Forjando Patria: Pro-Nacionalismo

10: The Concept of Pre-Hispanic Art

52 A. The Western Aesthetic Sensibility1 Worksofartthatareunearthedbyarchaeologistsareoftenqualifiedasaes­thetic or anti-aesthetic. But why they are thus qualified is almost never explained. Archaeological2 art is judged subjectively, as each person thinks that it should be, and not as it is. It is prejudged, not judged, since we have not developed a real sensibility toward the archaeological work of art. What is artistic about pre-Hispanic artistic productions? Does an archaeological sample cease to be artistic because of the simple fact that it does not inspire us toward an aesthetic emotion that is equal to that inspired by a Classical or modern artwork? It is doubtless that, given how ignorant we are of pre-Hispanic history, these objects do not appear artistic according to our aesthetic sense. Still, there is no logical reason why this art should be denied the artistic character that it had for earlier peoples. We should also ask ourselves why it is that some archaeological productions seem artistic to us and others do not, even if all of them possessed an artistic character when they were created. No people is devoid of, or especially favored, by artistic impulses. Art exists in all latitudes and in all hearts; its diverse modes and aspects reflect different ways of experiencing and expressing art among diverse human groups. We men of contemporary Western civilization share a way of experiencing and possess10 The Concept of Pre-Hispanic Art 1 We refer to the European. 2 In this article, the word “archaeological” is equivalent to prehistory. 53 T h e C o n c e p t o f P r e - H i s p a n i c A r t ing art; we have a common “pattern of aesthetics.” A Latin, a Saxon, a Slav would generally have been in agreement with us when we say, “This is beautiful , artistic.” Behind all three of us, there are 3,000 to 5,000 years of previous schools of art that unify our aesthetic sensibilities. We can be thoughtful critics of today’s art and of all of the things that were created by Western civilization in the past. Although an impressionist bust by Rodin represents a different chapter in the history of art from a serene Classical bust of Antinous or a stylized face from Medieval Christian art, all three awaken the aesthetic emotion in us. We understand Rodin because we live with him. We understand the art of past times, of Greece, of Rome, of Byzantium, because history, literature, the museum, and other educational factors have permitted us to live with those peoples. We can live their lives, embrace their preferences and aversions, suffer their pains, enjoy their pleasures, and spend time in their environments. We are prepared to understand and be well-disposed toward this kind of art. In any given moment, our soul can be Hellenic, Roman, or Byzantine and our artistic emotions will always vibrate to the same diapason as men from those times and countries. What we have said about the Romans, Greeks, and Byzantines could also be applied to the other ancestors of Western art: Egypt, Chaldea, Assyria, Phoenicia, Judea, Arabia, India, Persia, and Asia Minor. To summarize, it can be said that the mental states that preside over the production and contemplation of a work of art stem in large part from the physical-biological and social environment in which said artwork appeared, or from the historical antecedents of the people who produced it. We therefore ask, Can one experience artistic emotions by viewing objects of pre-Hispanic art for the first time? This is logically impossible, since it is impossible to evaluate something of which one has no knowledge. Something that is contemplated for the first time cannot be appreciated or esteemed enough for one to rate it. This is also psychologically impossible, because the mental states produced by the presence of any manifestation of art are the fruit of experience and not spontaneous. B. Experimental Conclusions In order to obtain empirical data on this subject, we showed different examples of pre-Hispanic art to observers who had a good knowledge of Western art but who were ignorant of pre-Columbian civilizations. The observers stated which of these objects they considered artistic and which they considered indifferently or even found repulsive. Then, the following groupings were made. First, 54 T h e C o n c e p t o f P...