Blog 5(undirected)

After completing the assigned reading I am amazed at the archaeological work and advances in discovering and interpreting the Mesoamerican sculptures we have studied. I feel like we have already covered so much material and yet their efforts continue to reveal new information about these significant Mesoamerican cultures. What I found most interesting is the idea of conformity or “self-consciousness of uniformity” found among the artistic expression during the Mesoamerican period. While I have noticed an obvious theme in the sculptures and paintings qualities and characteristics; I never realized this sense of uniformity. For whatever reason, I felt that the Mesoamerican cultures would be more into using artistic expression to reveal individualities. However, after reading about this idea of uniformity I wonder if artist during this time experienced the same restraints as later artists. Perhaps, much like Picasso was ridiculed for his “lack of artistic” ability during his time; the Mesoamerican artists also had similar constraints or standards for their art. I feel that we have explored differences in Mesoamerican art among different cultures; so this really intrigues me. Perhaps even as far back as this Mesoamerican period, artists were truly expected to conform and restrain their artistic abilities according to what was at the time considered “true art.”