Assignment 3c

Matthew MacDonald:

Freire beleived that literacy was the key to a healthy and productive life.  He taught over 300 sugarcane workers to read and write.  This gave them the ability to vote and have a significant impact on their government as well as promote change.  Freire compiled a deeper understanding of literacy in other countries while in exile.  He used his knoweledge to help represent the lower class, because without a lower class vote, the needs of a country cannot be met.  Freire's insightfull views had a great effect on his comrades. 

Stephanie Gurry:

Stephanie discusses the important interactions between the student and teacher.  Freire believed that everyone should learn how to speak properly and avoid slang, but under certain circumstances.  In order to get through to a student the teacher must submit to their level of speaking and thinking patterns.  The teacher needs to learn from the student just as the student is learning from their way of communicating.

Freire's ideas apply to this class because we are constantly interacting and sharing eachother's ideas on various topics, all of which relate to Latin America or the Caribbean.  Freire constanly stressed the importance of learning from other's and understanding different cultures.  Litereacy and Latin America are the main components of this class, as they were in Paulo Freire's life.  

Assignment 3b Olmec

Olmec heads, Monument 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mexico.Tab.OlmecHead.01.jpg

1.  Overshadowed by the Aztec and Mayan civilizations, the Olmecs thrived as a productive and inquisitive society for many years.  Their amazing sculptures inspired future civilizations to strive for accurate depections, which displayed the emotions and characteristics of thier people.  The sculptures of the Olmec at the archeological site of "La Venta," caught my eye while reasearching the different pre-columbian civilizations.  One sculpture in particular gained my interest, Monument 1, a colossal Olmec head.  This piece of art connects to my study of humanities because it is a direct reflection of the artistic abiltities of the time.

2.  Thier are four colossal heads located at La Venta.  Seventeen heads are sprad throughout the area, but only four are of epic proportion.  The specific piece of artwork I chose is Monument 1, is located south of the Great Pyramid, while the others are located north of the pyramid.  Monument 1 is made of stone (basalt) and stands 9 feet tall, while weighing several tons.  The basalt quarry used to create the heads was discovered 80 kilometers away in the Tuxtla Mountains.  Mounument 1 uses many lines to create a distinct shape if the face.  Curved lines are used to help the eyes, lips, and nose protrude from the face.  The texture is rough, but probably was smooth at the time of its erection.  

3.  The four colossal heads were most liklely the four great rulers of the Olmec empire, Mounument 1 perhaps being the most significant ruler, because of its sheer size.

4.  I became interested in this piece of art because of its detail and size.  Their are many myths about the head and other heads that were intriging.  I believe as many others do that the head represents a great ruler of the Olmec empire.  Like many other civilzations, the larger the figure, the more important it is.  I feel that Monument 1 was loved by the people and led them to many victories, perhaps he was a great militraistic leader or a great visionary.  The care in the depction of the face and effort to move the massive head leads me to beleive this was a prominent figure among the Olmec civilization.  

5.  I wolud like to know if their was a collection of skilled artists who created these figures or if their was one man or woman who designed the majority of them.  How were the massive statues transported?   How was the basalt transprted from the Tuxtla Mountains 80 kilometers away?  I am fairly certain as others are that Monument 1 and the other coloassal heads represented Olmec rulers, but who were some of the rulers and what were their names?

Assignment 3a

The Pre-Columbian era refers to the period in which the Americas were free of European infulence.  Some of the most recognized groups included the Toltec, teotihuacano, Zapotec, Mixtec, Aztec and the Maya) and the Andes (Inca,Moche, Chibcha, Cañaris).  Most think of the pre-columbian era as the time before Christopher Columbus.  The groups listed above developed many groundbreaking ideas.  The Aztecs contributed the number "0," to the number system.  The Mayans and Aztecs both had societal heiracrchies, which resembled modern day democracies.  The Aztecs also designed thier cities masterfully.  The city of Tenochtitlan is the site of Mexico City.  

Work Cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian.

The Tolecs are a mysterius group, which is what attracted me to do more research.  Many question if the Toltecs existed or if they were an Aztec myth.  The toltecs are believed to have ruled central Mexico from 10th century AD to 12th century AD.  The capital city of the Toltec empire was Teotihuacan.  The Toltecs dominated the postclassical Mayan civilization.  The Mayans are thought to have stemmed from the Toltecs.  Their are many similarities between the city of Tula, Hidalgo and Chichen Itza.  The video discusses what an efficient city Teotihuacan was and how passionate and dedicated the people were.  I used the youtube video and wikipedia for my research.

Little is known directly about the Toltecs because the Aztecs plundered the Tula ruins for building materials for their nearby capital, destroying most of the historical evidence that remained. Much of the information about the Toltecs comes from stories of other civilizations.

The greatest ruler of the Toltecs was Ce Acatl Topiltzin who was revered for being the leader and high priest of Quetzacoatl (the Toltec religion) at the time when Tula and the Empire were erected.

The Toltecs were the first to use a milateristic style to take over nearby cities and become an overbearing force.  The Aztecs used the same tactic.

I used youtube.com, wikipedia.com, and mnsu.edu/emuseum.  These are credible souces because I have used them before and they are trusted by many users.  Mnsu.edu is Minnesota State Unitversity's official website and features extensive information on ancient civilizations.

Assignment 2b Art Answers

1.  Jessica Dazet/What is MoLAA's mission?
MOLAA's mission is to educate the public about contemporary Latin American fine art, through permanent and significant collections.

2.  Saun Tutt/ What year was the museum founded?

The MoLAA was founded in November of 1996.

3.  What are some of the upcoming exhibits? (www.molaa.com) some of the upcoming exhibits at the MOLAA are Arnaldo Roche's "Brotherhood/Hermandad" and "Photoshopping and more: MOLAA collects photo-based art."

4.   Joy Dunham/ Where is the museum?

628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802 

5.  Dana Johnson/ What are the business hours?

The MOLAA is open from 11:30-7:00 Tuesday through Friday, 11:00-7:00 on Saturday, and 11:00-6:00 on Sundays.  They are closed on Mondays, but offer free admission on Friday.