Image of the Week: Culture Clash
© Durga Yael Bernhard
This illustration was commissioned by an educational publisher for the opening page of a unit in a high school history textbook. Culture Clash was the name assigned by the editorial department. The two cultures clashing are the Spanish conquistadors of the 15th century, and the indigenous Aztec people of Mexico. The publisher wanted me to create a mask that would resemble Aztec art, and be reflective of the clash that took place.
At first, this seemed like an easy assignment. With their earthy texture and proportions, ancient Aztec masks were easy for me to emulate. "Art of the Americas" was not my very favorite wing of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art – but I had done my due diligence there, drawing sketches and taking notes. What was more difficult was representing history without frightening or misleading the young teens who were destined to read this textbook – and without offending the publisher, who was located in Texas, a largely Christian state. For nothing could put a bloodier stain on the Catholic Church than this period of history, when the the armored invaders from Spain broke the back of Aztec culture. Under the military force of Isabel and Ferdinand, the Catholic Church sent its missionaries pouring into Central America, bearing cross and sword, converting, torturing, and killing by the thousands. I couldn't, and wouldn't, show that. Instead, I simply represented the two cultures in little vignettes. Front and center in the middle of the mask's forehead, I placed an elegant Spanish church – its rightful place as the purpose of the Inquisition.
Feedback from the editorial department arrived quickly. The church was to be eliminated from the illustration, along with all visual references to religion.
Eliminated? I was stunned. How could I erase the primary force that drove the wheel of history? This textbook would be used by thousands of high school students. Was this not a misrepresentation of facts, I protested in my reply?
Within two hours the answer arrived, explaining that while "final production" agreed it may be more accurate to show the church, they had decided to eliminate it just the same.
At the risk of losing the assignment, I stuck my neck out, and managed to strike a compromise. My editors allowed the Spanish church to remain, but not the cross upon it, and I was to blend it into the monochromatic background to make it less prominent. Ergo, only by stretching your imagination can you tell it's a church – that is, if you notice it at all.
Had I failed my readers? I did not know. But as a wise friend pointed out, it could be argued that it was not really the Catholic religion that drove the Inquisition, but a ruthless regime acting under the guise of the Church. Where does fact leave off, and interpretation begin?
Multicultural illustration is a minefield of complex considerations. Many practices among the indigenous people of Central America would traumatize young readers as much as those of the Mexican Inquisition. History is full of brutality on both sides of the ocean, and both ends of the political spectrum. Whether on the scale of a village tribe or a continental army, when religious beliefs take on military power, the result is catastrophic. Isn't that the most important message?
I didn't like having my hands tied, as an illustrator. Whitewashing the past does no service to the young minds who will rule our future nation. On the other hand, even this image could be enough to pique the interest of a student with an appetite for history. At the very least, it imparts a taste of the beauty and power of Aztec masks.
A good week to all –