Ancient Art

            As our blog has yet to look into art in the ancient world, I was excited when I stumbled upon an article in the New York Times. Author Souren Melikian covers an exhibition of Egyptian art held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in this article. 

I was initially interested in the article because of its unique topic. Over all I think Melikian wrote a very impressive article, but at times the writing appeared, abstract and not cohesive. For instance, after introducing the art show, Melikian begins to describe ancient Egyptian art by saying, “The most startling revelation is the simultaneous existence by the end of the fourth millennium B.C. of pure abstraction, highly stylized figuration and representational art close to nature” (1). Although this sentence is interesting and certainly describes Egyptian art in a powerful way, it also seems a bit long and convoluted. I am all for grandiose descriptions but this sentence appears confusing. By using such words as “abstraction…stylized figuration and representational art,” the author brings three different styles of art into the article that many readers (such as myself) may not be familiar with. To help combat confusion, I think the author should have explained these styles, given examples, and or provided visual representations.

However, the author did provide a few photographs of some of the art that was showcased, which I found to be interesting and added strength to the article. 

Melikian continues to explain some of the other pieces of artwork that were at the show, “a stone jar carved between 3650 and 3300 B.C. displays a stunning aptitude at reducing animal form to near abstraction, with a surreal twist that anticipates 20th-century avant-garde art” (1). I found this quote to be quite powerful and intriguing as it is suggestive of the styles of art in ancient Egypt. By saying that this jar’s style “anticipates 20^th-century avant-garde art,” Melikian seamlessly connects the ancient world to the present time period, making the art she saw more tangible to readers. The author does this again when describing another jar; “a small squat jar designed like a turtle looking up with its round eyes beats Walt Disney cartoons by a long chalk” (1). This line was extremely well-written again as it connects what could have been an abstract description of an ancient artifact into an understandable connection. Who has never seen a Disney movie? Almost no one, making this connection very strong, and providing readers with an easy visualization of what this jar may look like.

This article was interesting and well-written and one that I would recommend reading.