Jonathon Rosen Studio
Gothic Aztecs


Gotik Aztéques is a stridently anti-colonial science fiction thought experiment which takes place in a modern Aztec Europe. Gotik Aztéques is a science fiction historical revisionist thought experiment that mixes live-action & animation to explore and celebrate the singular uniqueness of Aztec culture and religion.

500 years after an Aztec conquest of Gothic Europe, a European-Aztec girl is about to be sacrificed to the Gods in order to maintain the working machinery of the cosmos. The girl rebels against the Gods by becoming a member of the last cult of the Devil. The revelation of the Devil’s true identity as her nemesis Coatlicue, Mother of the Gods, triggers the apocalyptic final chapter in the Aztec-European Empire. 

The goal of this project is to complete Gothic Aztecs as 
  • A 30 min film 
  • A multi channel video installation 
  • Assets for VJ performance with live musicians 
  • A documentary book project

(See references below).

Teaser for Gothic Aztecs



Coatlicue

Photographic proof of the Devil.



Coatlicue

Coatlicue

Quetzalcoatl bringing smallpox to the new world. 2021.



Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl (the plumed serpent), are both brothers and bitter rivals. Quetzalcoatl was lured into drunken sexual transgression by Tezcatlipoca and was banished to the east. His prophesied return foretold the end of the Aztec Empire.

Tezcatlipoca - "Lord of the Smoking Mirror". 2023.
B&W Acrylic gesso and pencil on wood panel 12"x12".

Tezcatlipoca, omnipotent Meso-American deity, the revealer of hidden sins. Trickster and perpetrator of mockeries and metamorphosis. The God of rulers and sorcerers, his black mirror represents the all knowing eye in the sky, pervasive nocturnal powers, the ability to see, and the promise of divine revelation.

AKA; the enemy on both sides.






Le Dernier Cri performance, Paris.


poster study


Various stills from the film




Risograph prints


SCREENINGS:


2003
Short version included in solo show at La Luz de Jesus Gallery, LA. CA.

2004
Short version of Gotik Aztéques was shown at the Archeology of Imaginary Communication Devices conference at the Debaile Center in Amsterdam.
Le dernier cri presented the world premiere of "Les Religions Sauvage" including Gotik Aztéques @ the Galerie Clark, Montreal, .

2005
Los Angeles. Gotik Aztéques was presented in a show of live video mixing with mixMaster/composer Tom Recchion @ the CalArts Redcat theater in downtown LA. as a part of LA MOCA's Visual Music Exhibition concert series SeeHear Now.

2006
Gotik Aztéques was presented as part of my solo show Meat Grinder of the Soul in Luzern, Switzerland at The Luzern Institute for Art & Design.

2007-2019
bits and pieces of Gothic Aztecs folded into various VJ performances.

2022
NY, NY. The title sequence for the Parsons Core 4D final 2022 animation screening featuring Aztec Multiplex Screening Room, was premiered in the super fancy Tishman Auditorium at The New School.




The Virtual location for the clip:
https://hubs.mozilla.com/M3wGfQj/starry-good-convention


2024
the Gothic Aztecs teaser/trailer was just featured on the 366weirdmovies.com website “SATURDAY SHORT: GOTHIC AZTECS (2007)”.
(and also oddly enough, a on a page on MUBI).




Cast:

Zyanya: Eva Doumbia
Coatlicue: Monica Valdivia
Devil, co-director Marseille unit & Master Production Facilitator: Pakito Bolino
The Sun: Marc Druez (French pop rock guitarist, singer, cartoonist animator)
Aztec Fisherman/Surgeon High Preist: Olivier Adam Schizt
Devil’s Minion: Nuvish Mircovitch
Witch-demon of the reliquary: Caroline Sury
Possesed girl: Eleonor
Nurse: Angéle
Assistant surgeon: Reinalt
Hands & Eyes: Ko
Hands: Walker Gunning & Dianna Branham-Rosen


Gotik Aztéques was originally commissioned by the French publishing collective Le Dernier Cri as a short segment for their animation compilation Wild Religions.




References:

Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind by León-Portilla, Miguel Davis, Jack Emory. University of Oklahoma Press  1990

Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God: Tezcatlipoca, "Lord of the Smoking Mirror" (Mesoamerican Worlds) by Olivier, Guilhem

City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and the Role of Violence in Civilization
by David Carrasco 

Sweeping the Way: Divine Transformation in the Aztec Festival of Ochpaniztli (Mesoamerican Worlds) 2009 by Catherine DiCesare


Image from the Florentine Codex depicting the birth of Aztec deity Huitzilopochtli and defeat of his sister, Coyolxauqui