The Ionic Column

The Ionic Column

Throughout history, art has become the main source for entertainment, enlightenment, and acknowledgement. It entertains those who are bored in the everyday life. It enlightens those who seek another world and those who seek beauty with wild imaginations. It acknowleges those who seek development in nature and their own world. From the cave drawings of Paleolithic art in Lascaux , to the Ancient Egyptian pyramids, and to the classical Greek sculptures, art is a never ending cycle of productions and reproductions passed on from one generation to the next, and from one culture to the next. Art throughout history plays an important role because it tells us about man's development in culture, language, and life. Everyday, the works of art from the past have been reproduced to inspire and attract. As a key strategic method to attract people, advertisement is the common benefactor for the reminesences of art throughout the periods, such as, the classical Greek Ionic columns. So there are new uses of older art works in many places, including magazines, newspapers, television, internet, and shopping malls. ( Prof. Smith lecture). In this essay, a trace of the Ionic column may be found from a page in The Wall Street Journal that may have distinctive similarities and differences in its physical usage and psychological meaning.

A new usage of an old work of art is found in the Wall Street Journal which has words formed into the shape of an Ionic column in black and white, found in a classical Greek order. The newspaper was dated October 9, 1996 and the new use of this classical Greek order was found in the last page of section B12. This Ionic shaped column is big and long, considering the fact that the size of the newspaper is bigger than 11 by 17 inches. The image of the size in the new use column may have been to imitate the actual size of Greek column approximately of over 12 feet tall. (Refer to picture of 5 columns and the Wall Street Journal). This ionic column is so detailed by the formation of companies' name, letterings, showing distinctive characteristics from other classical Greek orders. It has fluted shaft and the capital was decorated with volutes or two pairs of scrolls with graceful curves joined by a thin abacus, which is a square block to support the entablature.