"Being able to recognize a face is one of those fundamental survival skills."
Curator Joanne Pillsbury on an Olmec mask.
Explore this object:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/310279
Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world. Each episode is interpreted by a Museum photographer.
Photography by Oi-Cheong Lee
Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum?sub_confirmation=1
#TheMet #ArtExplained #Art
This 3,000-year-old Olmec face was made to last. What can we learn from it?
"Being able to recognize a face is one of those fundamental survival skills."
Joanne Pillsbury
2 min. watch
Contributors
Joanne Pillsbury
Andrall E. Pearson Curator, The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
Andrall E. Pearson Curator, The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
More from The Met
How do Lee Bul’s sculptures hold space for critical remembrance to show how the past shapes our present?
Anne Anlin Cheng
May 16
Video
The artist’s work challenges the social and political context of mass incarceration.
Lisa Sutcliffe
April 28
More in:Art Explained
Art Mentioned
A slider containing 1 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Olmec artist(s)
900–400 BCE