Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Mayans Were the First Graphic Artists

After reading a recent article in the New York times about the discovery of a ninth-century-workshop of Mayan scribes in Guatemala,  I realized these guys were the original graphic artists; beautiful, simple, powerful line work. Please note: The National Geographic Society, which supported the excavations, will describe the research in the June issue of its magazine.

I think it's funny that they have to mention, "Rest assured, however, that nothing written on those walls foretells the world coming to an end on Dec. 21, 2012, as some have feared through a misinterpretation of the Maya Long Count calendar." HAHA! Like they'd have the guys in mural painting bootcamp  practicing that. 

The article also mentions The Horse's Mouth, an odd movie staring Alex Guinness who plays what appears to be a rather bawdy artist who finds a wall that yearns to be painted on; I've added it to my Netflix queue.



Like a bunch of guys in the 70's, my brother had a Mayan calendar belt buckle in high school. I found it a few months ago while going through a junk drawer. Apparently you can buy these things new from Amazon. Who knew?

And...funny enough...I've already been invited to a "We'll All Go Together When We Go" movie night @ Joe and Brian's on December 21 to celebrate the Mayan calendar end of the world. I voted that we watch Apocalypto.  Prediction - Mayan wear - all things Mayan - will pick up steam as we approach that date.

1 comment:

Tom Sarmo said...

I cracked up reading this :)
Thanks for the link to what looks like a fascinating film, too.