Usumacinta
This installation brings together the Fibonacci Series and the Golden Ratio with its associated dynamic proportions in an evocation of Mayan art and architecture. It was initially inspired by a fabric wall hanging made by Elizabeth Bailey (mother of the artist). Collaboration with Boston composer Christopher Bailey (son of the artist) has provided a sonic element to the work.
Usumacinta is the name of a major river in the heart of the ancient Mayan city state region. In 1962 the artist’s brother, Douglas Bailey, funded by a research grant from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia through the noted limnologist, Dr. Ruth Patrick, traveled on this river. Images of the Mayan ruins that he brought back had a profound influence on the artist. The Golden Ratio and dynamic proportions are part of a geometric system that was independently invented and used by the Maya of central America more than 2000 years ago, and still in use today in traditional houses. The installation, in part, reflects the research of Dr. Christopher Powell in his 2010 dissertation, The Shapes of Sacred Space, on the geometry of Mayan art and architecture.
This work would not have been possible without the mentorship and support of Professor Eric Lintala at UMass Dartmouth’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts. It was first set up in Gallery 244, at the Star Store Campus of UMass Dartmouth in New Bedford MA, on display November 18 to December 6, 2019.
Biographical Notes:
Elizabeth Bailey (1919 – 2013, mother of the artist) was a quiltmaker residing near Philadelphia, PA, with a BA in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania. From 1974 to 1976 she was the Registrar of the Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. From 1992 – 2000 She partnered in an antique quilt restoration business in Swarthmore PA. During this time she made a series of fabric wall hangings.
Douglas Bailey (1943 – 2007, brother of the artist) was an urban and environmental planner. He was educated at Dartmouth College and the Graduate School for City Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1968 he co-founded an Environmental Design firm, Intendes Group in Toronto, Canada. He later worked for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington DC and had a continuing involvement with Native American projects in Canada, the US and Central America.