Ballplayers, Gods and Rainmaker Kings: Masterpieces From Ancient Mexico December 29, 2010

The Nobel Prize-winning poet Octavio Paz once remarked that nations with a colonial past have the obligation to examine and acknowledge their ancient history as they advance into modernity. Attuned to Paz's directive, the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City, the Museo de Antropologia de Xalapa, and the Art Institute of Chicago present an exhibition of sculptural masterpieces from Mexico's ancient civilizations to celebrate the bicentennial of Mexico's independence from Spain and the centennial of the 1910 Revolution, which led to the modern Mexican republic. Seventeen major works of ancient Pre-Columbian art reveal the distinctive styles and symbolic forms of different societies that flourished between 900 B.C. and A.D. 1521. While stylistically and conceptually diverse, these compelling objects share a fundamental worldview in which human society was perceived as an integral part of the dynamic order of nature. The universe was seen as reflections of relationships between life forces, and it was a primary purpose of art, architecture, and ritual drama to illustrate and certify that sacred integration. The poetic title, 'Ballplayers, Gods, and Rainmaker Kings,' alludes to the variety of images stemming from this governing principle of ancient life. Ancient ballgames were played not only for sport but as a form of divination; cosmic events were held to influence the outcome, and the interpretation of results in turn affected actions taken by rulers. The deities of ancient Mexico were also closely bound to this natural order--to the land, crops, and the annual cycle of seasons--while the kings' duties included ending the dry season with offerings and prayers upon the high mountains, calling for rain clouds to appear and initiate the annual cycle of renewal.