Soc_301_Dma

Soc 301 DMA Essay 1 Running Head: Soc 301 DMA Essay Soc 301 DMA Essay Sacoya Bullard Sociology 301 Professor Robert Harris Northwood University of Cedar Hill April 20, 2009 Soc 301 DMA Essay The Dallas Museum of Art has many unique pieces of art displayed throughout the building. The collections come from a number of different parts of the world. You may see collections that may have originated from places such as Africa, Asia, Mexico and the Pacific Islands to name a few. Some pieces are in the form of statues while others are paintings. All of the exhibits have their own unique background and meaning. The background of the piece is usually displayed somewhere near the exhibit to ensure its viewers are educated on the display. While there are a number of interesting pieces of art at the museum two exhibits seem to have reached out to me during my last visit. The two pieces of art I took an interest to are the “Xipe Impersonator” and the “Stele of Uma-Maheshvara” sculpture. The Xipe Impersonator is a statue of Aztec priest. This statue was originated in Mexico. It’s made of volcanic stone, shell, and paint. This sculpture is of a priest Xipe (god of spring and god of sacrificial pain) who is wearing another man’s skin. Xipe’s name meant “Our Lord the Flayed One”. Apparently this skin was of a man that was previously skinned alive. Xipe slips on the skin as if it is a costume. The blood of the dead man’s skin covers the priest as he believes this will give him power. This ritual was considered a symbol of new vegetation. This also symbolized the beginning of the rainy season (Spring). It was customary of the Aztecs to kill the human victims by removing their hearts. Then they would flay the bodies and put on their skin after it was dyed yellow. The clothes were dyed yellow because they were considered the “golden clothes”. Other victims were put to death by being fastened to a frame while being shot with arrows. The blood from each of the victims was used to fertilize the Spring rain. This ritual was carried out to prevent drought and to ensure the lands produced and grew nourishment for their people. This was very interesting to me because I could not imagine skinning someone alive and then wearing there clothes as if it were some sort of costume. However, I have never been submitted to such ways of living so I should not be expected to understand. However, someone who has lived as they did during those times would probably have a better understanding or appreciation for that sort of ritual. Another interesting piece of art at the DMA is the sculpture titled “Stele of Uma-Maheshvara”. This is a 7th or 8th century sculpture from India. It measures in about 56 inches in height and is made from a grayish green stone. Shiva is the destroyer of the world following the creator Brahma after he recreates the world. He lives on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas. Shiva is seen as the supreme God in Hinduism. The sculpture features Shiva and his second wife goddess Parvati. Shiva is also called Maheshvara (the great god). Parvati is also called Uma (the shining one). They are often shown as a passionate married couple embraced in one another. In this particular piece the couple is shown standing side by side with Parvati slightly leaning on Shiva. In India the marriage between man and woman is highly looked upon. The union between man and woman is symbolic to that of humans and god in India. This symbolizes the unity in a marriage. This means a great deal to Indians then and still today. Stele of Uma-Maheshvara is currently on display in the Asian collection. This display reached out to me because of two interesting reasons. One was how Shiva was able to create his own wife. He created a person with all the characteristics he would want in a wife. I know there are a number people living now wishing they had the power to create the perfect spouse. However, we know creating a spouse is not possible nor is someone being the perfect spouse. Secondly, I found it interesting how the Indians view the connection in an Indian marriage to be a reflection of there relationship with the gods. In a way it’s the same in most marriages in America today. As Christians we are taught to keep GOD first at all times and that is to include our marriages. I really enjoyed the trip to the DMA and I saw a lot of unique pieces of art through out the museum. It was an informative trip as we have study a lot of the customs and cultures on display. However, what was interesting is while being there it was almost as if you got to put a name with a face.