 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
EXPRESSIONS
LINKS
|
1,400 years of Honduran art
Expressive trails lead to unexpected destinations
By Roger Hamilton
A country often associated with misfortune, such as the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch, Honduras nevertheless has an impressive artistic tradition that belies its small size and relative poverty.
From the splendor of Mayan stone carvings to contemporary painting and ceramics, a sampling of this richness was on display in August at the IDB Cultural Center Art Gallery in an exhibit titled Honduras: Ancient and Modern Trails that The Washington Post praised as an example of "curatorial imagination."
The pre-Columbian works, exhibited here for the first time since their recent unearthing in the ancient city of Copán, date from the late classical era of A.D. 600–900, a period of rapid cultural development. Soon after, however, the Mayan civilization would collapse as a result of a number of interrelated factors that scholars are still working to unravel.
While the exhibit did not include examples of the impressive Mayan works in clay, it did present contemporary ceramics clearly rooted in the pre-Hispanic tradition. The pieces were created by artisans from the Lenca people, who also have a rich pottery tradition.
Unfortunately, in recent years this tradition has been gradually disappearing. The current revival is due to the efforts of a Honduran anthropologist-designer named Alessandra Foletti. Two decades ago, with the support of the Swiss government, Italian-born Foletti helped to launch a revival movement that has lead to a national program for the recovery and promotion of indigenous craft production, one of the flagship initiatives of the Honduran Secretariat of Culture and Sports.
Some of the pottery pieces in the exhibit were both designed and produced by the Lenca artisans, and their ancestry with pre-Columbian and colonial works are clear. Others were designed by Foletti, and resulted from what the exhibit catalogue calls a "dynamic and participatory process of inspiration and 'retro-inspiration' between the designer and the potters."
In the area of painting, the exhibit includes works of a well-known master, Pablo Zelaya Sierra, as well as those of young artists like Xenia Mejía and Byron Lombardo Mejía.
Zelaya Sierra, who spent much of his professional life in Spain, employed a powerful visual style reminiscent of other Latin American masters, such as Rivera and Portinari. Returning to Honduras in 1932, and dying only one year later, he lacked the time and support that might have enabled him to stimulate the artistic environment of Tegucigalpa.
The works by Xenia Mejía commemorate the horrors of Hurricane Mitch, reflecting her experience and emotions as she visited the scenes of devastation and relived the human tragedy. Lombardo Mejía’s works included in the exhibit speak to a different type of tragedy, that of the human condition. Evoking images of a concentration camp, they bring to mind the irrationality of man’s daily behavior that ignores the most elemental laws of decency and co-existence.
"All of the works assembled here mark historical milestones in diverse trails that have their origins in different moments, places, and situations," writes IDB Cultural Center Curator Félix Angel. "Together they form part of what could be a definition of the cultural personality of Honduras."
Date posted: September 2001
