10. ordinary to extraordinary
TRANSCRIPT
Greek Art: Ordinary to Extraordinary
Visual Metaphor
Assignment
• Mosaics, frescoes, relief carvings, statuary, and more often portray stories, myths, and historical events in Ancient Greek Art
• Often these depictions imply a moral or lesson to be learned by the viewer
• Other times these depictions suggest the importance of the subject and that it shouldn’t be forgotten
Assignment• Think of an important event, or object (symbol) in your life
that others might not deem important when considered out of context – Don’t be afraid to get metaphorical here…!
• Turn this seemingly mundane event or object into an epic worthy of being remembered for all time (something that you would have painted, sculpted, or mosaicked on the walls of your house to honor its importance to YOU)
• Essentially, turn something ordinary into something extraordinary to emphasize the importance it has had in your own life
Assignment
• Consider using “skiagraphia”, or “shadow painting” in your design to emphasize the extraordinary aspect of your subject (as was seen in the Macedonian Mosaics)– Please include cast shadows as well as shading on
objects in the artwork to imply a 3D surface (form)
Stag Hunt Mosaic, by Gnosis, 300 BCE, Pella, h. 10’2”
It is believed the house owner wanted guests to know this was made by a professional, not an imitator, and hence we have the first known signature of a mosaicist: “Gnosis made it”
Light and dark suggest volume
Greek term for shading = skiagraphia “shadow painting”
Philoxenos of Eretria, “Battle of Issus” (Alexander Mosaic) from the House of the Faun, 310 BCE, Roman Copy: Pompeii, Italy, late 2nd or
early 1st Century BCE, Tessera Mosaic, 8’10” x 16’9”Alexander humiliates Darius(Persian King) in Battle of Issusin southeastern Turkey
Darius fled the battlefield in hischariot in humiliating defeat
Tesserae = tiny stones orpieces of glass cut to the desired size or shape(NOT PEBBLES)
Made by Philoxenos of Eretriafor King Cassander, one of Alexander’s successors
Men, animals, and weaponscast shadows on the ground
Psychological intensity EVERYTHING IN THIS PICTURE HASA CAST SHADOW AND SHADING!
Alexander is driving his spear through one of DariusDarius’s immortal guards
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My Example (In Progress)
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