The Importance of the Speech Scroll
This Fall I used a speech scroll in my photo image Una Canción y Un Poema, and it was more than intentional. The speech scroll is an essential element of the story I was trying to tell in my photograph.
What is A Speech Scroll in Mesoamerican Art?
The speech scroll is the English name for the pictorial device in art that denotes someone's speech. Mesoamerican artist, scholars and scribes used it thousands of years ago, and you can often find it in Aztec codices. Civilizations like the Tolec, Olmec, Mexica, Teothuacan and Maya used speech scrolls, and since I was a child, I understood them without anyone having to explain their meaning and use. They are powerful and also useful.
A mural in the ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan, Mexico, c. 2nd century) (Source: Wikipedia)
The Nahuatl Word Is Tlahtolli
There are multiple ways to represent speech scrolls in Nahuatl. In this case, I will call on the word Tlahtolli, which means the act of speaking or issuing words. A ruler is a tlahtoāni (“the one who speaks”), which ties the scroll iconography directly to authority and leadership. But keep in mind that it can also have other meanings. There are more words that can be used to describe the art technique of speech scrolls, and I encourage you to investigate and read up on indigenous languages to go further and to resist colonization.
The Nahiuatl word xochitlahtolli can also be used to say "beautiful word" or "flowery word", acording to this page from the state of Jalisco. And thus, we can see the connection between Tlahtolli and the concepts of songs and poetry.
The Speech Scroll Symbolizes Air and Sound
It's interesting that as modern humans we don't often pair the concepts of air and sound, but we should. Without air, we would have no sounds or music at all. In this article by the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, we learn that "The much more common shape known as a "speech scroll" (a term borrowed from European iconography) or volute appears as a regular vehicle for helping readers visualize air movement and the passage of sound through the air, which could otherwise be invisible (with the exception of speech on a icy morning)."
My Artistic Interpretation of the Speech Scroll
In Una Canción y Un Poema, I took a photograph that I shot digitally of myself using natural light. Through the process of editing the image, adjusting lighting and color grading, I ended up with a shadow-filled composition that renders the subject as a type of monolith, or almost like a Maya stelae. This choice was intentional; all my art connects back to the art of my ancestors, and I try to embody the motifs and archetypal images that my ancestors created, but through my own personal and modern lens.
Above I have zoomed in on the portion of the photo that contains the speech scroll. You can see that the subject's face is experiencing distortions as they emit a song and a poem, thus the title of the composition. The choices of colors in the image are very intentional, but I leave their interpretation up to the viewer.
If you would like to see the full image, you can check it out in my Fall 2025 gallery.
Why Pantyhose?
I made a choice to shoot this photo while wearing navy blue pantyhose. That blue color ties into symbolism that is both personal to me as an artist, but it also corresponds to colors and meanings that are found inside Aztec art and culture. The pantyhose functions as a type of skin–light, breathable and form fitting. The garment represents a type of freedom inside a world that has many doors but which often lacks the ability to open up those doors. The sheerness of pantyhose is what allows me to work with it almost as a type of canvas in my images. The pantyhose also becomes a direct link to the god Xochipilli, who is featured inside the novel Our Lord of the Flowers. That meaning is subjective to the viewer while at the same time it is objective for me, the artist.
Prints Available for Purchase
I make select images from my catalog available as prints, and I am happy to announce that you can get your own print of Una Cancion y Un Poema directly from my web store. My prints are affordable, and I make them available for now as 5" x 7" matte prints. I do also offer it also as a metal print upon request. Metal prints are a lot costlier to make, but if there's interest, I am glad to make a few available. If you have questions please send me an email.
Buy Una Canción y Un Poema 5"x7" matte print
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