COLLECTION NAME:
Undergraduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
The San Antonio Aztec Theatre: Ancient Mesoamerican Spectacle in the Early-Twentieth-Century United States
Creator:
Silva, Gabriella Jeanine
Subject:
Thesis (B.F.A.) -- Art History
Subject:
Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Art History
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Abstract:
“The Pre-Columbian Revival Style of American architecture rose to prominence throughout the 1920s–1930s, significantly changing the architectural identity of the United States. This thesis examines the San Antonio Aztec Theatre, an understudied yet robust example of Pre-Columbian Revival design in the American Southwest. The architectural ornament of the San Antonio Aztec Theatre is a unique reflection of its landscape setting in a border state. Architect Robert Kelley and chief designer R.A Koenig created one of the few Pre-Columbian Revival buildings located in a predominately Latinx urban community, with a significant population of descendants of indigenous Central Mexican cultures. Elements of Pre-Columbian inspired architectural ornament are woven throughout the building. The Latin American visual landscapes of the Aztec Theatre are immersive, delighting viewers with seemingly imagined scenes, despite their firm roots in ancient Mesoamerican archaeological sites. Previous scholarship on the Pre-Columbian Revival Style focuses on well-known architects and the style’s relationship to other early-twentieth-century architectural movements. This approach has neglected the indigenous perspective and the visual cultural traditions that originated these Pre-Columbian designs. Through a formal visual and historical analysis of the San Antonio Aztec Theatre, this thesis aims to give credit to the ancient Mesoamerican cultures that originally created these motifs, patterns, and architectural styles. I assert that the Aztec Theatre created a transportive experience for its predominantly white, upper-class audience while erasing meaningful connections to the cultures that originated the theater’s architectural source material. Furthermore, this thesis argues that the Pre-Columbian Revival ornament embellishing the San Antonio Aztec Theatre is part of a larger cultural moment, reflecting an American society coping with extreme political, economic, and cultural change. Visitors to the San Antonio Aztec Theatre embraced this escapist space which was, as I will show, inspired by ancient cultures that were not as distant from themselves as they imagined.” –Abstract
Keywords: Pre-Columbian Revival, escapism, San Antonio Aztec Theater, ancient Mesoamerica, Roaring Twenties, Great Depression.
Keywords: Pre-Columbian Revival, escapism, San Antonio Aztec Theater, ancient Mesoamerica, Roaring Twenties, Great Depression.
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia: Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2019-08
Format:
1 online resource: 1 PDF (Thesis, 83 pages, color illustrations)