Luz-Maria Lopez Mayan Creation Myths The Alexandria Museum of Art December 7, February 23, 2013 Descriptions by AMoA Curator, Alyssa Fridgen

The Blessing, 2011 acrylic and gel medium on canvas image: 28 x 36 inches This story recounts a bedtime fable of the Maya told to the artist by her grandmother. After the Maya gods created colorful flowers, birds to sing, and animals to roam the forest, they were still lonely and wanted something to love them, and created humans from their own fingers!

…And the Black Rain Fell, 2012 acrylic and gel medium on canvas image: 24 x 30 inches According to folklore, the Maya gods first attempted to create humans from mud, but they had no mind and seeped back into the ground. Then they attempted to create humans from wood, but they had no feelings and did not love, so the creators sent a Black Rain to destroy them. When they climbed trees to escape the Black Rain, they were turned into monkeys!

Creation of the Animals, 2012 acrylic and gel medium on canvas image: 30 x 30 inches The Maya story of Gucumatz, who lived under the water covered with green feathers, tells how he created animals of all kind. But the animals could not speak or adore their creator, so Gucumatz assigned the animals to their proper dwellings – birds to the air, jaguars to the woods, and fish to the water – where they could speak to one another.

Escaping Danger, 2012 acrylic and gel medium on canvas image: 23-1/2 x 35-1/2 inches A Maya story tells how Xquic (Lady Blood) reached up to pick fruit from a calabash tree, a skull in the tree spat on her, and she immediately conceived the Hero Twins. She ran away when her father discovered the pregnancy and threatened to have her burned.

Hero Twins Journey, 2012 acrylic and gel medium on canvas image: 30 x 30 inches In Maya legend, The Hero Twins are summoned to the Underworld for playing their ball game to loudly. To return to the Upper World, they must conquer the Red Thrones, endure the House of Darkness and House of Cold, and survive the House of Bats and House of Jaguars. At the end of their journey, Magic Turtle arrives to transport them back to the Middle World.

Transformation, 2012 acrylic, gel medium, and modeling paste on canvas image: 23-1/2 x 29-1/4 inches The Hero Twins were eventually lured by the Maya gods of the Underworld into the oven to be burned. However, when the ashes of the Hero Twins were thrown into the river, the ashes were transformed into fish. The fish jumped from the water, and transformed back into humans!