Research
(Image dump of research)
Due to the nature of our self-initiated project and the fact we wanted
to be as true to the culture as possible, we made sure to do as much research
to make sure what we we’re taking inspiration from was historically accurate.
To do this we took from a wide range of sources, from books to galleries.
The Henry Moore Institute hosted an exhibition
of sculpture art earlier this year. It focused on the inspirations that Henry
had that informed his practice. One of these were the inclusion of ancient
Aztec and Mayan sculptures which was perfect for our project as it shown how he
incorporated them within his postmodern designs.
We also took to the library as they had a great selection of books that
span across a wide range of the Mayan culture. A few of the more inspirational
ones were:
Breaking the Mayan Code by Michael D. Coe that gave us a basic
understanding of Mayan arts and communication they used within their culture
and the hieroglyphics that they were famous for.
The Sports of Life and Death bey E. Michael Wittington explores the
pass time / ritual sport that was a big pass time to the Mayans known as Hip
Ball. This sport and the atmosphere around it showed the Mayans were a very
sociable community not to similar to our own. This helped identify key points
of their culture to use within this project.
MAYA by Henri Stierlin focused on the agriculture of the Mayans and its
effect on the art and architecture that they were famous for. It was
interesting reading up on how similar the Mayans were to the Native American
tribes as both had a religious belief and respect for the land and materials
they used. Everything from the Mayan culture was handmade. A big take away from
this book was the focus on the Mayan Codex’s that have lasted for thousands of
years which are made from bark cloth. This was a big influence on the overall
design direction for the final book for the project
What was amazing about researching into the culture of the Mayans was
how rich it was. The colours used within their designs from their clothes to
their hieroglyphics. The awe-inspiring architecture that is still visible to
this day in the mountain ranges of south America. Their religious and cultural belief
systems had some really interesting stories to tell. All of this and more of
their culture made both of us really appreciate it and gave is the inspiration
to make sure we keep true with it in our project.
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