williams Paint to market its wares than through these deliciously colored paper bits. When I first saw their commercial, I was entranced. Their ad agency, McKinney, used clever animations, precise lighting, and ingenious folds, stacks, rolls and wraps to make the paint chips into an alternative reality that appeals to everyone, especially a color-freak like me. I'm sure you'll enjoy them too.

Stonehenge In the News

There's been more proof that we haven't learned all there is about Stonehenge. What a surprise to find that there's yet another henge (that is, a circular Prehistoric structure) not far away from the famous stone circle with which we are all so familiar. Stonehenge's "long-lost" twin was made of wooden poles instead of monumental stones. The two structures are similar in that they are both oriented toward the sunrise on the summer solstice. It confirms the importance of the solstices to the Neolithic agricultural people of the area, and suggests that there may even more "satellite" henges. Other known wooden henges, one called Woodhenge, found in 1925 consisting of 168 post holes, and another further away called Durrington Walls, point to the possibility of more henge discoveries.

But wait....there's more! There's evidence that Stonehenge was surrounded by a barrier of hedge plantings that may have been meant to screen the rites within the ceremonial circle from prying eyes of those outside. The clue came from shallow mounds that scientists concluded were too low for fortifications, yet resembled mounds around fields that were "fenced" off by hedges.

And then there's the mound...
Last year advanced survey equipment with lasers revealed a forgotten flattened mound in the center of Stonehenge. It may have been a 5,000 year old burial around which Stonehenge was built. What's next for Stonehenge?

New Discoveries May Change Everything

Teaching Pre-Columbian Art this Fall will be very challenging and exciting, that's for sure. There have been significant discoveries in Mesoamerica and South America that will require some revamping of current lecture notes and excite the imagination of students new to the subject. The changes affect sites well known, like Teotihuacan, and sites not yet widely known, like the one just discovered in northern Peru.

Not that many years ago the spectacular discovery of the intact tombs of a great lord, a high priest and priestess on the northern coast of Peru stunned the world with its richness. No one could have imagined finding the intact tomb of a ruler who pre-dated them, yet that indeed has just occurred at a site called Bosque de Pomac. Even more exciting is the possibility of yet more untouched tombs in the nearby riverbed.
.http://enperublog.com/2010/07/18/new-royal-sican-tomb-discovered-in-bosque-de-pomac/

There's lots of buzz about the discovery of a royal Maya king's tomb found by noted Pre-Columbianist Stephen Houston at the site of El Zotz in Guatemala. For the first time in some 1700 years, members of the archaeological team saw the the beautiful treasures within. They estimate that because of the tomb's richness and excellent preservation, they will be studying its contents for years to come.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Archaeologists-Discover-Mayan-Royal-Tomb-147962.shtml

A tunnel with branching chambers may lead directly to the tomb of a ruler of Teotihuacan, city of legend not far from Mexico City. Nearly 50,000 articles of precious materials were found in the tunnel so far, and it will be months before they reach what may be a burial chamber. Since no images or tombs of rulers of Teotihuacan have been found, the discovery will cast welcome light on the social structure of this enigmatic civilization that once numbered about 100,000 people and declined around 750 c.e. During 800 years Teotihuacan developed into the greatest city of its time in Mesoamerica.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/travel/mexico-finds-tunnel-possible-tombs-under-ruins-839771.html

Last but not least is the discovery of a 4000 year old site in Peru which may upset long-held ideas of a peaceful early Pre-Ceramic period along the northern coast. Sixty miles north of Lima at Bandurria, thought to be one of the oldest settlements in the New World, human remains were discovered that might attest to the start of a religious tradition of human sacrifice that continued throughout Pre-Columbian history there. Some authorities caution, however, that the finds might be secondary burials, so much more work must be done to accurately interpret what has been found.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080604-human-sacrifice_2.html

These recent discoveries show how vibrant the study of Pre-Columbian art and archaeology is at this time, and interest will continue to grow in the Los Angeles area as the L.A. County Museum prepares for the opening of its spectacular Olmec show, Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico, coming in October. To make the event even more interesting the New World Archaeology Council has joined forces with LACMA to co-sponsor a two-day symposium on ancient Olmec culture. Save the dates October 22 - 23, 2010 on your calendars.

Please visit the websites provided to see exciting images of all these finds.