Mexico Monte Alban Oaxaca

No. 32 Petroglyphs at Monte Albán

August 19, 2022August 25, 2022 Jay M. Ressler 0 Comments Monte Alban

Here we find numerous carved stones with distinct human figures in dynamic positions. They have several characteristics in common: they are nude males, the majority obese with wide noses and thick lips. These features suggest an Olmec influence.

Recent interpretations of the bas-reliefs found here view the figures as rulers or leaders from neighboring towns around Monte Albán who were captured and offered as sacrifices. There is marked symbolism in the castration of the figures and the collection of blood, perhaps to offer to the gods or perhaps for use in fertility rituals.

The wall adorned with these vertical sculptures (dancers) and also with horizontal sculptures (swimmers) may be a kind of sequential text to be read by visitors to the building. The presence of symbols and numerals on the different stones narrates historical events that occurred in that era. Several centuries later, the Zapotecs dismantled the Wall to reuse it in other construction. The roofed portion of the wall is the only one that was preserved without alteration in later times. For its conservation, sculptures that were found detached were copied, and the originals were moved to Museqzdé Siti of Monte Albán.

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Jay M. Ressler

Jay Ressler Composite Photography, Encaustic Art, and Oil Painting He is an outstanding location photographer and painter, with an eye that can capture the soul of a Havana back street as beautifully as the sip of a hungry hummingbird, often with compelling black and white images. Jay Ressler is best known for artistic expression that lives in layers between opposites. “I like to explore boundaries,” he explains. “Boundaries between consciousness and the unconscious, between reality and imagination, between certainty and skepticism.” He does this by compositing his own photography in multiple layers to produce stunningly original, interleaved images. Using Photoshop, other image manipulation software and a variety of digital effects, he paints one photographic layer on top of another. He takes advantage of textures he's captured along with an array of processes for manipulating light, contrast, and color to tell the story. “Distorting and reinterpreting the literal 'machine moments' captured by the camera is as old as the art of photography,” he insists. Jay occasionally extends his multi-layered approach to encaustic mixed media creations. Based on ancient techniques, the process begins with cooking his own recipes of beeswax and damar resin and applying this medium between the layers of photographic images, along with various pigmented compounds and materials to add color, texture and expression. Either way, the results are riveting. The viewer is drawn into an unfolding, dreamlike scene that might be heart-warming, haunting, gritty, poignant or magical. Sometimes, within the various layers, all of the above. The award-winning photographer/artist has many dimensions himself. He studied advanced digital photography at Pittsburgh Filmmakers and advanced encaustic techniques with leading instructors in the field. He worked as an underground coal miner, steelworker, machinist, labor and civil rights activist, copywriter and commercial printer. He has a BS in Psychology from Albright College.

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