Look Close, See Far: A Cultural Portrait of the Maya

By Bruce T. Martin and Patricia A. McAnany

Look Close, See Far uses photography and essays to create a cultural portrait of the Maya Indians. Respected scholars introduce these indigenous communities of Central America and their ancient and complex spiritual, cultural, artistic, and architectural traditions. One hundred stunning black and white photographs document the remaining fragments of this disappearing society and present a record of the world they inhabit through images of the people, the natural environment, and the historical artifacts of the Maya communities. The ancient Maya left behind evidence of their great prowess in mathematics, astronomy, and architecture, as well as enduring written and oral histories revealing intricate political and social hierarchies and a rich spiritual system. The Maya never truly disappeared, but their society went through many transformations, including the dramatic changes that followed the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. As outside pressures encroach, the Maya strive to maintain their cohesiveness and protect their local traditions and languages. Their cultural and spiritual identities are fundamentally intertwined with the land from which they and their ancestors have coaxed their livelihood for generations, and the survival of the Maya groups is endangered by the degradation and disappearance of their ancestral landscape. These striking images and illuminating descriptions of the evolving Maya and their unique worldview will intrigue readers interested in cultural and spiritual studies, travel, archaeology, and photography. The intimate and sensitive portraiture draws readers into the heart of the forests and villages in which the Maya have been rooted forgenerations. 100 b/w photographs.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807615897
• ISBN13: 9780807615898
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: George Braziller
• Length: 147 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 9.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Photographs: Poetry Without Words

Photographs: Poetry Without Words reviewed by MariJo Moore (www.marijomoore.com) Graphic, explicit, vivid, stark - which of these adjectives describes best the photographs in the book Look Close, See Far: A Cultural Portrait of the Maya by Bruce T. Martin? Perhaps real is the suitable description. But can photographs be real? Isn't that a contradiction in terms? Feasibly it would be more apropos to define this photographer as a realist, who, in 1987, began a twenty-year journey through his own misconceptions concerning an indigenous people of whom he was only superficially aware. In a recent interview, Martin revealed the following: "I stepped into the Maya world, and there was revealed the long, beautiful, rich, complicated, history and culture that they hold. One of my favorite aspects of this project was going there and the feeling of being overwhelmed by the Maya people and their story. I can't put it in words but I have tried to put it into my photography. That awakening and what I have learned in this project has changed me and helped me to see life in a different light. It also made me realize how little of this world I really know or understand, but at the same time inspires me to continue on and learn more.''