The Maya of Modernism: Art, Architecture, and Film

226 Pages·2011·2.733 MB·English

by  Jesse Lerner

maya
the of
modernism
University of New Mexico Press Albuquerque
maya
the of
modernism
art, architecture, and film
t
jesse lerner
© 2011 by the University of New Mexico Press
All rights reserved. Published 2011
Printed in the United States of America
16 15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5 6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lerner, Jesse.
The Maya of modernism : art, architecture, and film / Jesse Lerner.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8263-4981-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Maya art.
2. Maya architecture.
3. Mayas in popular culture.
4. Mayas—Antiquities.
I. Title.
f1435.3.a7l47 2011
972.8105—dc22
2010043208
Design and composition Melissa Tandysh
Composed in 10/14 Sabon LT Std
Display type is ITC Busorama BT
Frontispiece Sergei Eisenstein at Chichén Itzá (courtesy the Lilly Library at Indiana
University, Bloomington).
For Sara

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
chapter 1: The Vegetative Maya 15
Catherwood Revisited 23
Photography, Archaeology, and the Maya
in the Peninsular Creole Imagination 30
Raíces 44
Chapter 2: Maya Modernism Without the Maya 53
Modernist Primitivism 55
Photogravity 64
Chapter 3: Progressing Toward a Maya Modernity 70
Triumph of the Maya Will 78
Maya Blueprints for the Future: Maya
Revival Architecture 85
Chapter 4: The Aoristic Maya 102
Modernism Is Elsewhere 103
Racial Memories 112
Ecstasy at Izamal: Aoristic Maya Modernism
Frustrated 120
Chapter 5: The Maya Absolute 144
American Origins 145
A Fevered Dream of Maya: Robert Stacy-Judd 149
vii
Conclusions: Leaving the Ruins of
Maya Modernism 161
Notes 165
Bibliography 189
Filmography 207
Index 208
Acknowledgments
Numerous individuals and institutions aided immeasurably in the comple-
tion of this manuscript. A Fulbright-García Robles fellowship awarded by the
Comisión México-Estado Unidos para el Intercambio Educativo y Cultural
and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board enabled me to con-
duct archival research, write and revise at the Instituto de Inves tigaciones
Estéticas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) dur-
ing the 2006–2007 academic year. The intellectual stimulation offered by
my colleagues there—especially Cuauhtémoc Medina, Deborah Doritinsky,
and Renato González Mello—made my stay that much more productive
and enjoyable. The employees at the Hemeroteca Nacional and Biblioteca
Miguel Lerdo de Tejada were of immense assistance in the research pro-
cess. In Mérida, the faculty and staff of the Facultad de Antropología at the
Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán invariably proved helpful as well.
Special thanks go to Edward Roger “Jimmy” Montañez Pérez, Francisco
Fernández Repetto, and Waldemaro Concha Vargas. Mérida’s Hemeroteca
José María Pino Suárez and Biblioteca Carlos Ruz Menéndez both proved
to be invaluable resources. An Everett Helm fellowship, awarded by the
Lilly Library at Indiana University at Bloomington, allowed me to con-
sult materials related to the production of Sergei Eisenstein’s unfinished
Mexican film. The archivists in the film department of New York’s Museum
of Modern Art allowed me to consult the various unauthorized edits of this
footage. At the Filmoteca de la UNAM, Iván Trujillo and Antonia Rojas
helped with the research and licensing of film stills. While working with the
Robert Stacy-Judd materials, the personnel at the University of California
Santa Barbara’s Architectural Drawing Collection were also most accom-
modating. The staff members, archivists, and librarians at the Southwest
Museum’s Braun Library in Los Angeles, and Claremont College’s Honnold-
Mudd Library, were also of great assistance.
While completing and rewriting this manuscript, the Getty Research
Institute invited me to participate in the workshop “Sites Unseen: Antiquity
in the New World,” where the productive discussions and wealth of rare
materials further stimulated the development of ideas. The invigorating dis-
cussions at the workshop were a wonderful stimulus at a crucial moment
ix