The Heart

The Story
When we visited Mexico, we were assigned an artwork to study. Mine was Frida Kahlo’s and upon looking at her artwork, the image of the heart kept appearing. Then, when we continued to examine Mexican and Mesoamerican artwork the heart continued to appear again and again. There must have been a deeper meaning.
Going through the readings the heart was primarily associated with sacrifice. Those where were chosen to be sacrificed underwent a year of purification. They bathed daily, ate the food of the gods, were waited on as a god for an entire year. All this was to be as close to the deities as possible. Their hearts had to be pure.
On the day of the sacrifice, the chose was paraded through the city where they would walk to the top of the temple. After climbing hundreds of thin stairs, they would approach the priest. The priest would cut open their chest, rip out the heart and push the sacrificed down the temple, their blood flowing behind them. However, once the heart was ripped out it would take about ten seconds for the person to fully die. In this way there is a transition from life to death as the person falls down the stairs. This mimics the transition form sin to divinity. Not only is the person being released of all sin, their body, now purified falls into the underworld- the afterlife. This transition can also be viewed by the passages between levels and elevations.
The floorplan of the Museo de Antropología mimics the plan of Teotihuacán. Not only is there a similarity between the floorplan of Teotihuacán but there is a significant similarity to the quincunx.
In Nahuatl, ollin "movement" and yollotl "heart" are related.
The quincunx is often associated with the Aztec game, Ullamaliztli. This game was played on a tlachtli ball court (the game is sometimes referred to as Tlachtli). When the players move and intertwine on the field, their traces mimic those of rivers intertwining. It is here where the quincunx form is made. It can be a square or a rectangle. The traditional association lays between the rubber ball's capacity to bounce, and the capacity of the heart, yollotl, to beat. The ball and the game itself were associated with movement, ollin, which was represented by two twisted water flows which bent, one over the other, forming a quincunx.
The Museo de Antropología utilized the plaza to mimic the understanding of the quincunx. The quincunx is the result of two rivers which flow over time, intertwine and eventually cross each other. The plan of the Museo de Antropología not only resembles the shape of the Aztec game, Ullamaliztli, but also Teotihuacan. There is a clear resemblance with holding of water in both the museum and Teotihuacan. The water acts as a reservoir for contemplation as well as understanding the need to repay the Gods.

 
The Building
When we visited Mexico, we were assigned an artwork to study. Mine was Frida Kahlo’s and upon looking at her artwork, the image of the heart kept appearing. Then, when we continued to examine Mexican and Mesoamerican artwork the heart continued to appear again and again. There must have been a deeper meaning.
Going through the building, the market is primarily associated with healing and revitalization. Those who chose to live hear enjoy a safe and homely place where healing and reflection are prioritized.
People are able to celebrate within their community and interact with their neighbors, as well as having various views of the surrounding area. Within the units, are narrow stair which take people between levels. Each level has a view of another angle, a view of the city, the market or the communal space. These various openings in the buildings and units allow for a diversity of light to enter the units, allow people to contemplate different angles and reflect on their own safety and security.
Walking between units mimics the transition into a higher level. The constant uneven floor and the angular light bathes the living in sacrificial life. Narrow hallways open into large openings full of air movement where they ca look down into the activity below them.
The floorplan of the housing structure mimics the plan of Teotihuacán. Not only is there a similarity between the floorplan of Teotihuacán but there is a significant similarity to the quincunx.
Units act similar to flowing rivers; intertwining, bent over one another until they eventually cross each other. These points of crossing are shared communal spaces, the shared marketplace, the shared outdoor space, the shared dining and the shared parking. Places of significant and important gathering are encouraged by the reservoirs, both still and falling containing clean, pure water.