The Portable Universe

I was in Montréal in June. While there, I went to a terrific exhibit at the Musée des Beaux Arts called The Portable Universe: Thought and Splendour of Indigenous Columbia. The show is on until October 1st, so there’s still time to see it. There were nearly 400 works exhibited dating from around 1500 BCE to now.

I wondered, ahead of time, if I’d be overwhelmed as I often am at exhibits with many small objects and written commentary on the walls. However, this was unlike past experiences when I have gone through exhibits barely able to focus on anything. What immediately caught my attention and held my interest were the words about the world view of the people which I found very moving and life affirming. Here’s part of the introduction:

“The artistic creations in The Portable Universe are messengers, not from the past, but from a human perspective that enriches our present. they contain the memory and energies of ancestral knowledge and were made through close observation of the world. They speak especially to the importance of thinking deeply about the interrelatedness between things.”

Here are a few of the very beautiful pieces in the exhibit:

Bird Ocarina, Columbia, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, (Tairona Tradition), Ceramic

Figure with Hand on Cheek, Columbia and Ecuador, Pacific Coast (Tumaco-La Tolita Tradition), Ceramic

One of Several Votive Figures (Tunjos) of Caciques (Chiefs), Columbia, Eastern Cordillera (Musica Tradition), Tumbaga (gold-copper alloy)

Shark, Columbia and Ecuador, Pacific Coast (Tumaco-La Tolita Tradition), Ceramic with post-fire paint

Pectoral with Feline, Fish, bird, and Human Elements, Columbia, Upper-Middle Magdalena Valley, (Tolima Goldwork Style), Gold