Skip to main content

Ara Pacis

Ara Pacis is a monument and former altar dedicated to Augustus's military campaign triumphs in, what is now, Spain and France. Also, it is representative of Roman peace during the time. In fact, Ara Pacis means Altar of Peace. The numerous reliefs of plants and flowers on the altar is meant to show the fertility of the Augustan empire. Ironically, the Ara Pacis was primarily an open-air altar for blood sacrifice associated with the Roman state religion. The men and women on the sides of the altar are supposed to represent different screens of the sacrifice. The people, such as lictors, priests, members of the Imperial household, including women and children, attendants are dressed in proper clothing and their solemn faces are somehow meant to be a symbol of peace. There are also fragments depicting scenes from myth. Overall, the altar itself is beautiful but it is what you would expect from a piece of Roman architecture. Until you learn that it was used to sacrifice God-knows-what, then you feel dirty and curious to know more.





  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bob Crowley

Bob Crowley was born in Cork, Ireland in 1952. He is an Academy Award winning scenic designer, and has designed over 20 productions over his career. He uses a variety of colors and shapes, and movement in his pieces. He uses variety by experimenting with colors and messing around with shapes. For example, in the play The Glass Menagerie, he made a staircase that seems like it was leaning and going away from the audience. Crowley uses movement in most of pieces. For example, in his play American in Paris, he uses projections of airplanes to give the illusion that they are flying over head.
Post a Comment
Read more

Article Review: The Art of Immortality

This article, Egypt: The Art of Immortality, talks about the Egyptian's obsession with the idea of immortality, and how that shines through their art. Historians have gathered information of Ancient Egyptian culture primarily through the tombs they built for their pharaohs. They would fill the tomb with gifts and paintings for the pharaoh's spirit, or ka , so that he may thrive in the afterlife. Ancient Egyptians, also, carved statues of their rulers and, since they are made to last forever, they are made of hard material such as, granite. They were strict about making sure that sculptures and paintings resembled the human form, which is why their art looks so realistic. From the strict way of constructing sculptures and paintings to the complicated pyramid structures, this article covers most of Egypt's eternal art.   You can see how much they cared for their art down below.
1 comment
Read more

3D Print Artists

Digital Grotesque is a 3D printing studio created by two architects, Benjamin Dillenburger and Michael Hansmeyer. It's goal is to create rooms, know as Grottos, just by using a 3D printer. It's Grottos are intense, and filled with minute details that really put the room together. Eric Van Straaten combines images of female forms with birds to explore ideas of youth, femininity, freedom and environmental issues. For example, one of his pieces called "Flamingo" points out the history of the bird species through his descriptions of his works. He uses a lot of color and his pieces leave you wonder what it all means.
Post a Comment
Read more