In his description of past events, Christopher Hitchens expresses his disagreement and distaste of the desecration and damages done to historical relics of Greece. Hitchens believes that historical works of art should be perfectly preserved and presented artistically, and not to be harmed in any way. To support his perspective, Hitchens includes emotional imagery and descriptive word choice. Hitchens use of emotional imagery compels readers to agree with an opinion that appears to be completely logical. “The front part of the torso of Poseidon is in London, and the rest part is in Athens. And so on. This is grotesque...” To any person that is artistic or might have OCD, this kind of description and thought would be unbearable. Notice Hitchen’s language, torso and rear. By picking these two body parts, it paints a disgusting and unnatural picture in people’s minds. By logic, the entire separation of a statues parts would not be in any way pleasant. This …show more content…
“Nor that the beauty and symmetry, of the Parthenon have not been abused and perverted and mutilated... Most horrible of all, perhaps, the Acropolis was made to fly a Nazi flag during the German occupation of Athens.” Some examples of the peculiar word choice would be ‘mutilated,’ ‘abused,’ and ‘Nazi.’ Hitchens shows a clear contrast when he first describes the Parthenon as beautiful and symmetrical, but then talks about how it was damaged. He makes it seem as if the Parthenon was perfect, and any harm done to it would be sinful and unacceptable. Also, the term ‘Nazi,’ is quite a sensitive and negative word that leads many people to become hateful and angry. Because the Nazis is seen as the definition of evil, many people would automatically assume that any action they take would be wrong and sickening. Hitchens special word choice is definitely effective in manipulating the emotions of
Hitchens, Christopher. The Elgin Marbles: Should They be Returned to Greece? London; New York: Verso, 1998.
The controversy of whether or not Christopher Columbus should continue to be acknowledged by a federal holiday proves that his legacy has not escaped the scrutiny of history. Arguments born of both sides of the controversy stem from issues such as genocide, racism, multiculturalism, geographical land rights, and the superiority of certain cultures over others. In The Christopher Columbus Controversy: Western Civilization vs. Primitivism, Michael Berliner, Ph.D. declares that recognition of Columbus Day is well-deserved, claiming that Western civilization is superior to all other cultures and Columbus personifies this truth. On the contrary, Jack Weatherford's Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus equates Columbus' so-called discovery with brutal genocide and the destruction of ancient sophisticated civilizations. These articles demonstrate two extreme points of view in a manner that makes clear each authors' goals, leading the reader to consider issues of author bias, motivation, and information validity.
Often art is lost or destroyed through out the many dangers of time. Art is sometimes used to convey thoughts or ideas of a time or people. If works are lost or destroyed we may lose important information from this time or the people who created the art. This matter is shown best in the movie titled The Rape of Europa.
People can have many different opinions depending on a topic, but what is truly difficult is getting a complete level of understanding from every opinion, or understanding the point of view of each opinion. Even accepting the points of view can be difficult for some people, who believe that their opinions are right. Luckily, people can learn about the other person’s frame of reference, and at the very least understand the topic or the person a little better. This particular topic is art, which is known for its multiple possible perceptions or its many different messages that it can send a person or group of people. In this way, people can learn more about the thought processes and feelings of others. Unfortunately, with differing opinions,
Her thesis includes why taking ancient, historical artifacts out of context is problematic and then included specific examples of different museums which have demonstrated this issue, such as the Rockefeller Museum, the Walters Art Gallery, and
America's national memory is filled with icons and symbols, avatars of deeply held, yet imperfectly understood, beliefs. The role of history in the iconography of the United States is pervasive, yet the facts behind the fiction are somehow lost in an amorphous haze of patriotism and perceived national identity. Christopher Columbus, as a hero and symbol of the first order in America, is an important figure in this pantheon of American myth. His status, not unlike most American icons, is representative not of his own accomplishments, but the self-perception of the society which raised him to his pedestal in the American gallery of heroism.
For years on end, countries have been fighting with big museums from other countries for ancient artifacts that belong to the original countries. The argument of whether or not the museums should be able to keep them still remains. It is the right of the country to have their own artifacts. It is imperative for countries to be able showcase their historical artifacts, therefor museums should return them to their rightful owners.
Glover points to the inhumane conditions of the Nazi rule as well as using evidence from previous sections such as tribalism. The destruction of human morals is apparent and a robotic tyranny is established. It seems as though the Nazi regime was as ruthless and moral bending as history has depicted.
An emphasis on physical appearance is blatant. Surfacing first, above the duality and symbolism in the poem, is the immediate call to attention of the physical size and orientation of the statue. This is most notably presented in lines 2 through 4. Although only two words, "vast" and "half," are specific in relating size, "stand" and "near" connect to project exactly how the "...two vast and trunkless legs of stone" and the "shattered visage" lie. The word vast is not as common as a tired word such as "big", and helps to describe the sheer monstrosity of the base of the statue of the great king Ozymandias. To simply have two "vast" legs, without the trunk, indicates how imposing the statue must have been when intact. Ozymandias' head, somewhat fragmented and laid to rot with the sands, is half sunk. Half sunk, yet clearly still able to stir deep emotional response with its "sneer of cold command." Although the word "half" is not as impressive as "vast" and almost detracts from the imposing...
Further, the attributes of pilgrimage proposed by Ian Reader (1993, 7-8) provide an account of the varying motives of participants who attend the Lennon memorial: “the idea of a journey out of the normal parameters of life, the entry into a different, other, world, the search for something new, the multiple motives of participants, ranging from homage to veneration to the simple impulses of curiosity.”
... over time – and the viewer’s personal experience, essentially her history. This gets very near to a common sense perspective – what we look at, and what we think about what we see has much to do with who we are and what we have experienced in life. Thus, art may be described as an interaction between the viewer, influenced by her experiences, with the work of art, inclusive of its history and the stories built up around it over time. When we look at art, we must acknowledge that the image is temporally stretched – there is more to it than meets the eye at present. What we learn from Didi-Huberman’s approach is to give this temporal ‘tension’ its due. Didi-Huberman describes and defends the importance of of how we look at artistic works: images that represent something determinate, while always remaining open to the presentation of something new and different.
In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the author uses the story of a sailor and his adventures to reveal aspects of life. This tale follows the Mariner and his crew as they travel between the equator and the south pole, and then back to England. The author's use of symbolism lends the work to adults as a complex web of representation, rather than a children's book about a sailor.First, in the poem, the ship symbolizes the body of man. The ship experiences trials and tribulations just as a real person does. Its carrying the Mariner (symbolizing the individual soul) and crew shows that Coleridge saw the body as a mere vessel of the soul. This symbol of a boat is an especially powerful one, because one steers a ship to an extent, yet its fate lies in the hands of the winds and currents.Secondly, the albatross symbolizes Christ. Just as the Mariner senselessly slays the bird, man crucifies Christ whose perfection is unchallenged. Even though Christ represents mankind's one chance at achieving Heaven, man continues to persecute Him. The albatross symbolizes the sailors' one chance at deliverance from icy death and the Mariner shoots him.Thirdly, the South Pole symbolizes Hell. No visible wind blows the unfortunate crew toward the South Pole. Rather, an unseen force pulls them there. Such is the case when the world's temptations lure one to Hell. Just as the sailors approach far to close to this icy purgatory, their Redeemer, the albatross, or at least his spirit, leads them safely back in the right direction.Fourthly, in the poem England symbolizes Heaven. When the Mariner first sees his country, a great sense of hope and joy overcome him. At the point when the Mariner is about to enter Heaven, the body, symbolized by the ship, must die.
While reading this article, the first problem was the author’s assumption that the reader is familiar with Andy Warhol. In fact, the author does not even mention Warhol in the first paragraph. He briefly recites the radical predictions of Donald Trump’s presidency from television shows like The Simpsons. Likewise, the show did predict this, but this statement was weirdly placed and confuses the reader. I believe a proper preface to Andy Warhol and his influence would better suit the first paragraph. After the incompetent introduction, the author cites Warhol’s later works. He states, “the vanity and ritual of ‘self-portrait with skull’ and ‘self-portrait strangulation’ creepily foreshadow selfie culture.” The opinionated statement does not bother me, in fact, I somewhat agree with the author’s comparison. However, the author’s choice to not add a visual representation of what “self-portrait with skull” and “self-portrait strangulation” was ignorant. To know what the author is referencing, the reader would have to separately research the art piece. He continues by citing two
The “privileged minority” mystifies works of art in order to control people’s view. Berger explains how Hals becomes after he painted the two paintings. According to Berger, “he obtained three loads of peat on public charity, otherwise he would have frozen to death. Those who now sat for him were administrators of such public charity” (158).
Knowledge is gained through a myriad of personal experiences through a variety of ways that shapes a person’s understanding. The knowledge we obtain is the culmination of our experiences as we learn what our brain interprets from our senses. Knowledge is the transmission of information that shapes a person’s understanding on a particular topic using a way of knowing. The language used by others to formulate our own ideas and thoughts produce knowledge. The knowledge obtained can either be objective and subjective. The two areas of knowledge, history and arts, are both typically at fault for being inaccurate or bias. The role of history is to study, interpret and analyse the events of the past and relay these findings through language. Language communicates thoughts and ideas through a verbal or written broadcast, thus allowing knowledge to be conveyed. The arts are a broad area of knowledge that communicate knowledge through the manipulation of our sense perceptions that allow us to experience sensations through any of our five senses. The inaccuracies and biases of these areas of knowledge and ways of knowing is due to the pre-set beliefs and values that affect how an artist or a historian chooses to express a particular message to others. Each historian belongs to a school of historiography that holds the belief that an event was due to a specific set of factors and the language used supports this claim. Similarly, artists utilize our sense perceptions to convey a message through a painting. Arts are a broad area of knowledge to i...