Mitla 1974

Joyce Kozloff made this untitled painting of Mitla using watercolor, gouache and rhoplex on paper. The image presents multiple bands of geometric patterns in a range of colors. These patterns are derived from the architectural decorations of Mitla, an important religious center built by the Zapotec civilization in Oaxaca, Mexico. Kozloff is an artist who came to prominence in the 1970s as part of the Pattern and Decoration movement, which challenged the traditional art world's dismissal of decoration as feminine and trivial. This movement was self-consciously progressive, as it critiqued existing social structures and institutions of art by embracing patterns and designs from non-Western cultures. Kozloff traveled extensively, studying traditional arts and crafts and incorporating them into her work. She used her art to explore the politics of imagery, particularly in relation to gender and cultural identity. By engaging with research resources, such as travel journals, photographs, and studies of non-Western art, we can understand the social conditions that shape artistic production and the ways in which art challenges existing social norms.