Week 5 - The Fowler Museum Experience

For the third week in a row, I was able to visit a part of campus I have yet to see or experience. A few weeks ago it was the botanical garden, after that we had the opportunity of visiting the planetarium and this week, we were able to visit the Fowler museum! The Fowler Museum is currently home to 6 different exhibitions. Ranging from ‘How Do You See This World?’: The Art of Almighty God to Reflecting Culture: The Francis E. Fowler, Jr. Collection of Silver. Although all of the exhibitions seem extremely interesting and I am planning on visiting again to see them, the one that was of interest to our class was the “Fowler in Focus: Communication Systems In A Global Context” (“Exhibitions”). This exhibit encompasses the many different forms of communication used by different groups of people as well as countries. One piece in particular that was of interest to our class was the Khipu, which we originally learned about through Patricia Cavidad’s presentation at the botanical garden. This week, however, we were able to learn more about the Khipu through a presentation by Alba Pereda, a PhD candidate whose research interests/focus is around the Khipu. “The Inca Empire (1400-1532) is one of the few ancient civilizations that speaks to us in multiple dimensions. Instead of words or pictograms, the Incas use khipus- knotted string devices- to communicate extraordinarily complex mathematical and narrative information” (Medrano). It is fascinating to hear that only a small handful of civilizations speak in multiple ways. Not only that, but when we think of communication/speaking, it is generally through words, who would have thought it can be done through cotton strings! Pictured below is an image of the Khipu located at the Fowler Museum.

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Throughout Pereda’s presentation, we were able to learn more and more about the cultural significance the Khipu holds to the Inka people/civilizations. She mentioned that the Khipu is usually made of materials like cotton. Much like what Patricia stated, she also mentioned that the Khipu is an instrument used as a way of interpreting numbers (depending on the knots and how many there are on each string). “In the absence of an alphabetic writing system, this simple and highly portable device achieved a surprising degree of precision and flexibility” (Cartwright). It is amazing how even though the Inka civilization lacked an alphabet, they were able to create their own form of communication using the Khipu. Although it is not spoken, the Khipu is definitely a form of communication, more specifically, visual communication. The intricacy required to create such a historical tool is outstanding. From the different colors of string to the type of wool or cotton, the possibilities are endless. It is also important to note that according to Alba, many Khipu’s are extremely difficult to decode or actually translate their true meaning. To this day, many remain unsolved/not translated and it is up to “... dedicated expert - a person known as a khipu kamayuq, or “knot specialist” (Fowler Museum Informational Plaque).

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In addition to the Khipu, we were also given the opportunity to explore other parts of the exhibit, which is when I saw a large poster with the title “American Stock Exchange.” “The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) was once the third-largest stock exchange in the United States, as measured by trading volume” (Chen). Up until 2007, it was known as the American Stock Exchange, however, the AMEX was acquired by the New York Stock Exchange in 2008. It is incredible to be able to make a connection between the AMEX and the Khipu. Although the Khipu is far more culturally significant, the AMEX and the Khipu both represent something; numbers! The main purpose of the NYSE is used to grow companies and it allows investors an opportunity to determine how they trade (“NYSE American”). It is incredible to see how much significance a simple piece of paper holds to many people as well as companies across the United States. Those types of papers, seen at Fowler, are used to date the changes/fluctuations that occur in the stock market on a daily basis. All in all, I genuinely enjoyed visiting the Fowler Museum simply because it allowed me to not only explore different parts of campus but allowed me to explore different cultures, as well!

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Works Cited: 

Cartwright, Mark. “Quipu.” World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia, 29 Apr. 2022, https://www.worldhistory.org/Quipu/#:~:text=Definition&text=A%20quipu%20(khipu)%20was%20a,degree%20of%20precision%20and%20flexibility.

Chen, James. “American Stock Exchange (AMEX).” Investopedia, Investopedia, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/amex.asp.
 
“Exhibitions.” Fowler Museum at UCLA, 26 June 2021, https://fowler.ucla.edu/exhibitions/.
 
Medrano, Manuel, and Gary Uton. “The Incas' Knotty History.” SAPIENS, Wikimedia Commons, 26 July 2018, https://www.sapiens.org/culture/khipu-incas-knotty-history/#:~:text=The%20Inca%20Empire%20(1400,complex%20mathematical%20and%20narrative%20information.
 
“NYSE American: The New Choice for Institutional Investing.” Small Cap Equity Market | NYSE American, https://www.nyse.com/markets/nyse-american.