The Cycles and Space Between

            These works explore the idea that our monuments that we create are fashioned by and given their nature by necessity of our brevity and by absence of standing company, or in other words by the space between and around the structures do they merit the description of standing.

A monument’s duration is forged by cyclical brevities of time; namely the seasons, the flesh, and granules. The monument owes its nature to these forms of repeated phenomenon that behave like ebbs of the sea, swelling and retreating. In our swelling, or standing, as humans we erect with us these structures with us and ourselves retreat back from whence we came to the earth. Norris paints beautiful images in our minds that depicts our human longing for a sense of permanence, or at least create a hope of permanence, in spite of our own cyclic nature. “Points of adjusted rock, taller than any man who will ever stand where I stand, lifting their hope in still, huge stone.”

            The stones of Pentre Ifan are visual representation of this idea. If it were a solid rock of the same height you would hardly assign it a title of standing. What really provide the formation with a description of standing are the spaces between and below, the retreating of rock and the advancing of space between them. Our natural brevity is represented by the space between and our ingenuity and desire of permanence is immortalized in our standing up of such structures. Were an erect structure surrounded on all sides by like structures, with no space between would it not just create a new plane? The silence that surrounds musical notes, or the space that is hewn into stone are what gives true shape. Surrounding a stanza or statue with silent or spatial reverence gives the significance to the quality of said monument, and quality of monument begets further revering.

Its nature of being a monument is only by virtue of the absences between and around what stands. In Melendez we note furthermore, the importance of contrast that lend a monument or tower its quality. Might of a tower, or any standing structure, is not found in the overt externalizing of it. Might, rather, is found where the sole meets the soil, where bodies derive their energy. The grain and the fields, the concave metates where their crop or moments are processed. The energy and the will to stand and make stand are not derived from towers. They are no more, a byproduct of their momentous counterparts.

            In fact the true and only significance is found in the monument of the present. As demonstrated by Shelly and Berry, all things pass. “’My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’” decay and barren wasteland of desert are all that remain from the once great ruler his true  monument was his present which was at its time the most beautiful thing to him. We are remiss if we resist or disregard the past, it was indeed a present every bit as present as our ‘now.’ Perhaps erecting monuments is where the true folly lies. The farmer makes no attempt to believe in or pursue his immortality. He may know better. He knows no such erection will sustain him past his lot of moments. Instead his erections are with an eye single to creation and sustaining of life, whether by the opening of a woman’s body or of a field. His life’s work is in devotion to this pursuit of the important momentous occasions of the cycles’ present. His monuments stand within the cycle that gives meaning “At summer’s height he is surrounded by green, his doing, standing for him, awake and orderly. In autumn, all his monuments fall.”

The Reasoning and Creation of Works As Observed in Works by Rilke, Ashbery, Eliot, and Haas

         

            Artists and poets are those who seek to capture moments, feelings, experiences, and above all emotions that are embedded therein. As sentient creatures that have the capacity to think, feel, and communicate with one another upon those inclinations, we hunger to have connection with each other through common experiences. The pinnacle of our demonstrating this desire is through and by the art that we create.

            Every piece of art endeavors to depict instants of highest passion. These moments are subjective to the artist but are of no less pinnacle passion than others, though based on their subjectivity they may seem as such. Frames of mind are relative. Ezra Pound while in a metro station in Paris was overcome with a spiritual experience of seeing the beautiful faces and becoming overwhelmed by their magnificence. Originally he felt this passion could only be expressed using color, through the medium of painting, not a skill he had unfortunately. He wrote several drafts of poems trying to encapsulate his feelings but was left unsatisfied by his attempts. Eventually he was able to capture it perfectly in this in a fourteen word poem.

In the Metro Station:

These faces in the crowd,

Petals on a wet black bough

These moments are understood by Ashbery to be sanctuaries of ideal quiet, places that are in the middle of the journey and that are all indeed subjective. “We see this moment from outside as within. There is no need to offer proof. It’s funny… the cold, external factors are inside us at last, growing in us for our improvement, asking nothing, not even a commemorative thought. And what about what was there before?” It is demonstrated here that the moments that one deems the greatest moments of being may be different than that of another’s perception even though the sensorial input to either is often times the same. We all experience the world but we as individuals each experience it differently, an event is like water that might fall from above, but that is scattered differently over our unique surfaces of self. Art is an expression of that unique pattern of experience on said individual basis.

Rilke seems to have an insatiable desire to pinpoint and identify the nature of these moments of greatest passion. His way of going about this in many instances is to draw upon the analogy of lovers. The greatest passion many will experience is that of being in the throes of love.  “I ask you of us. I know you touch so blissfully because the caress withholds, because the place you cover so tenderly does not disappear: because beneath it you feel pure duration. So that you promise eternity almost, from the embrace.” Instances of greatest passion are the same instances that seem to hang in a state pure duration. These are moments that seem to be without time. “And were, yet, on our own, happy with Timelessness, and stood there, in the space between world and plaything, at a point that from first beginnings had been marked out for pure event.”They are the highest point of the arc of an objects or such a moment’s projectile. In terms of physics it is the moment where potential energy is at its peak. It is not necessarily the release itself or the resolution where gravity dominates, where “in the end it falls apart, falls to the ground and sinks in.” In fact it is the very opposite, is the exact time where all kinetic energy of actual movement is at zero, and it so happens that this moment is at the height of the journey. It is here that Rilke believes we have our true being. An artist’s or poet’s aim is to harness that moment by creating and erecting a monument to it.  “between two moments, where you had a being. Everything. Veins filled with being.” Artists attempt to replicate being in its purest sense. This standing outside oneself is seen as the purest form of being, giving stark contrast to the ordinary living that is clouded by wisps of forethought and reminisces. These are moments where one is never so much in the exact moment.

            “Every heavy turn of the world disinherits some people, possessors neither of the past nor the future. Even what’s coming next is too far away for humans. This should not unsettle us; it can strengthen our will to preserve what we do recognize. This once stood among men, stood against destroying fate, stood in the middle of bewildering chaos as though it lived, and bent the stars to it from their serene courses. Angel, I can still show it to you: there! At last it shall stand, upright, in the finality of your eyes. Pillars, pylons, the sphinx, the nave’s thrust against gravity out of a tottering or an alien city.” Much of Rilke’s energy seems to focus on the contemplation of being as a mortal standing on time. He faces this blunder through conversations he has with a terrifying angelic figure that is eternal and eternally higher than mortal beings like us. The contrast of an adult to a child is offered to help understand the vast difference that exists from one plane of mindset to the higher plane. Rilke explains to the angel that despite our short lived existence in our feeble plane we still long for permanency, even a fighting chance at preserving what we perceive to be important. Our erecting of monuments or our writing of poems is an attempt to give permanence to what we fearfully recognize as temporary, even fleeting. The extension-less present is all we have to work with. The present is all that truly exists in all reality. The past and future are total nonrepresentational concepts. Schopenhauer describes the present time as an endlessly revolving sphere the half that is always sinking being the past and the half always rising is the future. At that seemingly invisible point of contact is the elusive present. Our creation of monuments is our attempt to endlessly extend into both the ever sinking and the ever rising concepts of future and past, and become like unto the angels. 

Standing, A Metaphor in Familial and Social Structures As Observed in Readings of Kleist, Kafka, and Jarman

            In an overall analysis of the metaphor of standing we can reasonably conclude that its deployment in our vernacular is used heavily to signify a wide array of meaning that all can draw from to create a mutual understanding ranging from integrity, to steadfastness, to immovability etc. In the works by Kleist, Kafka, and Jarman we find clear and interesting examples of its deployment in settings of social and familial structures. While sharing the metaphor at heart each use of it is unique and profound.

            Kafka’s Metamorphosis explores the metaphor of standing through the role that Gregor has in his own family and his status outside of his family as well. It explores the idea of a man’s utility and worth based on his ability to provide and his ability to provide is derived from his status/stature. In his family Gregor alone is responsible for their financial wellbeing, their very livelihood, being faced with the challenge of taking on their debts. The father, ridden with age, is delicate and rather unexcitable old man that is heavily taxed by the prospect of standing he “who would receive (Gregor) sitting in the armchair in his nightgown when he came back in the evenings; who was hardly even able to stand up but, as a sign of his pleasure, would just raise his arms” The deliberate mentioning of the father’s inability to stand up but who would still stop and gather his family around him whenever he had something to say, paints a picture of a man who is past his time where he is able to provide but who continues to command the attention and respect of his family. This proves to be a struggle when the family is confronted with the sudden metamorphosis of their brother and son. In the beginning upon awakening Gregor discovers, to his dismay that his standing within his family and society could be at jeopardy, and his ability to control it is likewise compromised.

 “He lay on his hard, armorlike back, and when lifting his head slightly, he could view his brown, vaulted belly partitioned by arching ridges.”  He discovers in his supine position that even his own physical structure, his vaulted belly and arching ridges outstand him, and even while lifting his head, an attempt to oversee the new structure, does he see that his belly and ridges are still higher than that which should rightfully rest above. The theme of internal struggle to understand, be understood, and reclaim himself is recurring throughout. It is through this that is manifest, his struggle to deal with the prospect of being forevermore under the boots, as it were, of perceived superiors like his boss and father. Superiors that “talk down to the employees from their great height.” Indeed his entire dilemma could be seen as a delusion, onset by the “strenuous profession” that he picked and faced with the great task he is assigned, of freeing his parents from their debt, does he ironically find himself captive.  His metamorphosis is the embodiment of what keeps him down, making even the simplest of tasks overbearing.  Getting out of bed is his new “struggle.” “[It] was more of a game than a struggle… wrenching himself along, it occurred to him how easy everything would be if someone lent him a hand.” If only he could get a little understanding, and a little help would his lot be bearable. Therein lies the tragedy of the story, despite his desires to be reasonable and obliging he finds himself otherwise unable and stricken. And any attempt to make himself erect again comes with great unsustainable strain eventually leading to his ultimate demise of the ultimate lowliness of death.

            Kleist’s “The Marquis of O” shares some of the metaphorical employment of standing as Metamorphosis, as they share the quality of being centered on family life that is encased within societal expectations and perceptions.  The main difference lays in the circumstance of the story and the resolution.  The first point of great metaphor is that of using the metaphor to convey a moment of stunned disbelief when the Marquise receives the confirmation from the doctor that what she had suspected before, with regard to her condition, was indeed the case. “The Marquise stood as if thunderstruck.” This conveys an imagery of a nearly statue like posture. She finds herself in a moment that seems to be suspended in time. Like the apex of an object’s upward projectile, though lasting just a moment, that moment is an instance of absolute still suspension; in this case, where even her heart seems to stop.  Such intensity of being thunderstruck in that moment is merited by the societal expectations and the great shame that discovering a pregnancy outside of wedlock would bring upon and individual and the family to which they pertain.

 The Marquise and her mother go through phases of denial, calling the doctor a “shameless and contemptible wretch,” for even suggesting such a circumstance.  Yet she feels at that time, hostage to the verdict of the doctor and the testimony of her inner sensations that she knows only too well.  She expresses this by standing outside her present circumstance in hypothetical conjecture by saying, “If I knew that another woman was feeling as I do, would I not myself come to the conclusion that that was indeed how things stood with her?” This employment of the metaphor refers more to the wider use that the metaphor has in the narrative of circumstance. Given the societal climate in which they live, social standing is of utmost importance and such occurrences are seen as the pinnacle of shamefulness and are cause for great suffering for those that find themselves in a circumstance of that kind. 

Another instance of the standing metaphor used pertains to a physical posturing that directly conveys the emotion of the moment. When contemplating the necessity of a midwife to confirm the doctor’s conclusion the emotion of overwhelming shame brings the Marquise down to her knees. “‘A midwife!’ exclaimed the Commandant’s wife indignantly, ‘a clear conscience , and a midwife!’ And speech failed her. ‘A midwife, my dearest mother,’ repeated the Marquise, falling on her knees before her, ‘and let her come at once.’”  Another instance where the Marquise is faced with approaching the Commandant she, finding the door locked to his room, “sank down outside it, and in a heartrending voiced called upon the saints to witness her innocence.” Again overwrought with disgrace and frustration, her physical faculties will not allow her to maintain her stance. She is literally brought down, later splaying herself at the feet of the commandant in a gesture of utmost humility that is seen cross culturally as an acknowledging of someone who is superior. We make ourselves lower to physically demonstrate our figurative humility. 

            Iris uses the standing metaphor in a sense of an escape from harsh realities derived from bad decisions. A string of bad decisions had indeed left her in a state of disillusion and mostly unhappy save it were for making the best of mistake of marrying Cale by leaving him, even if it was after four years. Her life even so, goes far from ideal with the most operative word I can think of to describe it being, chaos. Notwithstanding, she says “You’d think with all the death in it, my life would be a tragedy. But I’ve kept my real life a secret—reading Jeffers. She longs for him because “He has been saved from human illusion and foolishness and passion and wants to be like a rock. That I miss something I think I have been steadfast, but what does a rock feel? I like him in bereavement.” Despite the disorder, the confusion, the fickle follies, and the dread we are inevitably all exposed to, she fixates on the part of her life that gives her a feeling of steadfastness, immovability and sanity. Jeffers represents that port in a storm of life. He is what she loves and holds onto, at times projecting him onto other people, thereby simultaneously projecting the love she feels for Jeffers. It is by way of this rock that she herself is able to withstand and endure.

http://tunein.com/program/?SegmentId=33419039&ProgramId=116877

A radio story interpretation of the story of Gregor Samsa's ordeal in the first segment. The other segments are hilarious as well.

Elegy Exploration

Duino Elegies

Rilke’s elegies revolve around ideas of our nature as human beings. Our being-ness. He explores our infinite state of being above the rather unconscious animals and children and our forever inferiority to the angels’ plane of consciousness. What separates us is our awareness, of ourselves and our surroundings and more or less how we fit into our world. Our consciousness gives us a curse of being aware that our existence is fleeting like a scent, and it is this fleeting nature that constantly is begging us to create modes of measurement of time. Markers between birth and death. Markers between moments.

Awareness is explored and Rilke struggles to make sense of the reason we have it in the first place. Is it to identify things, to give names, give meaning, meaning beyond that which our surroundings could ever fathom? The unconscious doesn’t have an awareness of its own nature, whether beautiful or terrifying. Are we here to give notice to the cosmos, unable to notice, that waits our noticing. And when we, or our conscious portion, pass; does the infinite become solution with traces of us within it? We are delicately held in a balance between forevers, in moments of perfect potential. The image of the object thrown into the air continues to resonate with me. We hold ourselves in moments of perfect balance, pinnacles of unlimited potentials.

Our state of grief is a resurfacing theme. Why should grief and lament be so prominent in a sentient beings life. Were it not for grief we would not have our existence, “we for whome grief is so often the source of our spirit’s growth--: could we exist without them?” The rich tones of life need combinations of light and dark hues. The winters of our lives ever sweeten the springs and summers.

Standing Mid-Term

Jesse Bevan

Standing as a Metaphor

Standing Mid-term

Before delving into the analysis of the works available I spent a fair portion of time in reading and getting background on these works and found surprising amounts of pertinent information to the task at hand of studying what role standing plays in these works on a metaphorical level. Along with this I discovered plenty of correlation between the works themselves. Representations of idealized humans, is a theme that resurfaces often. These are themes of humans that are idealized and superior on every plane of human existence; from physical superiority, to spiritual supremacy, to moral excellence. When I make my analysis I will relate first impressions. I will then delve deeper into a thoughtful analysis of what is applicable to our course in the metaphors of standing that are found, by identifying what they are and what they represent. I have chosen to concentrate first, on Gaston Lachaise’s Woman Standing.

Woman Standing encapsulates and represents the power of humanity, in particular of womanhood. The first thing that seizes attention is the sheer volume and weight of the piece. The space occupied is space commanded. With woman standing we find in her, powerful attributes of both femininity and masculinity and exaggerations of each, along with robust symbols of strength, confidence, and grace. Consider first the material used, which is bronze. A substance that is virtually indestructible, having meant to withstand the ravages of time it will stand for decades if not millennia after the era of its creation. Bronze also has a quality of using light in such a way that gives deep shadow to crevices and brighter hues to surfaces. This adds contrast, which adds definition that I will soon discuss. Examining closer, we find some of the feminine attributes are easily identified by the contrast that is found between features, such as at the waist, which is slender and not just by comparison to the huge features that surround it. It does however give major contrast to very female attributes of the size of the breasts, the hips and the distinctly outlined protruding abdominal. Each of these body parts bears strong symbolism of their respective function and what I believe the artist wants to convey. Fertility is the archetype exemplified from the naval through the hips and to the thighs. The extended abdomen is a symbol of extreme fertility along with the width of the hips. Researchers have found that the hip to waist ratio is a major indicator of female attractiveness to a man. From an evolutionary standpoint it is directly associated with reproductive and health status. On average a hip to waist ratio, meaning the circumference of the waist over that of the hips is most attractive around 0.7. Woman standing has a ratio that is greatly embellished. They are the hips and abdomen meant for mothering. They represent the tremendous ability and responsibility to bear and bring forth life.

From the waist up we notice a combination of both masculine and feminine qualities. The breasts are notably amplified in size but beyond that their wideness and relatively shallow protrusion gives them a muscular quality like that of pecks on a muscular man. She is powerful. Her power to sustain life directly from being to being is exemplified. Her neck is thick long and straight holding her perfect jaw and head in a pedestal like fashion. In our language having your head steadily on your shoulders is among the best compliments you can give or receive. Being grounded, stable minded, it is an indicator of a sound mind and a keen and confident decision making faculty. An idealized woman would have nothing less. The head seems dwarfed by the neck but this could also be a perspective issue rather than intent of the artist so it’s difficult to comment on that, what is obvious though, is her expression which is serene and supreme, relaxed and focused. The expression communicates the same thing that the entire body conveys of a flowing self assured woman.

Next we have the shoulders and arms which are rounded with a deep musculature denoting power of the individual. Our arms and hands are the tools we use to directly affect our environment and our fate; giving such deep muscle to these aspects lets the viewer know of her presence, authority, and influence over herself as well as her surroundings. The muscles seem tensed as well. This shows us of her readiness and willingness to exercise that power.

The overall positioning of the piece lets us know that she is completely aware and at ease with the power she has within her. She stands tall and supremely confident; the hands placed on her hips and her weight easily placed to one side is analogous to Michelangelo’s David, giving credence to a relaxed attitude. She is full of grace. Grace is making action associated with effort appear to be void of effort. Her awesome mass is no match for the power that upholds it. Her commanding upright position is effortless and her balance around the slender waist is perfect. Standing Woman embodies Lachaise’s stated ambition for his art: to express “the glorification of the human being, of the human body, of the human spirit, with all that there is of daring, of magnificence, of significance.” (www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=81215)

I think it is relevant to mention that another work by the same artist he depicts a similar figure, almost lending a different perspective to the same artistic purpose, with similar proportions standing upright. One of the only significant differences being that she is on her tip toes, adding to the grace of the figure despite such mass, making her taller, going beyond standing. It calls to memory some of the other works we’ve studied about the nature of beyond standing, like the presence of wings signifying that next phase of upward-ness, above standing. Standing woman does not have wings but she stands with such power that is suggests the feeling of beyond standing.

In the works given to us to study and others we have looked at I have found Christ to be a central figure or similitude in many of them. As I studied the background of many of these works I found parallels to Christ, even in several that did not depict him as the central figure. The parallels were drawn by virtue of both their physical positioning in the depictions and the depicted character’s devout following by those who believed in them. The works that most paralleled Christ in this way were: David’s Death of Marat, and Che Guevera’s Body. I would like to center my concentration on the depictions of Che, notwithstanding, I find that both the depictions carry a lot of the same meaning, as both Che and Marat were seen as very similar figures by those who followed them as hopeful leaders and as heretics by those who didn’t, lending further similitude to Jesus of Nazareth. I would also be amiss if I didn’t mention the other similarities between the two. They were both seen as key players in their respective revolutions, they were both physicians, they were both politicians, both were beloved of the people, both were prolific writers, and both were assassinated. Thorough histories of each don’t seem necessary to be mentioned here but such similarities between the two and the parallels made to Jesus are significant.

When looking at the depictions of Che’s death we find overwhelming evidence of how he is seen and worshiped in a manner that is to the point of a hallowed figure. Looking at Che’s body the first thing that resonates is the striking similarity to the depictions of the entombment of Jesus. Not only by the way he is splayed upon the table but like Woman Standing we construct more meaning by the parts that make up the whole. In its sum of parts there is a stirring resemblance to Andrea Mantegna’s “Lamentation over the Dead Christ.” As in that painting, in this photo he is surrounded by a small group of people, though here they are witnesses attesting to the fact that it is indeed Che, they all have a similar attitude of somber reverence and tenderness. Tenderness especially noted by the gentlemen with the official looking hats. The one behind Che appears to be stroking his hair in a way that a mother would to a child meanwhile the other points out lesions on Che’s torso, but does it so gently and respectfully, respect supported by the one hand behind his back. All of the other characters in the shot have attitudes that a family might have over a beloved relative’s passing. The combination of these attributes depicts an attitude of heavy reverence to the room where this was taken.

The body itself has a staggering similarity to the entombment of Christ beyond its surroundings. We find him lying with an eerily similar posture to that of Jesus’ depiction and also in a bare chest state, long dark hair, and beard. Also consider the injuries incurred by the firing squad, which was the cause of death. You can’t see many puncture wounds but there is a definite wound in the wrist, like that caused by the nail in Jesus’ wrist. The official on the right is pointing out the wound on the torso which is similar to that of Jesus’ incurred by the spear. Next the eyes, looking at them, I notice that they are not completely shut, in fact; they appear to stare right at the camera. Eyes open is an indicator of wakefulness, the complete opposite of lifeless. This bears similitude of a continuation of life, resembling the resurrection and continuation of life that is that of Jesus and the resurrection. Che’s life similarly has influence that is likewise enduring.

I can personally attest to the continuation of the legacy of Che, having lived in Uruguay for twenty-three months. While there, I had the chance to enter into hundreds of different homes. In retrospect I come to realize that in a huge number of homes I indeed noticed the iconic image of Che’s face on the walls. More often than not it would be found in the homes of the poorer portion of the people, but regardless it would be the central figure in the middle of a living room wall even if nothing else was there. To this day he is seen and worshiped as a divine character; he represents and means to them just as much as a savior-like figure. He was a figure that stood for the injustices suffered by the common people, and who sought to do away with such injustice, if not by diplomacy then by force.

The comparisons made to Christ in these depictions are of a great spiritual significance to those who were associated with Che. What does Christ represent ultimately? Why go through the trouble to make the analogies to him through these works? He is perfection. He represents the pinnacle of humanity in its ideal form. And he is the conqueror of the death that these pictures convey. He is the stalwart over death, that which is the ultimate restraint on standing. He overcomes the natural laws of physical and spiritual entropy. He is the antithesis over that which holds us down, and over the intention of keeping us down that the grave threatens to impart. Che, like Christ, is a symbol of a spiritual overcoming of obstacles. Poverty is the sin of society. Che’s aim in life was to prepare a way that the commoners could conquer such a failing. “No soy un libertador. Los libertadores no existen. Son los Pueblos quienes se liberan a sí mismos.” “I am not a Liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people are those that liberate themselves.”

The next piece I want to explore is that of Gustave Moreau’s Oedipus and the Sphinx. This is a portrayal of a portion of the ancient Greek tale of Oedipus. In the myth, this particular part is a point of great climax that determines if Oedipus continues on the Thebes. He encounters a Sphinx that stops all travelers to pose to them a riddle. If they are able to solve it, they are permitted to continue. If not, then the Sphinx tears them apart and devours them. Within that scene of riddle asking, this moment captured is the climax of anticipation of a response where the lines of anticipation and sheer longing are blurred. The riddle itself it peppered with imagery of standing. “What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?” Already we have a strong setting of standing imagery given the context. The metaphors in this work have much to do with gender interaction and our roles within each other’s lives, more specifically in a moral context.

Upon initial viewing of this work one realizes immediately of the intense sexual overtones. The faces are locked in a constant stare, giving the moment of tension its gravity, and certain uneasiness. Given the context, it is surprising that the creature itself is not a creature of hideousness but rather of beauty and strange appeal. The sexual overtones are extremely evident as is supported by the positioning which the Sphinx assumes upon Oedipus. She is not a creature of intimidation, but rather seduction in a pose where she is looking up into his eyes. She is draped over his mostly naked body, her hind feet clearly against his genital region. She is much closer to a prowling housecat than a terrifying man-eater. Notwithstanding the exchange of piercing gazes, the upright Oedipus himself is not disheveled but looks down calmly.

Moreau, as an artist was particularly proud of his moral carriage and ability to resist temptations, converting them into more constructive outlets, and shows as much by way of metaphor on the canvas. In his own commentary on the piece he says “The painter envisages man, having arrived at the grave and severe hour of life, finding himself in the presence of the eternal enigma. It presses and grasps him with its terrible claws. But the traveler, proud and calm in his moral force, gazes upon it without trembling. It is the earthly Chimera, vile like matter, attractive like it, represented by this charming head of a woman, with wings … promising the ideal and the body of the monster, of the devourer who rips apart and destroys.” The sphinx represents more than just an obstacle to Oedipus in his path to Thebes, she is an obstacle to man on his journey through life, and in this case she embodies sensual temptation and carnal desire. It suggests that such temptation is alluring yet deadly in their seductive feminine guise. The dual nature of such an idea of sexual vice is represented through metaphor of a literal hybrid being, half of which is comprised of enticing allure, and the other half ruthless beast. Similar metaphor is found in our language today, making similar comparisons to women, giving them qualities of both dangerous and tantalizing creatures. Phrases that refer to attractive females like “Foxy lady”, and “tiger in the sheets” have become part of our vernacular in describing them. Not to mention, the more derogatory metaphors that have similar images of dangerous or conniving beasts; like dogs or vixens. The term “cougar” even now refers to women of a certain variety that is seen as both dangerous and attractive.

This understood, the painting then is a clear representation of man’s capability to overcome that which is carnal and destructive. Oedipus is morally superior and confident in his morality, denoted by his stance over the Sphinx, despite the fact that she herself has wings indicating her unlimited potential to be overwhelmingly above him, being the ability of carnal temptation to be enormously high. He is notwithstanding on the higher plane, with a downward gaze to her, his staff in hand acting another blindingly obvious symbol of phallic weaponry. A tool that asserts his masculine will in overcoming such a foe as moral upset. Limbs of those who were unable to conquer as such are seen splayed beneath, showing those who were unable to get past the “moral test.” This shows us the attitude that Moreau has toward the masses; that they give in so easily to the whims of temptation and that he stands alone as morally superior to them.

These works offer wonderful insights to what it means to be human. The ability to stand is what has put us supremely above on physical, spiritual, and moral planes. Standing is the very thing that gives us our physicality, and shapes our notions of spirituality, and our ideas of morality. Art is the purest form by which such abstract ideas can be transmitted because the incentive for creating art is simply the desire to express innermost feelings and concepts. In this way, art is quite literally the rawest form of transmitting feelings and concepts that we can make. We can attempt to explain abstract ideas to each other through arbitrary words that evoke images of our common experiences or we can show each other through images and talk straight to the hearts of one another.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/82066426/Ancient-Egyptian-Statues