A New Perspective on Indigenous Art from Colombia
Standing Figure Container (detail), Colombia, Calima Region, 1500 BCE – 100 CE (Ilama Tradition), slip-painted ceramic, 27.5 x 16.2 x 16.5 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Muñoz Kramer Collection, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost and Stephen and Claudia Muñoz-Kramer. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
On view from June 3 to October 1, 2023, Portable Universe: Thought and Splendour of Indigenous Colombia is the largest exhibition of art from Colombia ever presented outside that country. It gives centre stage to Indigenous perspectives and proposes alternative ways of approaching the world around us. Erell Hubert, the curator of the Montreal show, tells us how this extraordinary project came to be and gives us a sneak peek into this exhibition’s unique presentation.
Erell Hubert
Portable Universe: Thought and Splendour of Indigenous Colombia is an invitation to engage in a conversation with some 400 artworks that serve as veritable messengers between people, landscapes and eras. The culmination of many years of research and dialogue, this exhibition aims to restore the sculptures, vessels and ornaments that occupy the galleries to their rightful role as subjects rather than objects. To this end, it is a departure from the more traditional museum discourse about the arts.
Mamo Camilo Izquierdo preparing to make a pagamento (offering) at the Piedras Dwanama
The story of this exhibition begins in 2007, when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art acquired the Muñoz Kramer collection, comprising hundreds of ancient ceramics from Colombia. In the institution’s search to better understand this collection and determine how best to showcase it, a partnership ensued with the Museo del Oro in Bogotá and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, to create a large-scale exhibition. Over the course of their many travels to Colombia, museum staff developed a particularly close relationship with the Arhuaco community of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the north of the country. Mamo Camilo Izquierdo, one of the most important spiritual and political leaders of the Arhuaco people, asked how the works of his ancestors were going to be “fed.” This question was so far outside of the classifying mindset of museums that it triggered a major shift in perspective that would shape the trajectory of the entire project.1
An introduction to modes of thought and expression of Indigenous Colombia
For the Arhuaco, it is important to look inwards before speaking or acting. This approach is replicated in the exhibition’s structure. Beginning in the first gallery, Mamo Camilo Izquierdo and Jaison Pérez Villafaña, an Arhuaco elder who provides an interpretation of Ika into Spanish, guide us on an introspection that encourages us to purify our thoughts and think deeply about the connections between all things. From here, visitors move on to the second gallery, where they are invited to connect on an intimate level with ocarinas (wind instruments), whose voices resonate in a soundtrack composed by Luis Fernando Franco.
Bird Ocarina, Colombia, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, 900-1600 CE (Tairona Tradition), ceramic, 6.4 x 10.2 x 8.9 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Muñoz Kramer Collection, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost and Stephen and Claudia Muñoz-Kramer
The exhibition then lays out the historical and geographical context in which these works were created. Far from being viewed as the vestiges of long-ago civilizations, these items are seen as the creations of the ancestors of the nearly 1.9 million Indigenous people who live in Colombia today. Groups living in contrasting landscapes have developed a range of distinct regional artistic styles. In many cases, these styles have been found to be remarkably stable over time.2 Female figures from the Caribbean lowlands, tunjos (small metal votive figures) from the Cordillera Oriental, and canasteros (basket carriers) from the Calima region are some of what visitors will encounter this summer at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. These characters communicate to us about how their creators represented themselves and their world.
Woman with Animal Helpers, Colombia, Caribbean Lowlands, unknown date, ceramic, 24.1 x 17.8 x 10.2 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Muñoz Kramer Collection, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost and Stephen and Claudia Muñoz-Kramer. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Tripod Offering Bowl with Votive Figures (Tunjos) and Emeralds, Colombia, Eastern Cordillera, 800-1600 CE (Muisca Tradition), ceramic, tumbaga (gold-copper alloy), emeralds, 12.1 x 10.8 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Muñoz Kramer Collection, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost and Stephen and Claudia Muñoz-Kramer. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Basket-Carrier (Canastero), Colombia, Calima Region, 1500 BCE – 100 CE (Ilama Tradition), ceramic, 24.8 x 17.8 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Muñoz Kramer Collection, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost and Stephen and Claudia Muñoz-Kramer. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
An exhibition design guided by the worldview of Indigenous peoples
In subsequent galleries, the exhibition explores principles that are fundamental to how Indigenous peoples in Colombia understand the world. First, thought is a generative force. The material world is created from thought. It follows, therefore, that positive and coherent thoughts help maintain balance in the universe. In every corner of Colombia, from north to south and from past to present, thinking is habitually performed in a seated position. Likewise, visitors are invited to take a few moments to rest and communicate with the thinking figures, some of whom are chewing coca leaves while others have half-closed eyes.
Funerary Vessel in Form of Seated Thinker, Colombia, Middle Cauca Valley, 700-1600 CE, resist-painted ceramic, 23.5 x 13 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Muñoz Kramer Collection, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost and Stephen and Claudia Muñoz-Kramer. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
This foray into the world of Indigenous thought from Colombia continues through an examination of equivalencies that unite the universe, the house and the body. The universe is our shared home, while our body is the home of our spirit. Some Amazonian peoples are even more explicit in their expression of these connections. For example, for the Makuna, the pillars that support the roof of the maloca (communal house) are equivalent to the mountains that hold up the sky. Art can therefore be both an extension of the self and an embodiment of the cosmos. By manipulating these works, microcosms and macrocosms merge, and humans can influence the universe, which is literally in our hands.3
Circular House Model, Colombia, Calima Region, 100 BCE – 800 CE (Yotoco Goldwork Style), tumbaga (gold-copper alloy), 10.8 x 10.2 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. Photo © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Not only do we share the same house, but all the elements that make up the universe are “persons” with their own perspective and particular role to play in the world. As Francisco Chimontero Nuibita Dingula points out, “Everything here has life; plants, animals, mountains, rivers, lagoons, stones all feel and speak, the same as we do.”4 Two galleries are dedicated to works that embody these beings. Moreover, the works have been purposefully arranged in the exhibition so that they can continue to nourish each other; for example, the hummingbirds have been placed with the flowers. Footage shot in Colombia during the making of the exhibition brings to life the vibrant presence of Colombian landscapes within the Museum.
Whistling Vessel with Jaguar Attributes, Colombia, Calima Region, 100 BCE – 800 CE (Yotoco Tradition), resist-painted ceramic, 18.4 x 24.1 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Muñoz Kramer Collection, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost and Stephen and Claudia Muñoz-Kramer. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
Bird Finial, Colombia, Caribbean Lowlands, 200 BCE – 1000 CE (Early Zenú Goldwork Style), tumbaga (gold-copper alloy), 4.5 x 2.7 x 10.5 cm. Museo del Oro, Banco de la República, Bogotá. Photo Clark M. Rodríguez – Museo del Oro – Banco de la República
The reciprocal relationship of Indigenous peoples with the world around them differs radically from the resource exploitation approach of the modern Westernized world that was also a primary driver of colonization in the Americas. The metal objects on display are made of tumbaga, a gold and copper alloy whose worth lies not in its market value but in the combination of these elements, which are respectively associated with the sun’s fertilizing influence and the moon’s transformative potential.5 Exhibited ornaments and fabrication tools also reveal highly sophisticated metalsmithing techniques that the ancestors of present-day Indigenous peoples developed but that have now largely been abandoned as a result of colonial abuses.
Votive Figure (Tunjo) in Form of a Man Seated on a Stool, Colombia, Eastern Cordillera, 800-1600 CE (Muisca Tradition), tumbaga (gold-copper alloy), 10.3 x 5.1 x 1.3 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. Photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The final gallery draws the arc of the exhibition’s theme to a close with a focus on the importance of taking care of this world. For many Indigenous peoples, this responsibility lies with the spiritual leaders who guide their communities. Ritual specialists, often referred to as shamans in the anthropological literature, have the ability to communicate with non-human beings and can even transform themselves to see through these beings’ eyes and gain their power.6 This transformation process is expressed in the abundance of hybrid figures. The capacity to see multiple points of view is an important source of knowledge and has greatly inspired the exhibition.
Pectoral in Form of a Bird-Man with Animal Helpers, Colombia, Upper Cauca Valley, 900-1600 CE, tumbaga (gold-copper alloy), 16.5 x 13.3 x 2.1 cm. Museo del Oro, Banco de la República, Bogotá. Photo Clark M. Rodríguez, Museo del Oro, Banco de la República
Being with Feline and Human Features, Colombia, Upper Magdalena Valley-San Agustín, 100-900 CE, stone, 110 x 70 x 40 cm. Museo del Oro, Banco de la República, Bogotá. Photo Museo del Oro, Banco de la República
Basket-Carrier (Canastero) with Fangs and Serpents, Colombia, Calima Region, 1500 BCE – 100 CE (Ilama Tradition), ceramic, 15.2 x 11.4 x 12.7 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Muñoz Kramer Collection, gift of Jorge G. and Nelly de Muñoz and Camilla Chandler Frost. Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
An exploration area to complete the experience
The exhibition ends with an area for participative reflection that is unique to the Montreal presentation. A selection of linocuts by the Consejo ancestral Willka Yaku, whose mission is to preserve the Colombian Massif in the Andes, adorns the space. Its walls are dotted with questions and quotations from local Indigenous and Colombian people that inspire visitors to think about their place and role in the universe. For the Arhuaco, the works in the exhibition continue to fulfill the “mission of their culture” by connecting time periods, places and people. It is their hope, therefore, that everyone, regardless of knowledge level, will form a connection with these works and support them in their mission to maintain balance in the world.
1 Diana Magaloni, “To Dream a Dream Together: Conversations with Mamo Camilo and Jaison, Elder Arhuaco Brothers from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta,” in The Portable Universe/El Universo en tus Manos: Thought and Splendor of Indigenous Colombia, Exh. cat., Julia Burtenshaw et al., eds., (New York: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, DelMonico Books, 2022) p. 61-75.
2 Julia Burtenshaw, “The societies of ancient Colombia: a brief (re)consideration,” in Julia Burtenshaw et al., ibid., p. 91-107.
3 Luis Cayón, “Items for directing the universe: the fusion of macro and micro scales, and the power of materiality among the Eastern Tukanoans,” in Julia Burtenshaw et al., ibid., p. 276-287.
4 Francisco Chimontero Nuibita Dingula, “Birds of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and their significance in Kaggaba culture,” in Julia Burtenshaw et al., ibid., p. 59.
5 Ana María Falchetti, “The symbolic power of ancient metallurgy,” in Julia Burtenshaw et al., ibid., p. 255-267.
6 Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, “Exchanging perspectives: the transformation of objects into subjects in Amerindian ontologies,” Common Knowledge, vol. 25, No. 1, April 2019, pp. 21-42.
To learn more about the mounting of this show, watch the documentary series Unpacking the Universe: The Making of an Exhibition produced by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In addition to scenes of breathtaking landscapes and archeological sites, it features conversations with Mamo Camilo Izquierdo and Jaison Perez Villafaña regarding the Arhuaco worldview and how this relates to contemporary social and environmental issues.
Portable Universe: Thought and Splendour of Indigenous Colombia
June 3 – October 1, 2023
Credits and curatorial team
An exhibition organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, as well as the Museo del Oro and the Unidad de Artes y Otras Colecciones of the Banco de la República, Colombia, in collaboration with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The exhibition is curated by Diana Magaloni, Deputy Director, Program Director and Dr. Virginia Fields Curator of the Art of the Ancient Americas, and Director of Conservation, LACMA, Julia Burtenshaw, Associate Curator, Art of the Ancient Americas, LACMA, María Alicia Uribe Villegas, Director of the, Museo del Oro, Banco de la República, Colombia, and Rex Koontz, Consulting Curator, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Erell Hubert, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art, MMFA, is the curator of the Montreal presentation.
The Museum wishes to underscore the collaboration of the Embassy of Colombia in Canada and thank the exhibition’s patrons, the Fondation Famille Le Blanc and Claude Dalphond. It further acknowledges the invaluable contribution of its official sponsor, Denalt Paints, and its media partners Bell, La Presse and the Montreal Gazette.
Portable Universe: Thought and Splendour of Indigenous Colombia was funded in part by the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Government of Quebec. The Museum’s major exhibitions receive funding from the Paul G. Desmarais Fund and from the donors to the MMFA Foundation’s Philanthropic Circles.
