All Photos By Gail

While the streamlined curves of Gloria Cortina’s Black Hawk Console (2016) reference the design aesthetic of modern French opulence and glamour popular in the 20th century, Black Hawk serves as an homage to the perception of luxury in the Aztec empire.

Prior to European contact, the Aztec court administered a complex tribute system whereby indigenous subjects supplied the emperor with a variety of coveted and labor-intensive goods, among hem cochineal and bird feathers.

The cochineal-lacquered surface alludes to the 20 bags of  cochineal paid every three months, and the central panel (detail above), designed in a stylized feather pattern, references the hundreds of feathers regularly given to the empire to create elaborate feather works for ceremonial paraphernalia and royal garb.

Photographed in the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum on Manhattan.

Installation View