"Teotihuacan Studies, The Plane Where the Heavens Touch the Earth" is inspired by the ancient city of Teotihuacan, Mexico. Now in ruins, aside from the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, the city was known as “the place where the gods were born.”
Those structures are reminiscent of a time long past, but there are through lines between all of human history. How were their daily lives similar to ours? How did their spirituality manifest, influence their world view? What is apparent, and what is still buried?
The lines in Jaramillo's work connect the lighter gray portion with the dark black of the bottom half. How are these lines the same? How do they change?
"Canotons Aztecas" are provocative and mystical poems written by an Aztec prince more than 900 years ago. Lalo Schifrin's "'Ye Tocuic Toxochiuh (Songs of the Aztecs - Life is a Dream)" sets one of those poems to music.
The song oscillates between sad and joyful, and all of the shades of emotion in between. These gray areas is where most of us live our daily life experiences, and is reminiscent of humanities larger questions of what is real and what is imagined. What we can feel emotionally and what we can touch physically? What is within the reality of this plane versus the mysteries of faith and spirituality?
Want to explore more music inspired by Virginia Jaramillo's artwork? Listen to our Spotify playlist for full pieces.
Find more information about 'Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence' on the Kemper's website.
You can find out more about Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art at kemperart.org.
View the full Kemper Museum Permanent Collection here.