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About

The images presented here are intended to provide a synopsis of the process by which the primary graphic symbol for Border Metamorphosis: the Binational Mural Project evolved. The original image is appropriated from a carving on a jade axe blade dated to the Middle Formative Period of the Olmec Civilization (1,200 years b.c.) The actual object was found near Tabasco, Mexico and is currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City. It is believed that the image represented a ruler or deity of some sort, perhaps fertility or agricultural and that the combination of symbols suggests an Olmec belief about how the world is perceived through sight, touch and sound. For the Binational Mural Project, the image becomes symbolic of a strong force or maná that is representative of contemporary communication.
Estas imágenes representan el proceso por cual se logró el símbolo unificante de un Mural Proyecto Binacional. El dibujo original se encuentra en el filo de un azadón de la civilización Olmeca, de hace 3,400 años. El objeto se encuentra actualmente dentro la colección de Michael C. Rockefeller en el Museo Metropolitano de Nueva York. Suele decirse que la imágen representaba el emperador o tal vez un diós a la agricultura o a la fertilidad; la combinación de símbolos sugiere la creencia Olmeca de que el mundo se percibe a través la vista, el tacto y el sonido.
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Citations
  • Origination -- near Tabasco, Mexico.
  • Carbon dated to 1,200 years BC
  • Middle Formative Period -- The Olmec Civilization
  • Permanent Collection -- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
View originating Olmec images
The Olmec Civilization La Civilización Olmeca
The Mother culture of the Americas | La Cultura Madre de las Américas
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During the multi-year course of the project several engagements with the public and cultural activities on the border were staged and delivered by the Calexico Arts Commission, including the off-site mural painted by Armando Rascón for the First Annual Olmec Harvest Festival that was produced during the 1999 Day of the Dead public celebration in downtown Calexico.
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Contact
info@binationalmuralproject.comamayaarmandorascon
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© Copyright 1998-2025 Armando Rascón, project artist, All rights reserved. All registered trademarks herein are the property of their respective owners. Unless otherwise stated, all photography herein by Armando Rascón ©1998-2025