Assignment 3B

Mayan Pyramids of Chichen Itza
http://www.dreamwonder.org/images/italy.jpg

I came across this photograph when I was looking for information about the Mayans. I researched some photos of the Mayan Pyramids of Chichen Itza because it is such a famous link to the people and I wanted to see it from different angles. This photo is not famous that I know I just thought it was a great photo taken of this amazing piece of architecture.

Observation: What do you see in the artwork? What is the subject of the work? What is the work made of? What techniques (colors, lines, shapes, textures)does the artist use? Be specific in your description
In this photo you see the El Castillo Pyramid of Chichen Itza. That is the main subject of this piece of work, I think this photo is probably used for a postcard or something because it is spectacular. I am not sure what the pyramid is made of but I am guessing a stone of some sort. The color is a grey color but I am sure is different in person. The texture is probably really rough and there are lines everywhere in this piece of art. Its a pyramid so there are the lines of the steps and the carved line patterns on the parts that don’t have steps. Everything on this pyramid are rectangular except for the pyramid as a whole.

Interpretation: In one sentence, what is the artwork about? Give specific examples to support this statement.
This photographs sole purpose is to entice people to come visit it. I think this is true because when I was doing my research I found it on many tourist sites that use it because it is such a gorgeous photo that a person would be crazy not to be intrigued by it. The photograph was taken of the pyramid from a good angle so that you can the beauty in its stature, there are people climbing the stairs so you can see its how enormous it is compared to a human. Also the clouds are perfect and puffy so people looking at the photo are under the notion that the weather is absolutely perfect there.

Judgement: What led you to choose this work of art? What do you think or feel about this work? Why do you feel this way? Support your thoughts with specific observations.
This photo and many like it came up a lot in my research of the Mayans and I really liked the different views of the pyramid. I would love to visit El Castillo and this photo makes it look so whimsical and so easy to imagine climbing up those steps and looking all over Chichen Itza. Like I said before I thought the clouds were a great touch, it makes the photo so intriguing and truly inspiring.

Questioning: What would you like to know about this work? What would you like to know about its history, its subject, or about the artist?
When learning about the Mayans building Chichen Itza, I found out some information that made me really interested in this cite and the people who created it. Chichen Itza has often been said to be their biggest accomplishment and after learning about El Castillo I couldn’t think of anything else that could possibly top that. El Castillo was a great example of the peoples intelligence in math and astronomy. The pyramid that there are most known for is amazing in that each year on the spring and fall equinoxes a shadow falls on the pyramid in the shape of a serpent. The snake appears to slither down the steps and joins the serpents head at the base of the staircase. I think this is absolutely amazing but I do wonder how they came up with that. I mean I know I couldn’t possibly follow all of the math and technical stuff like that but I would just like to hear more about it in detail. Also I am curious how many people it took to build this and for how long. This pyramid is just an incredible piece of art and there is so many questions I have about it, I guess I will just have to continue my research and wait until I visit it to find out.