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Project Name
Explore Two Aztec Deities interactive  
Project Description
In conjunction with the J. Paul Getty Museum's 2010 "The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of the Empire" exhibition, an English- and Spanish-language interactive focusing on two masterpieces of Aztec sculpture from the collection of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City was developed by the Getty Museum. The objects featured depict gods at the heart of Aztec cosmology: patron god of the Aztec palace, "Xochipilli", perhaps best known from the iconic image on the Mexican 100 peso banknote, and the "Head of Coyolxauhqui", whose foundational myth commemorates the rise of the Aztec people. The multimedia interactive offers a guided tour of rich interpretive content regarding the complex iconography and random-access functionality to explore the pieces via 360 degree high resolution photography. The "Head of Coyolxauhqui" had not been photographed since the early 1960s, and the new multi-resolution imagery offered in the interactive--particularly that of the richly carved underside--is a significant contribution to research and scholarship of this sculpture. The Getty Museum's existing interactive framework for 2D objects was further enhanced with an image-rotation explore mode in order to accommodate 3D artifacts. The interactive is modularized; content and interface are externalized from the core functionality and controled via an external XML configuration file. The bilingual interactive is offered on an in-gallery kiosk during the run of the Getty Museum's "Aztec Pantheon" exhibition, and permanently online on the Getty's Web site. The Web version includes original music compositions, performed on instruments based on examples found at Mexican archaeological sites. The interactive will also be provided to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Keyword(s)
online multimedia interactive, education, aztec, coyolxauhqui, xochipilli, getty,
Project Organization
J. Paul Getty Museum  
Project Type
Gallery Kiosk or Video Other
Educational Media
 
Status
Complete
Budget Range
$5001–$20,000
Projected Completion Date
(yyyy-mm)
2010-03  
Vendor(s) Considered
Mark Baltzegar
Notes
 
Related Media
Schedule Notes
Contact(s)
Paco Link , Sr. Media Producer , plink@getty.edu
Maria Gilbert , Sr. Editor, Content Development , mgilbert@getty.edu
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