The ancient Mexican civilization traditionally known as the Olmec, approximately 1800–400 BC, left a rich material record of its presence. Yet without written documentation, scholars are left to ponder both the origin of the Olmec and the specific cultural, spiritual, and political significance of the many, primarily stone, works excavated since the nineteenth century. Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico, a collaboration between the Instituto Nacional de Antropolgía e Historia, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, curated by Kathleen Berrin and Virginia Fields, included a selection of over 140 Olmec stone and wood sculptures primarily from the modern states of Veracruz and Tobasco. This was the first time in over fifteen years, and in some cases the first time ever, that many of these objects had been on view in the United States.

The exhibition, organized according to temporal and geographical themes (major and some minor Gulf Coast sites) as well as size and proposed function, did not attempt to solve the mysteries of the Olmec, but rather, according to John Buchanan, director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, focused on the most recent scholarship and significant discoveries stemming from finds made in the last fifteen years. As Berrin stated at the press preview, the goal of the complex collaboration was to contextualize the Olmec works. A short film and a few photographs of various excavation sites, along with specific geographic details, were an indication that the context emphasized archeological discovery. There was less certainty regarding the cultural significance, form, and function of many of the works. The problem, of course, as Berrin pointed out is that these objects often raise more questions than answers.

One of the most pressing questions is whether or not the Olmec were the “mother culture” that early archeologists and art historians deemed them to be. The close attention to geographic considerations in both the exhibition itself and the catalogue speaks to the current shift toward viewing the Olmec as an array of multi-ethnic groups who inhabited various physical and temporal regions rather than a unified civilization (10). According to Diana Magoloni Kerpel, this controversy surrounding issues of origin often supersedes what may be the most valuable information to be gleaned from these mysterious and impressive objects. She makes the case that studying cultural persistence, namely the transfer of Olmec artistic and cultural traditions to later civilizations like the Toltec and the Aztec, may very well be the key to uncovering some of the secrets of the Olmec and to deepening an understanding of later civilizations (10). Kerpel’s preface to the exhibition catalogue as well as some short essays, including “The Olmec Legacy in Stone: A Mesoamerican Alpha and Omega,” by Richard A. Diehl, offer an introduction to this strand of Olmec studies.

The catalogue does explore some recent and some continuing research, and the exhibition placards offered descriptions of central locations, the probable influence of the Olmec on their neighbors, and the possible function and legacy of some of the works. But the strength of the exhibition rested in the objects themselves.

Two impressive, indeed colossal, basalt portrait heads discovered in the nineteenth century were displayed at the opening and conclusion of the exhibition. The first sculpture, Colossal Head 4 (1200–900 BC, Veracruz), weighs in at about ten thousand pounds. The stone monument, which was displayed in the round and mounted on a circular base which raised it well above the viewer’s head, evokes a great ruler of an ancient civilization while simultaneously forcing the viewer to grapple with the object as a sculptural force dislocated from its origins. The rough, porous, volcanic stone carved without the aid of modern tools (only stone implements) contrasts with the beautifully curved lines of the lips and the straight lines of the helmet. The ears and the decorative elements of the helmet are in relief while the play between solid and void is accentuated in the more sculptural representation of the mouth and nose. The display, of course, dramatically emphasized the monumentality of the piece. The portrait head was viewed singly in a room with blank, dark brown walls, and it was impeccably lit. The circular base and positioning of the piece in the center of the room beckoned the viewer to physically contend with the work from every perspective—from the fullness of the rounded facial features to the perfectly flat surface of the back of the head. There was no escaping the challenge of considering the immense sculpture in relation to the scale of the human body. The portrait head displayed at the very end of the exhibition, Colossal Head 9 (1200–900 BC, Veracruz), was presented in an identical format. This framing of the exhibition succeeded in constructing an aura of mystery and grandeur even as it made evident the staging of the objects within a major museum production.

While the basalt heads were the most awe-inspiring of the 140 objects exhibited, smaller stone works were quite impressive in their own right. There were numerous examples of jadeite celts or axes, figurines, and masks displayed in well-lit glass cases. The highly polished surfaces of the celts and fine detail of some of the figurines stand in direct contrast to the texture and scale of the portrait heads. One of the most intriguing sets of objects on display was Offering 4 (900–400 BC, La Venta), discovered in 1959. Fifteen jadeite figurines, measuring six to seven inches in height, surround a central figure (probably granite) facing the group with six slender celts standing on end in the background (about ten inches in height). The color of the stone figurines ranges from white to a deep green. The objects were discovered in this precise arrangement partially buried in reddish-brown sand, covered with white sand and several multi-colored layers of earthen material. A cylindrical hole was dug down to the level of the figurines’ heads in the center of the grouping and filled in with a different mixture of earth. The arrangement of the figures and the use of multiple textures and colors of material to bury the objects suggest a ritual significance (160). The facial features of the figurines are well-formed with full lips, almond-shaped eyes, and distinct noses. The tops of the heads are elongated and bulbous, and the backs of the heads are flattened.

Also of note are the twin human figures, Monuments 8 and 9 (1200–900 BC, Veracruz), discovered in 1987. The smoothly polished andesite sculptures portray kneeling male figures each holding a staff. The backs of the figures are sloped to form a perfectly smooth curved surface. They appear as if they are about to spring forward, making them some of the few Olmec objects in the exhibition that imply movement. Well-formed facial features as well as the decorative elements in both the crowns and the garments suggest strong attention to detail. These figures were found facing a feline/jaguar figure said to hold significant spiritual meaning.

The juxtaposition of immense and small, smooth and rough, and detailed and simple, combined with an oscillation between two- and three-dimensional space, persisted throughout the exhibition. Contending with the formal and spatial characteristics of these ancient objects emerged as the major benefit of seeing the works in person and contributed to contemplating the larger mystery of who the Olmec were and what their lasting legacy might have been.