Sculptures Across Cultures

          The theme of my exhibit is sculpture across cultures. Humans create sculptures for many reasons, one being to immortalize an important figure. This is shown through many Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman sculptures. Not all Greek sculptures have survived, and many seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art are Roman reproductions. These sculptures were crafted from marble with the finest attention to detail. Sculptures of gods display perfect human form. African sculpture often depicts the opposite. Faces with exaggerated facial features dominate this genre. The materials used in the creation of these sculptures are more basic. For example, many African sculptures are made of wood. Mexican sculptures possess the quality of intricate carvings on the facial regions. The detail of these carvings make it seem as if the sculpture was not of a human face, but that of a mask. The medium used with many Mexican sculptures is limestone. Different regions produce different types of sculptures. Cultural ideas and beliefs are embedded within these sculptures. Many sculptures seen from Ancient Greek, Mexican, and African cultures depict deities. This leads us to conclude that these deities must have had an important part in everyday life, otherwise the sculptures would not have been created in the first place. Different regions also produce different materials for creating work. Greek and Roman sculptures are dominated by the materials of bronze and marble. African sculptures, on the other hand, make use of wood and ceramics. The difference between the sculptures does not relate to the advancement of each culture. Rather, these materials represent what was presently available at the time of creation. This exhibit takes you through three different cultures. Each culture has a different take when it comes to creating a sculpture. Look at these sculptures as a window into the past, and see how different times were back then in relation to today. 

 Polykleitos, "Marble statue of Hermes," 1st or 2nd Century, Greek/Roman

  

Restoration: Vincenzo Pacetti, "Hope Dinoysos,"  27 BC - 68 AD, Greek/Roman

Artist Uknown, "Marble statue of an old woman," AD 14-68, Greek/Roman

Artist Unknown, "Marble statue of Aphrodite," 1st or 2nd Century AD, Greek/Roman

Artist Unknown, "Power Figure," mid to late 19th century, African

Artist Unknown, "Reliquary: Standing Male Figure," 19th Century, African

 Artist Unknown, "Female Figure," 19th-20th Century, African

Artist Unknown, "Monumental Figure," 9th Century, Mexican

Artist Unknown, "Head of an old man," 16th Century, Mexican

Artist Uknown, "Female Figure," 12th-9th Century BC, Mexican