Existing comment:
Melanie Cervantes, Dignidad Rebelde
born Harbor City, California 1977
Between the Leopard and the Jaguar
2019
screenprint on paper
Between the Leopard and the Jaguar affirms the resilience of indigenous communities since the Conquest. Cervantes portrays a contemporary danzante, a dancer associated with indigenous ceremonies, who performed at an Occupy San Francisco event in 2011 against income inequality in the United States. The background patterns recall Aztec motifs from ancient to colonial eras. The gold form represents an ocelotl cuauhxicalli, a sacred vessel in the shape of a jaguar used for sacrificial offerings. The symmetrical grid pattern references patolli, an ancient Aztec game of chance outlawed by the Spanish.
Museum purchase through the Samuel and Blanche Koffler Acquisition Fund, 2020.39.5 |