Jonathon Rosen Studio
Teaser for Gothic Aztecs.
The apocalyptic destruction of a modern Pan-European Aztec empire is triggered by an Aztec girl who subverts her impending heart sacrifice to the gods.
500 years after an Aztec conquest of Gothic Europe, an
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.
Gotik Aztéques is a revisionist history / apocalyptic fantasy mix of live-action & animation. It was originally commissioned by the French publishing collective Le Dernier Cri as a segment for their animation compilation Wild Religions.
I am currently finishing post-production on an extended version.
500 years after an Aztec conquest of Gothic Europe, an
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.
Gotik Aztéques is a revisionist history / apocalyptic fantasy mix of live-action & animation. It was originally commissioned by the French publishing collective Le Dernier Cri as a segment for their animation compilation Wild Religions.
I am currently finishing post-production on an extended version.
Photographic proof of the Devil.
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 - "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 included in solo show at La Luz de Jesus Gallery, LA. CA. 2004 A sneak preview 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.
Location:
https://hubs.mozilla.com/M3wGfQj/starry-good-convention
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
