Soc 301 Dma
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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...
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...