Pájaro azteca. Aztec bird

Ruins in San Juan Capistrano. Ruinas en San Juan Capistrano

From the Aztec Codices 7. De los Codices Aztecas 7

From the Aztec Codices 6. De los Codices Aztecas 6

Digital manipulation of part of the first page of Codex Mendoza, depicting the founding of Tenochtitlan.

From the Aztec Codices 5. De los Codices Aztecas 5

From the Aztec Codices 4. De los Codices Aztecas 4

From the Aztec Codices 3. De los Codices Aztecas 3

From the Aztec Codices 2. De los Codices aztecas 2

From the Aztec Codices 1. De los codices aztecas 1

With this digital manipulation of one of so many images from the Aztec Codices, I´d like to open a new series. Have you ever imagined how archaeological art would appear today if using digital tools?

So, here I am transforming, disturbing, manipulating, re-coloring the ancient Aztec images. More is coming in the following posts. Take it as an exercise of color and morphology, there is no lack of respect for them, but a respectful contemporary homage.

In this one, the background was also changed to give it a more abstract appearance.

Aztec codices (Nahuatl: Mēxihcatl āmoxtli [meː'ʃiʔkatɬ aː'moʃtɬi] are books written by pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs. These codices provide some of the best primary sources for Aztec culture. The pre-Columbian codices differ from European codices in that they are largely pictorial; they were not meant to symbolize spoken or written narratives.The colonial era codices not only contain Aztec pictograms, but also Classical Nahuatl (in the Latin alphabet), Spanish, and occasionally Latin. Although there are very few surviving pre-conquest codices, the tlacuilo (codex painter) tradition endured the transition to colonial culture; scholars now have access to a body of around 500 colonial-era codices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_codices

Mayan Illusion 1. Ilusión maya 1

Aztec dream. Sueño azteca

Ilusión azteca 1. Aztec Illusion 1

Ilusión Azteca. Aztec illusion

Escala Humana

Coloso. Pintura digital de Myriam B. Mahiques.

El turista disfrutaba de su tour por las ciudades más populares de Europa; o más bien se divertía posando frente a enormes edificios, cuya grandiosidad pétrea, él comparaba con su propia Shangai. En complicados ideogramas, meditaba que si los antiguos habían erigido sus templos hacia el cielo de los dioses, pues ellos también, y no tenían qué envidiarles.

Su ansiedad fotográfica, lo llevó luego a los pies del coloso, quien en un leve instante se le manifestó en su escala rotunda; y fue así que el turista, sintiendo su cuerpo absolutamente empequeñecido, derramó lágrimas por las civilizaciones perdidas.

http://theclubofcompulsivereaders.blogspot.com/

Nota al 7 de mayo de 2013:

He encontrado un excelente ejemplo para ilustrar este microrrelato, y demostrar la grandeza de las esculturas frente a la escala humana; se trata de una turista que toca los fragmentos de la escultura de Constantino en Roma, en diciembre de 1962. La foto pertenece a Robert Sisson y ha sido publicada en National Geographic.com

The temple of the eagle. El templo del águila

The temple of the eagle. El templo del águila by Myriam B. Mahiques is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Pyramid and tree. Árbol y pirámide

Pyramid and tree. Árbol y pirámide by Myriam B. Mahiques is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Ruinas en el acantilado. Ruins on the cliff

Ruinas en el acantilado. Ruins on the cliff by Myriam B. Mahiques is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Petroglifos bajo la luna. Petroglyphs under the moon

Petroglifos bajo la luna. Petroglyphs under the moon by Myriam B. Mahiques is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Angel

Angel by Myriam B. Mahiques is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Fractal totems

Fractal totems by Myriam B. Mahiques is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.