Maya Alphabet of Modern Times
Join artist and typographic designer Frida Larios for a lively discussion and introduction to the Maya Alphabet of Modern Times, a new graphic form that draws from the tradition of the Maya mythic narrative. The collection borrows directly from the logo-graphic language of the ancestral Maya scribes, but speaks to and for the indigenous Maya of today.
Larios, who has lived in the Maya mountains of Copán Ruinas, Honduras, has regenerated nearly 100 new designs that have been integrated into diverse media, including books, installations, sculptures, garments, jewels, and toys. These new artifacts carry through the Pre-Columbian heritage to a contemporary audience of every age, thus preserving the Mesoamerican script for a new generation.
Held in the context of Larios’s Maya Alphabet of Modern Times exhibition, this class will allow you to understand the basics and intention of the Maya script, and how her Lego-like Maya Alphabet of Modern Times system works. It will also open a window into a past, that according to Larios, is also the future.
This class will be presented in both English and Spanish (you only need to know one of the two languages, but it will be good practice if you’re learning the other!).
This class is offered in partnership with Hola Cultura, publishers of www.holacultura.com.
Thank you to American University for providing the space for this class.
Location
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington,
DC
20016
Meet in the Kreeger Lobby.
Past event
Instructor
Frida Larios is a Regional Ambassador for the Americas for the International Indigenous Design Network (INDIGO), a program of the International Council of Design (Canada), and is an Adjunct Professor in Graphic Design at the University of the District of Columbia Art Department. Larios frequently exhibits, lectures, facilitates learning, and consults in cultural design in Washington D.C. and internationally.