JT Breda: Blog 3

For this assignment we were asked to look at a piece of at in the MFA and connect it to anything that we have learned about the architecture of the ancient civilizations we are studying. For parallels to de drawn to the Olmec civilization I did not even have to truly enter the Museum. I had always passed the large baby head art pieces that flank the Fenway entrance to the MFA, and never really understood them. I have since been able to draw some connections between these once bewildering art pieces and the ancient Olmec civilization. The Olmec’s were considered to be the “mother culture” to later civilizations. They were the first to produce a permanent for of architecture in the Americas. They also created a calendar and counting system that far surpassed their own civilization. The Olmec’s were pioneers and had the appreciation for the arts, or at least what we would consider, art in the monumental sense. They produced large head sculptures. These Sculptures are large in scale and are not fully understood as to why they were carved. Whether theses carvings creations be for adoration of a gad or ruler, they are nearly the only piece of the Olmec civilization that remains. So, based on The Olmec’s accomplishments it is only fitting that homage be paid to them in the form of art. These baby heads are a modern take on the Olmec’s original and ancient carvings.