Dr. Patrick Hajovsky co-hosted a panel with Dr. Kimberly Jones, Ellen and Harry S. Parker III Assistant Curator of the Arts of the Americas at the Dallas Museum of Art, at the College Art Association conference in New York on February 13. The title of the panel was “Divine Impersonators: Substance and Presence of Pre-Columbian Embodiment”.

 

Panel Description:


In the ancient Americas, divine impersonators acquired and displayed supernatural qualities that superseded their human status. Such changes of substance, presence and personhood were achieved in social and ritual contexts, conceived within complex ontologies and communicated through the senses. This session considers pre-Columbian concepts of the human-divine interface by exploring their function and significance within pre- and early post-Conquest cultural contexts. We seek innovative approaches to the study of supernatural embodiment, as portrayed and recorded in visual and textual media, through varied disciplinary approaches. Contributions should engage how visual analysis contributes to our understanding of ancient American worldviews and states of being. Potential themes or topics may include: iconographies of divine status; gender; public and private identity; emic interpretations of pre-Columbian spirituality; relationships between oral narratives and ritualperformances; and, specific histories and evolutions of divine embodiment. 

The panel featured an introduction by Dr. Jones and conclusion by Dr. Hajovsky, with current research from notable scholars in the field:

Painted, Performed, Scratched: Divine Encounters in Moche Art and Image
Lisa Trever, University of California, Berkeley

Creatures of Creation: Embodiment of Supernaturals in Ancient Maya Ceremonies
Diana Cristina Rose, University of California, Santa Cruz

Deity Transformations in the Seasonal Narrative of the Codex Borgia
Susan Milbrath, Florida Museum of Natural History

Inka Ancestors in the Flesh
Carolyn Dean, University of California, Santa Cruz

Representation, Fragments, and Nature of the Deity Performer, or Teixiptla, in Sixteenth-Century Mexico
Barbara E. Mundy, Fordham University

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