The Benson Latin American Collection and the Blanton Museum of Art present the exhibition Ink and Memory: A Documentary History of People and Things from the Spanish Americas. 

The Spanish military conquest in the Americas started in the early years of the sixteenth century and was soon followed by a period of acculturation and Christianization. The printing press was a crucial element in this process. Italian printers Juan Pablos and Antonio Ricardo brought the first printing presses to Mexico City in 1539 and to Lima in 1589. The earliest published materials included books in Spanish, Latin, and indigenous languages, as well as musical scores and representations of miraculous images. This exhibition displays some of these items, not only identifying them as conduits of religious and visual knowledge, but also reflecting on them as physical objects pivoting complex commercial and cultural relationships.

This exhibition is presented in conjunction with the 2018 Lozano Long Conference, "Create, Consume, Collect: The Lives of Colonial Latin American Artifacts," taking place at the Blanton on Thursday, Feb. 22, and the Benson Collection on Friday, Feb. 23. Visit the conference link for details on panels, keynotes, and more.

The exhibition remains on view through August 10, 2018, during library hours.

For more information, contact Susanna Sharpe. 

Hours – The Benson Collection is open Monday–Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 2 to 8 p.m. The collection is closed Saturdays.

Image: Genaro García Collection, Benson Latin American Collection