'Dust of Gold' - Performance by Elia Arce
Event Type
Event
Location
University Hall East Atrium
Start Date
29-10-2010 4:00 PM
End Date
29-10-2010 5:00 PM
Description
Elia Arce is an internationally known Costa Rican artist and cultural activist who works in a wide variety of media, including performance, experimental theater, film/video, spoken word and installation.
Hosted by Ruben Martinez, Fletcher Jones Chair of Literature and Writing
"Dust of Gold" is an interactive installation project for Bellarmine Forum 2010 at Loyola Marymount University based on the "Alfombras de Aserrín" or street carpets of sawdust made for Easter in Guatemala, a tradition with roots solidly in Mayan culture dating back to long before the Spanish arrived. The colorful and fragrant use of carpets of pine needles, flowers and other natural elements has its beginnings in the Mayan custom of creating pathways for kings and priests to walk upon when entering ceremonial locations and for use in sacred spaces. A ritual performance art piece honoring the Tongva ("people of the earth") tribes that inhabited this region before the arrival of the Europeans, will take place the last evening of the forum. I am already consulting with Tongva leaders in order to make sure I am respectful of their ways.
"Dust of Gold" is the result of the fusion of traditional and contemporary art forms. This carpet welcomes the Golden Era, which starts at the end of the Mayan calendar in Dec. 2012. And symbolically envisions the coming together of the Mayan and Aztec nations for the future of the cosmos. The design that I have created is based on the Mayan calendar round made up of two cycles and the number 0. The outer ring represents 18 months of 20 days each and 1 month of 5 days, which equals 365 days. The inner golden ring represents 13 numbers that repeat themselves endlessly within a 20-day cycle, represented here by the outer golden ring. And the image at the center is the Mayan symbol for the number 0, which represents the "navel of the world" from where the sacred tree springs: the beginning of all things. This is where the final performance will most likely take place.
A reception followed 5-7 pm
'Dust of Gold' - Performance by Elia Arce
University Hall East Atrium
Elia Arce is an internationally known Costa Rican artist and cultural activist who works in a wide variety of media, including performance, experimental theater, film/video, spoken word and installation.
Hosted by Ruben Martinez, Fletcher Jones Chair of Literature and Writing
"Dust of Gold" is an interactive installation project for Bellarmine Forum 2010 at Loyola Marymount University based on the "Alfombras de Aserrín" or street carpets of sawdust made for Easter in Guatemala, a tradition with roots solidly in Mayan culture dating back to long before the Spanish arrived. The colorful and fragrant use of carpets of pine needles, flowers and other natural elements has its beginnings in the Mayan custom of creating pathways for kings and priests to walk upon when entering ceremonial locations and for use in sacred spaces. A ritual performance art piece honoring the Tongva ("people of the earth") tribes that inhabited this region before the arrival of the Europeans, will take place the last evening of the forum. I am already consulting with Tongva leaders in order to make sure I am respectful of their ways.
"Dust of Gold" is the result of the fusion of traditional and contemporary art forms. This carpet welcomes the Golden Era, which starts at the end of the Mayan calendar in Dec. 2012. And symbolically envisions the coming together of the Mayan and Aztec nations for the future of the cosmos. The design that I have created is based on the Mayan calendar round made up of two cycles and the number 0. The outer ring represents 18 months of 20 days each and 1 month of 5 days, which equals 365 days. The inner golden ring represents 13 numbers that repeat themselves endlessly within a 20-day cycle, represented here by the outer golden ring. And the image at the center is the Mayan symbol for the number 0, which represents the "navel of the world" from where the sacred tree springs: the beginning of all things. This is where the final performance will most likely take place.
A reception followed 5-7 pm
