Page 264 - Perú indígena y virreinal

the exhibition project
Rafael López Guzmán EXHIBITION CURATOR
This exhibition aims to show the most outstanding cultural aspects that have emerged in the historical territory that today comprises modern day Peru. In order that we might achieve this objective, we have brought together more than 300 pieces that stand out for both their artistic and historic value. Furthermore, the collaboration of various cultural institutions and the Peruvian church has allowed us to exhibit a large number of exceptional works for the first time outside Peru, allowing the visitor a rare and extensive insight into the depth and quality of the Peruvian aesthetic.
The high levels of artistic excellence reached in Peru, both before the arrival of the Spanish and throughout the period of the Viceroyalty are universally and unanimously acclaimed. As evidence of the international recognition the country has attained, ten territorial enclaves currently enjoy UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This exhibition sets out from an innovative precept. We are going to journey through the most important cultural episodes, seeing them not as stagnant, isolated moments, but rather as a continuous dialogue, paying special attention to the integration of the numerous artistic phases as well as the technical and aesthetic evolution of the specific regions that have made Peruvian art amongst the most original in all the Americas.
The exhibition project has been designed as a series of units or sections that didactically allow the visitor to pass through the different phases, following in the steps of the museum’s vision. We start by considering Peru’s territory, natural history and people, drawing the spectator in via an audiovisual display of the country’s cultural landscape, which is extended throughout the rest of the exhibition. This re-definition of the visitor’s surroundings and preparation for what is to come is fundamental to the achievement of the educational objectives we have set out.
Next, we move on to the analysis of the great pre-Hispanic cultures, divided into four main sections:
THE AGE OF CHAVIN (1500–500 B.C.). Within this section we include the Chavin, Cupisnique and Viru cultures as being the most representative, using ceramics as the conduit by which to understand the geometric vocabulary and the appropriation of symbols taken from the natural world that surrounded them.
THE CLASSICAL ARTS (500 B.C.-500 A.C.). This period, covering a whole millennium, corresponds to the establishment of what can be considered to be Peruvian Art, covering the Mochica, Nasca, Paracas, Tiwanaco and Vicu cultures. Whilst the evolution of ceramics continued, moving into more sculptural and pictorial expression, concurrently other art forms reached new aesthetic heights, principally gold and silverware as well as textiles, with an iconographic intermingling regardless of the artistic medium employed.
THE LEGENDARY ERAS (500–1450). In these periods, the progress that had been made over previous centuries was maintained, with further advances in the fields of metalwork and fabrics. At the same time ceramic expression began to explore pictorial and chromatic possibilities, bringing together techniques employed in both pottery and sculpture. Here we look at Wari, Chimu, Chancay and Lambayeque cultures.
The fourth section refers specifically to THE INCAS (1450–1533). This was the time that the territory was both at its most widespread and most united, with the creation of a centralised State that permitted a productive, syncretic union of previous cultures which also served to synthesise creative artistic expression. This can be seen in the countless aribalos—typical vases of the region—and bowls that were produced at this time. This proved to be the culmination of the pre-Columbine aesthetic, on the eve of its forthcoming meeting with Spanish influences.
This historical-chronological journey comes to an end with two sections of an anthropological nature that attempt to look into the people’s day-to-day life within these cultures. Here we examine their perception of the universe and understanding of religion. These sections are called THE LIFE CYCLE: PRODUCTION AND RECREATION and RELIGION AND COSMOLOGY.
The second part of the exhibition is dedicated to the cultural developments that took place between the 16th and 18th Centuries, the period known as the Peruvian Viceroyalty. In the space of almost three hundred years there were important religious, administrative and technical changes and yet there was also an integration with indigenous cultures that meant that the art produced during the time of the Viceroys was to be a fascinating synthesis of diverse elements that gave both originality and splendour to the work produced.
This part of the exhibition is divided into the following sections:
CULTURAL SYNCRETISM. A generic vision of the integration of arts and subject matters on both a technical and iconographic level. Good examples of this are the Genealogy of The Incas, which includes the Spanish Monarchs and their matrimonial links or the first manuscripts, which tried to give a literary and graphic account of the New Peru. To this one can add the introduction of innovative techniques such as glazes for ceramics or the so-called enconchados—an Asian painting technique employing ground shells.
TERRITORY, CITY AND ARCHITECTURE. This section includes the administrative systems, understanding of geographical space, and the definition of new cities via their layout and architecture.
THE CREATIVE ARTS. A large section that has had to be divided into smaller sub-sections. Here we exhibit pieces that illustrate the adaptation of religious iconography to a Latin American context, examples of devotion and religious passion, the splendour of the region’s gold and silverware as well as the riches that came from the mines at Potosí and the logical consequences of their exploitation. Similarly, and with a section to itself, we look at the CORPUS CHRISTI AND THE DEVOTION TO THE EUCHARIST, showing how the festivities and Defence of the Faith formed a central part of Peruvian Art
DAY TO DAY LIFE. Here, the integration of European and local traditions can be seen in the habits and customs of daily life, with an ample selection of furniture, utensils (generally in silver) and ornaments. These show how life at the time was, with examples of coqueras and materas—utensils and receptacle for the preparation and drinking of mate, ceramic ware, the typical staffs that were used at dances and small devotional alabaster altars from local workshops.
LIMA, CITY OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT. This last section shows the urban, architectural and technical consequences that made the Viceroyalty, and Lima in particular, in a country and city immersed in the problems caused by the Enlightenment. The creation of avenues, tree-lined walks, bullrings, new fortifications and castles as well as palatial ceremony are detailed in drawings, prints, portraits and urban landscapes that exemplify society during the final century of the Viceroyalty.
In order to accentuate the didactic element of the exhibition, it begins and ends with an audio-visual display that provides the visitor with an outline and summary of what will be and has been seen. The display that closes the exhibition, in particular, attempts to demonstrate how popular religion today is as syncretic as ever it was during the Viceroyalty, showing images that compare the historical celebrations of Corpus Christi in Cusco with its modern day version.
To accompany and complement the visual element of the exhibition there is an extensive catalogue, divided into two main parts. The first is dedicated to studies by renowned specialists—anthropologists, archaeologists and historians—in each of the exhibition’s cultural fields. These experts briefly lay out the key cultural details pertaining to each part of the exhibition. Although some of these writings are actually included in the exhibition, there are many others that examine elements of fundamental importance to Peruvian cultural history, expanding the reader’s awareness of both general and specific elements of historical and artistic reality of Peru.
The second part of the catalogue examines the specific pieces that make up the exhibition. In order to improve their understanding, these are set out in the same order as they are exhibited, with each section headed by an easy-to-read introductory text outlining and cataloguing the exhibits.
A didactic vocation has been the inspiration of all the professionals that have participated in this exhibition.
Before I finish, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a problem that has arisen throughout the setting up of this exhibition, namely, the usage by diverse authors and literary sources of phonetically distinct nomenclatures that, depending upon their specific historiographic background, juxtapose vowels and consonants without altering the textual meaning. We have attempted always been practical. To this end, I would like to point out that the following terms are to be understood as being synonymous: “Cuzco-Cusco”, “Tiwanaku-Tiawanaku-Tiahuanaku”, “Wari-Huari”, “Nazca-Nasca” and “Tawantinsuyo-Tawantinsuyu-Tahuantinsuyu”.
It only remains to stress that together, we have all tried to give equal value to all the cultures that have appeared on the Peruvian stage throughout its history. It is not for us to judge them: we would rather leave that to each visitor and his or her capacity for aesthetic appreciation.
ENGLISH TEXTS [ 271 ]