The Kuna Collection, [dates unavailable]

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Background

Scope and content:

This collection of images is the result of two Museum-funded expeditions to the Kuna Yala archipelago off the coast of Panama to document the Kuna peoples and the full range of Kuna expressive culture, with a particular focus on molas as a distinctive genre of art. Although molas are among the most commonly collected textile arts in the United States, few arts enthusiasts are well informed about the peoples who create them. For The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning among the Kuna of Panama project, curatorial staff worked closely with Kuna consultants to develop a systematic presentation of Kuna expressive culture and identity, the role of women in Kuna life, and their values and response to change brought on by external contacts during the past eighty years. The Kuna field collection features 1,500 stills and fifteen hours of video footage of the making of molas, Congreso meetings, ambient environment, and activities within the home. As life changes rapidly in Kuna Yala, these images are invaluable records of Kuna secular and sacred occasions of the 1990s.

  • Salvador, Mari Lyn, ed. The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama. Los Angeles: The Fowler Museum at UCLA, 1997.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  • Architecture - use for slides depicting specific building techniques or details of buildings. For slides depicting rooms and interiors, use Interior Spaces.
  • Boats - use for slides depicting boats
  • Congreso - used for slides depicting Congreso meetings and members
  • Interior Spaces - slides depicting rooms, whether commercial or domestic.
  • Landscapes - used for slides depicting natural environments such as the jungle, ocean, etc. If slide depicts homes in the landscape, use Village.
  • Molas - used for slides depicting the design and construction of Molas
  • Village - use for slides depicting homes and residential areas

Access and use

Location of this collection:
Box 951549
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4361
fowlerinfo@arts.ucla.edu
Website