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            Day before yesterday, my wife and I visited the MFAH for a lecture on the new exhibit, “Golden Worlds: The Portable Universe of Indigenous Colombia.” The exhibit includes over four hundred examples of gold decorative items (actually tumbaga, an alloy of copper and gold), pottery, and textiles, most pre-Columbian, but a few more recent items to show the continuation of indigenous people’s traditions were also included. The work is stunning, and the lecturer was also visibly taken by the beautiful craftsmanship of these ancient creators, especially since they often used simple stone tools to intricately work the precious metal. In addition to the skillful craftsmanship, the pieces also expressed a complex cosmology and spiritually sophisticated view of humans, nature, and the universe as they perceived it.

            Artists often appreciate the artistic expressions of other cultures including those considered by many to be primitive or not fully civilized. Most likely, though, any culture can be criticized for its philosophical or moral shortcomings regardless of the sophistication of its technological achievements. Some of these ancient cultures were quite brutal and were seen by early western explorers, including Columbus and others who followed, as savages who needed to be conquered, converted, enslaved, or destroyed. Of course, the irony of explorers in search of gold, treasures, new lands, and converts to their faith lies in their ruthlessness, thievery, debauchery, and inadvertent devastation by disease inflicted on those who sometimes, but not always, greeted them peacefully and with curiosity, if not awe.

            Some of the greatest ancient civilizations were quite brutal in dispatching enemies as they built their empires. Socially, these empires also were usually hierarchical and included an elite that existed on the backs of those who served them. Some of the elites were proclaimed to be gods. Much of the wealth supported the elite and whatever spiritual group served to keep them in power. Artisans crafted works to adorn, to amplify, and to enhance the power of those who stood above. In some cases, the art was outright propaganda used either to cower enemies or the larger populace. Sadly, many of these ideas play out in modern times socially, politically, and religiously. In spite of this, art can bring so much joy when not used as a tool or a weapon.