Chapter 1:
Deja Vu All Over Again
A slave brings in a batch of freshly mixed plaster. He stumbles a bit until his
eyes make the shift from the blinding Egyptian sun to the dimly lit, cavernous stone
room. The Egyptian artisan grabs the bowl of mix and deftly applies a thin coating
of plaster to the walls of the sacred temple.
This scenario or one very similar to it must have taken place thousands of times in
ancient Egypt.
In other time periods, in other countries, artists used other materials to create
monumental works honoring the gods, the King, Warlord or President.
When I look at the marvels of the ancient world, I wonder, could I have taken part in the
creation of such works.
If reincarnation truly exists, do we come back as sculptors throughout history, creating
works of art for God and State? Do our skills improve with each lifetime until every
move is done by instinct? Perhaps that's why the tools of the trade feel as
comfortable as the handshake of an old friend to my palm.
The familiarity of clay and chisel seem to go beyond my years of training and use.
It meanders down a long dirt road that stretches from a dim primal past toward some point
on a golden horizon up ahead.
A cave painting of a bison, an Etruscan statue, the life-size ceramic army of Huang Ti;
were we there knowing at some deeper level, knowing that this was our destiny - to create
the artistic works of man?
See some of the art and architecture we may have worked on many years ago.
For
comments on the article, e-mail Dan
Chapter 2:
Reaching Back to the Future
 Archeologists
have determined this cave painting, at Lascaux, France, to be 15,000 years old. Was
the cave dweller that painted it in touch with the consciousness of other artists
throughout history? That would explain how he was able to incorporate art concepts
of today into a cave painting done thousands of years ago.
The painting demonstrates delicate style and grace, something unexpected from a being that
smashed bones open with a rock to suck out the marrow and could barely stand upright.
Notice the stylized upsweep of the antlers. The artist used one long sweeping
movement of his arm to capture the flow. Something told him in his mind that's how
it should be done. He felt it and did it. Did that message come from all of us
breaching dark millennia of art history to aid a fellow creator.
The dark shading inside the ear subtly tells us the ear is turned rearward. The eye
is drawn in perspective, seen in profile, as it would be in real life.
The shoulder area and rear haunch closest to us are painted darker and in sharper
detail. The artist knew that that would make them appear nearer to us.
The line delineating the rear leg undulates from thick to thinner, an advanced concept in
drawing taught today at art schools.
The body of the animal is done in soft shading and remarkable in the degree of subtlety
attained.
You can see the passion this artist had for the subject. It's as if it were an old
friend posing for a portrait.
Chapter 3
For
comments on the article, e-mail Dan
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