Great stone face. (Artifact).QUICK NOW, WHICH is more deplorable: the destruction of mountain-size carvings that are very old, or the creation of giant new sculpture The New Sculpture refers to a movement in late-nineteenth century British sculpture. After a protracted period of a stylized neoclassicism, sculpture in the last quarter of the century began to explore a greater degree of naturalism and wider range of subject matter. ? Just as the Taliban were detonating det·o·nate intr. & tr.v. det·o·nat·ed, det·o·nat·ing, det·o·nates To explode or cause to explode. [Latin d Afghanistan's ancient Buddhas, spreading worldwide dismay, plans were hatched to carve a 250-foot face of Alexander the Great on a granite outcropping in Greece, spreading considerable alarm. The Alexander project would create the world's biggest stone face. The brainchild of Greek sculptor Anastasios Papadopoulos, the work is being underwritten by Greek Americans. According to the sculptor's Alexandros Foundation, "the project will respect and conform to the archaeological, historical, and cultural dimensions of Alexander's philosophy," whatever that means. Still, the prospect of such a work--set to begin in November--has horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. environmentalists, archaeologists, politicians, antiquity bureaucrats, and everyone in Yugoslavian Macedonia who believes Alexander wasn't Greek but Balkan. A major complaint against the face is that it's kitsch. But outsize out·size n. 1. An unusual size, especially a very large size. 2. A garment of unusual size. adj. also out·sized Unusually large, weighty, or extensive. works from the Sphinx sphinx (sfĭngks), mythical beast of ancient Egypt, frequently symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Ra. The sphinx was represented in sculpture usually in a recumbent position with the head of a man and the body of a lion, to Mt. Rushmore have all been more impressive for scale than for grace; even the lamented Buddhas used to be dismissed as merely "grotesque." Scale, like age, emphasizes how elastic the meaning of a work can be, changing for different people at different times. Meaning's never set in stone. |
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