CAROLYN TATE, Ph.D., Professor of Art History
Winner of the 2013 TTU President's Book Award
SYMBOLIC LANDSCAPE AS A CONTAINER OF KNLOWLEDGE:
The Contributions of Olmec Sculpture to Mesoamerican Pictographic Communication Systems
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Art Building Room B-01 at 5:30 PM
How did the processes of abstraction and memory involved in making and using 3-D objects contribute to the development of pictorial writing systems in Mesoamerica? This presentation explores that question by suggesting that human-made mountain, sea, cave, and womb sculptures at La Venta were precursors to early graphic communication forms.
The talk uses recent studies from the realm of cognitive psychology, memory, and perception to suggest the relationships among experience of the topography, the process of developing knowledge, and the process of making abstract forms to encode the experience and knowledge.
Exhibitions and visiting speakers programs at the School of Art are supported by generous grants from the Helen Jones Foundation and The CH Foundation, both of Lubbock. Additional support comes from Cultural Activities Fees administered through the College of Visual & Performing Arts.
