Estéticas y simbolismos del tambor Salasaca

In this project we sought to identify the meanings constructed around the painting of the Salasaca drum from the reading of its formal, figurative and symbolic transformations through the exploration of the verbal and graphic discourse that is enunciated in and on the drum through the analysis of tangible plastic elements and their symbolic representations. In addition, the relationships and modes of use given to this artifact were examined from various perspectives. During the process, empirical information was revealed through field work carried out in the Salasaca community, in which verbal and graphic information related to the pictorial practice on the drum was collected. Regarding ethnographic work, dialogue with female informants in the community was prioritized. At the same time, a photographic archive was created to analyze the images along the lines proposed by Hadjinicolaou (1981), Baxandall (1978) and Jean-Marie Floch (1985), to understand and describe the formal, figurative and symbolic of the Salasaca drum paintings from graphic and semiotic readings, to establish the aesthetic changes, but also their relationship with community meanings and practices.