ArtAndes Blog

I was recently invited to the Ft.Lauderdale Museum of Art, along with master weaver Maximo Laura, to talk about modern day weaving with the ancient influences of the Wari culture. The Wari exhibit is one of the best exhibits I have ever seen in this country. ( it runs through mid May, then on to Texas June- early Sept) The capital of the Wari was Ayacucho, Peru, the area where Maximo was born and where I have worked with the weavers since the mid-eighties. The Inca usually take the stage, but the Wari were more spectacular in many ways. Below are some of the rugs I have designed using the geometric influences of the Wari.

Wari: 500 years before the inca. The Wari empire arose in the Huamanga or Ayacucho region of the central highlands of modern Peru. Wari emerged out of a period of intense interaction during the 6th and 7th centuries AD among a number of cultures located in different parts of the central Andean region. By the mid 8th century the Wari had embarked on a campaign of expansion that was to bring most of Peru’s highlands along the southern and central coastal regions under a single regime. The Wari ruled an enormous territory and had sovereignty over many diverse peoples, supporting their empire. By the late 11th century the empire had collapsed.