Maya

This piece by Jarvis Rockwell is an 11' step pyramid filled with thousands of action figures. The action figures displayed on this pyramid vary from Star Wars figurines to Bart Simpson. Rockwell was inspired to make Maya from Hindu temples that he saw on a trip to Madras/Chennai in India. These Hindu temples are covered with sculptures of gods that make up the Hindu pantheon. Instead of filling the pyramid with Hindu gods, Rockwell uses dolls. For Rockwell these figures stand in for the abundance of desires found in contemporary culture. These action figures tell a story to viewers. The viewers are astounded by these stories because they can make a connection to these fictional characters. Rockwell began collecting action figures in 1979. His collection grew into hundreds, and then thousands. After about a decade he began grouping the action figures, articulating the relationships that he saw between the figures. This hobby of Rockwell that began in 1979 eventually led the massive display shown in Maya (1997).