Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Quiché through Illustration

An exhibition, Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Quiché through Illustration, featuring 65 original artworks by artist Jaime Arredondo.   In addition to the artwork, the exhibition features the story of the Popol Vuh in the artist’s words and an audio tour by the artist, in both English and Spanish.

The exhibition was curated by the artist, in partnership with Irving Archives and Museum, where it debuted in September 2023.  The exhibit has toured around the country in the time since, but return to Irving where it will be on view at Irving Arts Center from June 20 through October 17.

ABOUT THE POPUL VUH

Around 1000 CE, in the present-day country of Guatemala, a highland Mayan people called the Quiché created a pictographic creation myth of the universe known as Popol Vuh, or Book of the Community, in which a pair of hero twins must descend into the underworld to save the next and final generation of humanity. Shortly following the arrival of the Spanish, multiple Indigenous literary codices, including the Popol Vuh, were ordered to be burned in 1524. The stories in the Popol Vuh were later retold in 1721 to Father Francisco Ximenez, a sympathetic Dominican priest who translated the text from the Native Quiché language to Spanish. The earliest known surviving body of literature in the Americas, Popol Vuh is an invaluable source of knowledge of ancient Mayan mythology and culture.

It is Arredondo’s hope that these works will restore the former glory of the Popol Vuh and its authors to its deserved place in human history. In turn, this will lead to a greater interest and defense of it, and the art and culture of Native and Indigenous peoples. In the exhibition, Jaime Arredondo has recaptured the vitality of the Popol Vuh and recreated the storytelling nature of this important work.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jaime Arredondo was born in Dallas, Texas to Mexican American Tejano parents. His mother was a direct descendant of the original land granted to Spanish families in Texas dating back to the 1600s, and his father was Otomi, a large Native American nation originating from Central Mexico. He is a graduate of MacArthur High School and the University of Dallas both in Irving. After graduating from Yale University in 1989 with a Master of Fine Arts in Painting, Arredondo moved to New York City and began teaching his course, “Of Fire and Blood: Art and Mythology of Mexico” at New York University and The New School. He continues to teach at both universities and live in New York City with his wife and daughter.

Arredondo has had numerous solo gallery and museum shows in the Southwest and in New York City, and is the recipient of numerous awards. In 2009, his paintings were published as stamps by the United Nations, and in 2015 he was commissioned to create a permanent art project for the Manhattan Transit Authority at the Zerega Station in the Bronx.  That same year an exhibition of his work “The Garden of Earthly Delights” was exhibited at Irving Arts Center.

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