With works coming from Mexico, I was excited the Olmec: Colossal Masterworks from Ancient Mexico was coming to the de Young. Previous exhibits, Teotihuacan: City of the Gods (1993) and the Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya (2004) were spectacular. One was left with the haunting feeling of the work these cultures left behind. I was especially looking forward to seeing the colossal heads carved from giant boulders. The Olmec civilization is considered the mother culture of Mexico, preceding the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Unfortunately we know little of the Olmec culture has it had disappeared by the time the Europeans arrived in the Americas.
The colossal head that greets you as you enter the exhibit impresses upon you the importance of this culture in the history of the Americas. The fine work on the masks and the figurine work demonstrate their skill as artisans in stone and clay. The stylized abstraction on the votive ax is quite modern; and the melding of the jaguar-men is arresting. But the exhibit on the whole left me unsatisfied: too little text to give us background knowledge or the other sculptures was not lit in the best light. Or it could be that once you have been to the museums in Mexico, any outside exhibit would not be up to par.
Jaguar-man
The head remindes me of the students I teach in the Mission.
Votive ax
el niño
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