I N N VAT I V E DESIGN SPRING 2021 FEATURING THE WORKS OF: BRANDOM TAM JACK GREEN LOUIS CHEN KELLIE CHEN NIKISHA ROBERTS STEVEN E. PADILLA
By The Seashore Nikisha Roberts
April 21, 2020
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation Erazo, Padilla. Steven
I do not intend to discredit the Maya in the cultural development of Honduras. Despite their occupation, that we know of, existed in the western most region of Honduras, from the research I have gathered they traded extensively with groups around the region.
From an U.S. American point of view this concept is almost like reverse-colonization and then re-colonization. Unlike the U.S. in the process of modernizing and industrializing, the dominant group decimated the native community, wiping their art, literature, and its people almost off the face of the world.
This was evident through their artistic influence seen in ceramics recovered from coastal areas where other indigenous groups lived in. The purpose of this thesis was not just a personal project to “discover” where I am from. It was also discovering who Honduras is and who they want to be.
However, in Honduras the opposite process happens. This not as a result of ancestral veneration but rather simple politics. The ruins as Copan brought international attention to the country thus its government seized the moment and embarked on a mission to establish its government and its people as the descendants of the powerful Maya.
Despite the country’s cultural diversity, it politicized a community who’d long disappeared and vanished from their sprawling city.
Much like the gods believed by natives to be the creators of the universe, the Maya had become the center of the Honduran universe. Mayanization is the process of adopting Maya motifs and symbolism and embedding it into the country’s history. In the context of my thesis, this process resulted in a national identity and history that was crafted by institutions. Although this comment is tangential, at surface level appropriation of this symbolism does not seem harmful but upon further reflection I feel as if we as colonized people suffer from an identity crisis and in order to cope we adopt a culture that most connects us to our motherland In Honduras’ case, this process is more violent. It came out of a need for economic develop and to seek validation from international superpowers and former colonizers such as the British and neo-colonizers like the U.S.
Corn Maize God Recovered from Copan
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Photograph take by Alfred Mudslay British Museum
The Ruins of Copan Map Harvard Peabody Museum
Scholars from England and the U.S. had a particular interest in Copan. It was one of the most complex and well preserved sites that detailed the history of this group that no other site had provided. As international interest grew so did Honduras’ interest in cultural development and preservation. And in this process the neglect of it’s numerous native populations who’s culture lives on till this day with little regard and veneration.
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
En su política administrativa, el Poder Ejecutivo ha procurado y procura lograr un más alto nivel de bienestar y de cultura para disfrute del pueblo hondureño. El amplio y creciente desarrollo de la economía nacional, el patrimonio agrícola, la intensificación de las industrias, la generalización de la cultura, el cultivo de civismo, la afirmación cabal de amor patrio (el resaltado es mío) …constituyen algunas de las principales preocupaciones del Poder Ejecutivo. Carias Andino Presidente de Honduras 1946 Arturo Lopez Rodezno
Mural del Palacio Municipal de San Pedro Sula 1945 Lopez Rodezno
This “shared’ national identity would have not been possible if not for the man put in charge of cultivating it. Arturo Lopez Rodezno was appointed to lead the newly established art school in Honduras, ordered by then President Tiburcio Carias Andino. Rodezno’s work was one that represented the people of Honduras as laborers and thus reinforced the idea of us being people of the land, like the Maya. Albiet more than half of the population were rural agricultural workers. However it was out of neccesity and exploitation. Maybe this conclusion is a reach but state sanctioned depiction of labor has made my people see themselves as nothing but workers.
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Mural de restaurante Duncan Maya. Sin título 1946 Lopez Rodezno
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
Imagined Cultures and Communities Honduran Identity & Formation
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seflies 101 Confidence
Rule number one to any selfie is OWNING it. You need the confidence, even if you don’t have the condifence daily, you just need it for the five seconds it takes to capture that beaitiful face. I want you to stare into that camera and let them know who’s boss. And if you’re not looking into the camera, make sure your face SHINES.
Lighting
There is no shocker that lighting is an important factor to the selfie taking process. I usually like to find a nice window or wherever the sun hits. Play around with the angles to see how the light hits differently and take advantage of golden hours for that smooth golden skin look.
Angles
Tired of taking a million selfies for hours but only liking 5 of them? Knowing your angles will not only save you the time but also help with the selection. Angles have a lot to do you a person’s face and body shape so don;t think what’s working for others will work for you!
Posing
Dynamic posing is the best way to get an interesting photo. Sometimes what feels awkard or looks weird in your head, actually looks super great in photos. Practice constantly moving when taking selfies or getting your picture taken. Also make sure to give the photo dimension and try not to have your entire body equared to the lens or else you’ll look flat!
Editing
Don’t go overboard with the edits! Unless its intended for a certain aesthetic, filters can oftentimes make the photo look a lot worse and over saturated on Instagram! (Instagram loves to destroy the quality of photos xoxo) You don’t need crazy apps or special camera to make show off yourself, sometimes the RAW photo is all your feed needs. Pro Tip: Add a bit of grain to your photos if you have a few blemishes!
GO!
Go shoot! I want to see you show yourselves off on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Text, EVERYWHERE. Make sure to take @innodatusc so that we can see you feeling yourself.