Referencing objects from the Art and Art History Collection, Astrid Runggaldier (faculty, Art History and Assistant Director, Mesoamerica Center) leads a gallery talk surrounding the history of natural dyes in the Americas and their use in traditional garments from the region, drawing connections between these longstanding practices of making and Carmen Argote’s site-specific installation at the VAC.
Carmen Argote: Me At Market is on view January 24 – March 6, 2020.
Astrid Runggaldier is the Assistant Director for the Mesoamerica Center and oversees programming of educational, scholarly, and public activities for the Mesoamerica Center at UT Austin and Casa Herrera in Antigua, Guatemala. Dr. Runggaldier is a Mesoamericanist interested in particular in Maya culture and in anthropological approaches to architecture, households, and built environments in the context of the ancient civilizations of the Americas. She additionally manages UT’s Art and Art History Collection of Pre-Columbian artifacts and ethnographic textiles from the Americas, and contributes to the teaching of undergraduate classes in the Department of Art and Art History.