I've never been a fan of South American art like this. It always seemed too alien, too far from my comprehension to appreciate. Too far from my comfort zone. Celtic art is easy, as is the art of the Vikings because I recognize my past there, it's the art of my ancestors. The Museum of Natural History in New York provided the doorway I needed to appreciate this art. In the Museum hangs a quote from anthropologist and spiritual writer Margaret Meade which says "Be grounded in your own culture," She goes on to say that you need to have an understanding of your own society and it's beliefs and rituals before you can appreciate another culture. When I read that this artwork suddenly made sense to me. It still seems alien to me but now it has a context. I have a vantage point from which to appreciate this stuff.
