by Daniel Bornt
Note: My selections of five works from the four designated art-historical periods to illustrate our theme of “Spirit and Power” include immoveable architectural and sculptural structures. To represent them, I propose a combination of high-quality large-scale architectural models, interactive large-screen computer-generated 3-d virtual modeling walk-throughs (built upon a modeling software such as Alias|Wavefront Maya), along with narrations of the history and uses of the structures composed by art history experts who have extensively studied and written about them.
I. Prehistoric/Ancient
* Bison with a Turned Head, La Madeleine, France c. 11,000-9,000 BCE ( incised
reindeer horn)
* Stele of Hammarubi, Susa, c. BCE 1780 (basalt)
II. Classical
* The Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece 448-432 BCE
III. Christian
* Sainte Chapelle, Paris 1243-1248
IV. Non-Western/Islamic
* Temple I (Temple of the Giant Jaguar), Tikal, El Petén, Guatemala, c. AD 700
PARIS, THE SAINTE CHAPELLE
The Medieval church of the thirteenth century exerted a strong social force.
The concept of the "double-edged Sword" defined secular as
well as ecclesiastic authority as united in God's Work. The theory
of the State moved toward the concept Divine Right Monarchy, or at least,
the blessing of secular authority through religious structure and ritual.
The world of heaven was conceived as arranged in a hierarchical order,
mirrored in the hierarchical structure of the state. Application of
these ideas were made throughout Europe, but nowhere more successfully than
by France’s king Louis IX. Louis was given the relic of Christ's Crown
of Thorns by the Emperor of Constantinople in exchange for military aid defending
the Byzantine Empire against Muslim invaders. The Papal letter of authorization
stated to Louis that "Christ has crowned you with his crown of thorns."
The King constructed a royal chapel as a monumental reliquary for this
prize. The decorative programs illustrate continuity of Old
Testament Kingship, Christ's Apostles, and France's monarchy, conflating them
into a single, unbroken line of authority.
source: http://www.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/anglia/chapelle.htm
Arrangement of display (non-Chronological):
Parthenon, Stele of Hammurabi, Sainte Chapelle, Bison with Turned Head, Temple of the Giant Jaguar
The Parthenon introduces the visitor to the display, as the epitome
of man’s ideal conception of enclosed space for a deity, expressing exterior-oriented
sculptural qualities with a harmony of rhythm, balance, and scale, along with
the overt psychological projection of a deity (Athena’s) power, and with
"man being the measure of all things," the signifying projection of
humankind’s own power to approach the abilities of the gods.
The Stele of Hammurabi presents the basis for man’s civilizing propensities that could culminate in a structure such as the Parthenon. The divine plan of order is transmitted through the servants of the gods, those rulers who implement that order throughout their realm with divine imperative, impelling the subjects to obedience as a religious obligation.
Saint Chapelle represents the pinnacle of the fusion of divine and secular authority. The royal chapel, with its gilded surfaces and infusion of heavenly light through expanses of stained glass, balances its vision of paradise and divine order with a primitive-like veneration of fetish relics. This affinity for a fetish can be traced back to the next selection...
Bison with a Turned Head may be the penultimate fetish relic. A carved alumet or talisman for the Paleolithic warrior, its portability may have given the hunter confidence of good fortune in the never-quest of the hunt.
Temple of the Giant Jaguar,