Season One: The Maya Portrait Project

Why are we in Mexico?

Because portraits are some of the most provocative, propagandistic, and underexplored works of fine art we (Kaylee Spencer, Amanda Hankerson, and Travis Nygard) have collaborated to instigate the Maya Portrait Project. This multi-year initiative uses new techniques of documentation, analysis, and presentation to deepen our understanding of Precolumbian people.

For Season 1—which began two days ago—we are focusing on one of the most grandiose Maya sites—Palenque.  The site is especially important because of a rich array of figural sculpture and hieroglyphic texts—many true masterpieces of workmanship—that have been spared the ravages of looting.

To prepare ourselves for the excursion we made a pilgrimage to the Rothko Chapel—a place dedicated to an intercultural understanding of humanity—and partook in an afternoon of reflective meditation.  Before going to Palenque we revisited objects under the care of the National Institute of Archaeology and History in Merida, Yucatan.  And because we are interested in the enduring importance of Maya portraits for later generations, we studied the complete set of rare hand-colored prints by Frederick Catherwood that are in a private collection in that city.

Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas

On-site documentation of Palenque’s portraits begins tomorrow.  Stay tuned for updates.