DACOR: Endangered Threads Documentaries and the Maya Textile Tradition

Start Date/Time: 
Monday, October 24, 2016 - 07:00
End Date/Time: 
Monday, October 24, 2016 - 09:00
Description: 

Over the past decade, Paul and Kathleen Vitale have worked with weavers in more than 60 towns and villages in Guatemala and Mexico to document the styles and techniques of their weaving through four documentaries and more than a dozen videos on YouTube. Their focus has been to promote the artistic accomplishments of Maya weavers with museums and collectors, and especially the Maya themselves. Many Maya weavers do not know the extent of the connections of their art form to their history. The fifth documentary is nearing completion and includes archaeological evidence from the Classic Maya Era of links between present day Maya translucent weaving and accurately dated murals, ceramic pottery depictions, and stone carvings. The Vitales presentation at DACOR will discuss and show through samples and video clips the evolution of their work, difficulties they have encountered, and their hopes for the Maya with whom they work. This event costs $5. This event is co-hosted by the DACOR Newberry Cultural Series and UAA.