Lorena Ancona
Llano, 2021One part of Jesse Lerner’s 1999 essay film Ruins tells the riveting story of Brigído Lara, a ceramicist from the Mexican state of Veracruz who was accused of trafficking pre-Columbian sculptures in the 1970s. Although he claimed to be the author of the artifacts in question, he was arrested. While in custody, he proved his assertion by convincing a guard to bring him water and clay from his home village. Then he crafted what any specialist on pre-Columbian cultures would accept as an ancient piece. The consequences of this event were huge: Many objects were removed from the collections of major international museums after they proved to be Lara’s creations.