We Live in Painting: The Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art

Groundbreaking exploration of ancient techniques and cosmologies of color in Mesoamerica

Ancient Mesoamerican artists held a cosmic responsibility. As they used color to adorn buildings, clay vessels, textiles, bark-paper pages, sculptures, textiles, wall murals, mosaics and other items, they quite literally made the world. The power of color emerged from the materiality of its pigments and the communities whose knowledge of the natural world imbued it with meaning. Histories of colonialism and industrialization in the “color-averse” West have minimized the profound significance of color in the Indigenous Americas. We Live in Painting provides an in-depth exploration of the science and art of color in Mesoamerica. This lavishly illustrated catalog, published as part of the PST ART series, follows two interconnected lines of inquiry—technical and material analyses, and Indigenous conceptions of art and image—to reach the full richness of color at the core of historical and contemporary Mesoamerican worldviews.