Gothic Period and Classicism Paper Example

J.J. Pollitt, "World under Control: The Classical Moment, c. 450-430 B.C."

Pollitt's thesis was to justify the conflict between two opposing poles; confidence and doubt as for the significant elements upon which the Early Classical period descended. Pollitt further characterizes Periclean Athens as culturally ideal and politically powered. The Periclean Athens had contributed significantly to the current outlook of the current Athens Greek Art by encouraging the visual arts. The significant events in the Periclean Athens entail the situation where Pericles began an ambitious project that led to the development of the surviving structures on Acropolis including the Parthenon. The project helped in beautifying, protecting the city, demonstrating glory, and providing work to the people. Also, Pericles strived to nurture the Athenian democracy.

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In the reading, the phrase "Man is the measure of all things" was a statement made by Protagoras that interprets the individual human being instead of a good. Protagoras was an ancient Greek philosopher who was credited by Plato to have invented the role of the professional sophist. Sophocles was a famous ancient Greek tragedian celebrated for writing tragedy plays together with Aeschylus and Euripides. These ancient Greek pioneers are relevant in the discussion since they contributed significantly in shaping the Greek art that exists today.

The phrase "pervasive proportionality" of the Parthenon illustrates the symmetry and architecture of the construction of columns of the Parthenon. The three theories of Alexamata include the compensation theory, the exaggeration theory, and the tension theory. Compensation theory affirms that the Parthenon was subtle to counteract the optical illusion. The exaggeration theory asserts that the curvature of Parthenon was intended to amplify the temple so that it appeared immense that the actual optical appearance. The tension theory asserts that the amplification was intended to cause tension to the viewer. The building thus expresses the Periclean Athens as wealthy and as a symbol of political and cultural supremacy in Greece.

Michal Camille, "Gothic Signs and Surplus: The Kiss on the Cathedral."

According to Michal Camille, the term "intervisuality" refers to the situation where images may not appear as stable referents in the ideal iconographic dictionary. The audience has across image interpretation where they perceive the image in different cultural perspectives. The term thus tries to explain how viewers have different visual interpretations based on their visual contexts. In the reading, the kiss was one of the images that face intervisuality among the medieval society.

Camille uses the term surplus in the argument to define why the kiss "paradigmatic of the rich potentiality of the sign." The paradigm exhibited the sexual and nonsexual interpretations that the Christians had on the kiss sign in Middle Ages. In this case, the sorplus thus explains how the image kiss had various interpretations that had an excess that spilled over in many directions. Camille further gives seven types of kisses including the lecherous kiss, the spiritual kiss, the legal kiss, the courtly kiss, the treacherous kiss, the mystical kiss, and the kiss of peace.

In explaining the spiritual kiss, Camille refers to the Book of Songs of Solomon in the Bible by outlining how Kong Solomon kisses his queen to express the love of God. The kiss symbolizes a special gift of social power. In the legal kiss, Camille refers to the osculum feudal, a symbolic part of the ritual of vassalage. Here women are excluded from the ritual symbolizing the lack of power in the society. Lastly, I the treacherous kiss, Camille relate to the kiss that Judas made to betray his Master. It Gothic image thus symbolizes disloyalty.