Thesis Galatée Martin Introduction

I-The power of Classics 1- Emotional and cultural references -Encyclopedia Aby Warburg / Batia Suter -The Dreamers : visual reference

2-Antiquity as a source of inspiration greek influence on our conptemporary society

II- Antiques Statues «Pygmalion et Galatée» Myth -sensuality, desir -ideal representation -What happened to the Venus de Milo’s arms ? -Under their spell -cold as marble «Rape of the Sabine Women», Giambologna

Conclusion a kitsch memory

Introduction D-A-V-I-D Should we turn spotlights back on our past, or freely draw from it? «This is David But he disappeared The video «David» from Guan Xiao is displayed with an humoristic touch to express the daily madness that Yes ! He is right here has come to surround the masterpieces in the world’s largest and busiest museums. We can see him very close David is about Michelangelo’s eponymous statue. It is about the countless copies and representations of the Or scupture that one encounters all around the world. The artist sing on a Chinese karaoke tune ‘We don’t know Very far away, But we just , Can not see him how to see him’. The original statue is now drowns so deeply beneath reproduction kitsch that it is safe to assume the original meaning can be forgotten. D- for Disappear I am always shocked by the amount of phones lifted up in the air in front of famous artworks. We The audience satisfies itself, taking a selfie with the art piece, embracing its notoriety, its history, its status. Study him, shooting him, singing for him They want dearly to become part of the history. Virtually sharing the fact that they physically encountered- We such works of art. Sculpture him, Drawing him, Reproducing him We are living in a society which is ephemeral. Surrounded by visuals, we capture the moment with ease, we Precisely take millions of images.Quantity becomes far more important than quality. Images are widely shared, posted But we just and diffused on all medias, becoming more important than physical matter. We no longer touch, Don’t know how to see him the experience now develops through our smartphone’s screens. In a time where the digital image is superior, We don’t know why we watching referring to the past can be viewed as an act of melancholy. As an insult to Antique sculpture physicality, we We don’t know, we don’t know, we don’t know see a complete Disneyfication of our most precious cultural heritage. A- is for Appear We I would like to question our relation to classical art, to what we define in western-culture as classical Cook with him, Drink with him, Shop with him references, and explore what might fascinate us about these works. We Sleep with him, Dress with him, Tie with him As a subject of study I would like to focus on ancient greek statues. They are refered to as ‘classic’: in the La- We rousse dictionary, looking for the definition of Classic I read: «relating to the ancient Greeks and Romans». Cost him, Post him, Eat him Statues are one example of many within the wide collection of Greek and Roman art objects, yet they are the He is in everywhere, The city, the garden ones that fascinate me the most and which I would like to further discuss in the following research. And through your back yard Greek statues are a prominent reference within the present image culture, an image which we, as Europeans, Be with us and everyday, From day to night have studied and often relate to. In writing ‘Greek statue’ and what I imagine visually is a sleek naked torso, carved from smooth marble. Personally this represents a certain aesthetic ideal. D-A-V-I-D What elements make these statues fascinating to us? Their static postures and grace? Or their representation and meaning? V- is for Value What does Antiquity mean for us today, does it mean anything at all? We Still can not see him These statues represent a memory of a time that praises the beauty of the body, according to certain aesthe- Don’t know how to see him tic principles, certain rules. In a sense this is not so different from our own society, obsessed by the perfect body. I am inspired by the ancient statues, I follow what I read as perfect body lines, and I want to write about I- for invisible them. We can make him disappear, so easily To make her disappear, or make them disappear

D- is for Disappear Only recording, but not remembering Only being there but not in there Until we forget his real face»

Lyrics of the soundtrack on Guan Xio’s video called DAVID Biennale of Venise in 2013 The power of images Another example of this swirling dynamic of connecting references I find in the movie ‘The Dreamers’. The movie the dreamers is an adaptation of his semi-autobiographical novel «The Holy Innocents» by Gilbert 1- emotional and cultural reference Adair. A theme inspired by «the Holy terrors» of Jean Cocteau. The main characters treat references as a constant game, and if one of them doesn’t know what another one refers to; he is consider as an ignorant, he «In front of an image, at last we humbly admit this: that this image will probably survive us, that we are the loses the game. He is being punished shamefully, thrown out of the circle. «our very own cultural revolu- fragile element, the element of passage and that it is before us an element of the duration. The image often has tion». more memory and more future than the being who looks at it » Confined in a beautiful Parisian apartment, in their own world, they spend their days playing and evalua- Georges didi-Huberman ting each other’s culture. Their main occupation is this of a daily quiz, a home-made game mixing sexual experimentation and rich knowledge of their shared obsession: movies, speckled with references to Cocteau, What is a reference ? Godard, Truffaut, Tod Browning, and many more. This game they might define as: «our very own cultural In a time where the image dominates, it is essential to understand references. revolution». In that sense a reference is to be placed next to another to give it a sense, under the light of a certain context. «I always wanted to make love to the Venus de Milo» Matthew, one of the three main characters. «the use of a source of information in order to ascertain something» is the reference definition according to The scene I love most out of these playful referencing scenes is one where actress Eva Green embodies the the Oxford dictionary. enigmatic Venus de Milo, one of the most famous Greek statues. All things around us are references; from our past, our memories, our culture, even our names. I believe we In the scene she surprises her lover: it is a theatrical entrance, she is standing half naked in front of black vel- accumulate very different references depending on our individual experiences of life and of education. vet curtains. She is wearing two long black gloves, which, placed against the black fabric of the curtains, gives In an art school, the environment where I find myself now, references are meant to guide us in our projects, the impression of the statue’s missing arms. to help us understand things. When beginning a project, it is adviced to gather images in order to document She stares at him and asks: «What sculpture ?» research. To find similarities and links between various domains, to figure out what is truly of importance The visual illusion is so efficient that everyone can find the Venus de Milo within her imitation. and of interest. Saying « I was inspired by..» is a way of referring to links and influences, from external material to your own production. It might sometimes be viewed as a copying system and as well as a necessity for contextualizing the work created. Existing references, already produced concepts and ideas always resonate with our present aesthetic and research, and the links we shall claim within our research may reveal themselves consciously or unconsciously. « In every image survives a primitive image, dépositaire of a passionate gesture, which oscillates incessantly between two poles, one maniac, the other melancholic.» Aby Warburg

To me, one master in terms of references is Aby Warburg. He created a Mnemosyne picture atlas, which he used as an instrument of creating knowledge: he freely organized and linked images together, drawing multiple connections, creating constellations. The result is a fascinating visual language composed of linked images. For instance he linked them through studying the similarities of the human gestures pictured within them... The constellations gather material is- sued from very different sources, and bring together historical references, personal traveling experiences and more common cultural references, resulting in a kaleidoscopic landscape of contemporary iconography.

Batia Suter uses his technique for connecting references to classify her work «Paralell encyclopedia : a repertory of forms». “In my work, I collect groups of images based on various themes and characteristics, and I investigate how they can manipulate each other, depending on where and how they are placed. In the process of making this book, narrative lines unfolded before my eyes as I shifted images around.”

We all collect images, but we no longer materialize them. They coexist on clouds, storage devices, websites. Instagram could be a modern version of Abu Warburg’s reference library. You research and dive into the web with hashtags, images linked to your inspirations pop up, suggested for you according to your likes. You follow the people who inspire you, and then the people who inspire the people inspiring you... It is an hypnotic world with infinite possibilities and many layers of connections. Antiquity as a source of inspiration

«The work of art of Greek antiquity serves as a fountainhead of styles for figures in Western art» «Seeing through clothes», Anne Hollander

Why do we make reference to classics ? Antiquity has forever been a source of inspiration looked at over and over, and which has been a major influence on the aesthetics in our society. Thinking about «antiquity as a source of inspiration», I try to com- pose my own constellation of references, as Aby Warburg and Batia Suter have done. The following paragraphs assemble my thoughts together and therefore gather a non-exhaustive collection about antique influences in our contemporary society.

*Companies also draw from the collective antique imagery, and therefore, as we could expect, many desi- gners are using mythological figures in their logos to stand out from the crowd. Because the story or the pattern of such logo can be link to popular knowledge of mythology or antiquity, it can easily be translated as a strong message. For instance, looking at the history of few brands and logos; the origin of the word NIKE comes from the goddess ‘Niké’, which means victory. The logo itself, visually representing a movement, is referring to the wings of the goddess in her sculptural representation «La Victoire de Samothrace» (which can be seen in the Louvre museum). This female character represents the gods’s messenger who comes to reward the victorious athletes during the Olympics Games. The choice of the logo corresponds to the brand’s ideology and the va- lues it wishes to express: sport aesthetics and surpassing oneself.

Another famous fashion logo referring to Greek mythology is the one of Versace. Hellenic heritage and mythology were always amongst Gianni Versace’s muses. Following his classical taste- he chose Medusa to figure the Versace logo. In the mythological text Medusa from Homere, she was one of the three gorgons, the most beautiful one, with golden hair. Athena punished her for seducing Poseidon by turning her into a hideous monster with snakes as hair. When she transformed she also acquired the power of turning people into stone with her sight. She was a powerful women of supernatural qualities, and using her image sends forth a strong message, that vanity may ruin one’s life. Nevertheless the Versace logo depicts Medusa with her golden hair overflowing. She wasn’t turned into a monstrous creature yet. Her beauty is apparent in her proportional features and regular lips, but her eyes somewhat remain hollow, her intentions ambiguous... Medusa’s logo encompasses Versace’s values of tradition and classicism, along with a desire for astonishing and striking designs, with an extravagant style.

*On May 3rd, 2017, Karl Lagerfeld brought Greek antiquity back from the past into the Grand Palais in Paris, for his collection Resort 2018.The collection was entitled «La modernité de l’Antiquité» (possibly translated Perseus holding Medusa’s head as ‘Antiquity’s modernity’), and featured immense romantic ruins as a set, to represent the Mount Olympus. As always Lagerfeld transposes the most unimaginable decors into the Grand Palais to allow the audience to travel back in time and become immersed in a new environment along with the show itself. For this specific collection he had brought in gigantic greek columns, stone-like ruins, olive trees and a painted sunset as the background. The collection was reusing antique Greek codes, mixed with a contemporary allure. There was a sculpture of a bust of Venus in Coco Chanel’s apartment Rue Cambon in Paris. It served as Lagerfeld’s star- ting point for this season. “The criteria of beauty in ancient, then classical Greece still holds true. There have never been more beautiful representations of women. Or more beautiful columns. The entire Renaissance, in fact, was based on antiquity. It is really about the youth of the world in all its power and unpredictability.», says Lagerfeld.

Antiquity in these examples can be interpreted as a common ground and inspiration. It influences through its codes towards beauty and proportions, and for the myths it contains. We then fantasize about the power and rich influence of this timeless culture, which leaves us with the ruins and remains of its beauty. 1- Pygmalion and Galatée

I grew up surrounded by statues. My parents bought an old Cistercian abbey from the 12th century, «Le Breuil-Benoît», in order to restore it. What is particular about this place is the unexpected combinations of different aesthetics, due to the many different owners. In the 19th century, Earl Gustave de Reiset, an art collector, acquired the domain after the french revolution.. He chose not to restore the abbey in a traditional manner as he enjoyed the romantic aspect of the ruins in their authentic state. I suppose it was this same romantic feeling we might experience facing antique statues. Why not restore them as they were ? Colorful, complete? Certainly due to the strong appeal conveyed by the damaged, the missing parts, disfigured by time. Earl de Reiset left the heart of the church and its ruins open, and made it into a garden embellished by medieval sculptures, most of them being fragments, following a thoughtful scenography. Some of these sculptures got beheaded during the revolution. Certainly as an attempt to mirror his own aesthetics on the site’s history, De Reiset molded his own head and attached it on the missing ones, on the sculptures. It produces uncanny combinations and reappropriations, for instance there are two statues next to each other which possess the same head and facial expression. I think he managed to alter the history of the abbey in an amusing way. Another ruse of him is hidden in one of the stained glass window inside the church. On it is represented King Francois the 1st, supposedly during the inauguration of the church. In a matter of fact Francois the 1st has never visited the abbey. The story was just fabricated by De Reiset. Following his fantasy, the abbey became a museum for his art and a salon for his eccentric diners.What fascinates me is the contrast brought by the coexistence of different kinds of art, and the fact that the way people collected and gathered art pieces bring their own personal history within the space. Statues were in every corner, mutilated stone-bodies were part of the house. As a child, some of my friends didn’t dare to sleep over because of the atmosphere the statues were emanating on the house. I chose to talk about statues because to me they are full of meanings. They are also a physical memory of our cultural past. Personally when I think of statues I relate to my childhood home. There you can find statues in every state of degradation. Some of them are so damaged by time it’s hard to distinguish the human silhouette, they have transformed into strangely shaped stones.

Talking about this romantic gesture of keeping the ruins in their natural state, I would like to relate it to another kind of interaction we can have with ‘human stones’. In the same way that we often try to communi- cate with art pieces, we have the desire to take part in art, to interact with it. Typing «the best stones kisses» as an online search I found series of images of what seems to be a phenomena, people kissing antique statues. To me these images illustrate some kind of a melancholic sensua- lity; it’s as though they were kissing the past. There is a beautiful contrast between the cold and static position of the statue, its greyness and irregular grain, and the alive moving face and gesture of the human. The images of statues being kissed remind me of one painting: «Pygmalion and Galatée», from Gérôme. Inspired by the myth of Ovide, the painting represents a kiss between Pygmalion the sculptor and Galatée, his own creation. Pygmalion kissed the statue as a sign of adoration, as he was obsessed and madly in love with his sculpture, which he had even named. ‘Galatea’ means «as white as milk» in greek, and as a matter of fact she was made from ivory. The story recalls that he sculpted her by putting all of his heart and desire in; but also a bit of the bitterness he felt, as he was a lonely and betrayed man, disappointed by women. He would cherish the statue, offering it gifts, dressing it in fine clothing, putting necklaces around her neck, rings around her fingers. He wished day and night it would come to alive. Moved by the prayers of the sculptor, the goddess of love Aphrodite decided to give life to Galatée. 2- Senuality, desir Since their discovery, the nudity of statues is disturbing, surprisingly even today it is still a taboo. «muscles are ferm,no straight bodies in theses statues, they are curved, so nonchalant, they have this ageless In our society, human nudity is still not fully accepted. The carnal realism of Antique statues might be the ambiguity, as if they were daring you to desire them.» cause of their alleged indecency. Elio’s father in the movie Call me by your name is an archeologist, he is describing ancient greek statues to his intern What was considered as « the uniform of the righteous»in Antiquity, is now scandalizing generations. student. 26th of April 2016, the Italian government took the strange decision to hide their Venus and other nude sta- Luca Guadagnino’s movie Call me by your name is populated with ancient greek sculptures. tues in the Capitoline museum in Rome for the visit of the president of Iran ; Hassan Rohani. Two men’s are falling in love in an idyllic house surrounded by ancient statues, somewhere in the northern As if the Italian government was ashamed of their own culture, Venus and others were locked in boxes to Italy. An antique statue is emerging in the middle of the film as a metaphore of their desire. accommodate and respect the Iranian culture and its religion. At the same time they found out their mutual feelings, they go to inspect a sensational discovery: parts of a It is not the first time the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, has show such diplomatic sensitivity. classical statue recovered from the water. Then in October, a nude statue of Jeff Koons received the same treatment as «the Capitoline Venus» First a bronze arm is found in the lake, Elio takes it and hands it to Oliver as if they agreeded on their mutual before the visit of Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, the prince of Abu Dhabi. desire. Then the hole body of an Hellenic statue emerged, it evokes the sexual tumult, the sensuality. Not everyone appreciated this diplomatic gesture to Hassan Rohani, seen as a form of cultural submission. The philosopher Raphaël Enthoven expressed his point of view on the Italian goverment’s precautions : There is something emotional and romantic about ancients figures, their vitality, they sometimes seem more «What is the fear of nudity but fascination for it ? alive than we are. While I am writing I realize that I am talking about them using the same vocabulary I Because they are statues and not living beings whose nudity has been covered, we lent to statues an erotic would use to speak about humans. They have humans names, figures, even the size... power, a life force to which, as statues, they did not claim themselves...as if they were threatening to come to A sensuality emanates from their curved positions and suggestive attitudes. They carry an erotic charge life and jiggle at the passage of Hassan Rohani. Should we adhore the nudity to dread such sorcery? because they are so humanized. What a beautiful tribute to the genius of the sculptors and the bodies of women than such a fear, what a Luca Guadagnino’s film is an ode to the melancoly of beautiful bodies of Ancient Greece. better confession than such a confinement»

Looking at a statue is different from looking at a painting where the angle view is already given. To understand a statue, you have to walk around it to possess the object in its physical totality. We admire them because they are perfection. Regarding the human form as an object of beauty, it seems like Greek sculptors were more concerned by the representation of the body than the face. They don’t ever smile, theys seem consentrated, serious. Their neutral expressions contrast with their bodies which are alive with movements. Adding to their arrogant attitude, they are displayed in a complete nudity.

A taste for nudity

«It is only among the Greeks that we find this adoration for the beauty of the human body» Rodin Greek nudity was the symbol of a powerful civiliztation centered on the man himself, an enhancement of bodies, an incentive to desire by the perfection of bodies, their curves. The nude body and draped clothes became essential elements for idealized vision. Be naked, strong, muscular, beautiful was what mattered at that time. The Greeks were the first to see nakedness as, literally, an heroic state. Athletes were naked in the gym; in fact, the word ‘gymnasium’ comes from the Greek ‘gymnos’, meaning ‘naked’. The gym was a place to train the youth to exercise and form their silhouette. Men were running naked during the Olympics to reflect the ideal of a harmonious balance between the body and the mind. According to this ideal, the one who trains his body can also develop his mind. « Nude is the uniform of the righteous» Says Ian Jenkins, the curator of «Defining Beauty : The body beauti- ful in Ancient Greek»exposed in The British Museum in 2015. An exhibition which reunites all aspects of the Greek tastes for beauty. It confront Antiques sculptures with a very actual subject; the body adoration. On this point we can relate to this culture, we can still recognize a lot of that idealism in the human body in public culture today. «From fitness magazines to dating apps, you don’t have to look far for evidence of our modern society’s obsession with the body beautiful.» “In some ways it has come full circle to modern art. As in ancient cultures, in modern society there is such a big debate about models looking beautiful and the perfect body,” Jenkins says. Representation of an ideal «Beautiful like a statue» We envy statues as we envy models’s bodies. Ian Jenkins, the curator of the exhibition «The body beautiful in Ancient Greek» explains how perfection and I get quickly frustrated by the represenation of perfection. I see such an exemple of an frustrating beauty in beauty were represented : the character of Nicolas in «Les Amours Imaginaires» by Xavier Dolan. In a party scene strobes lights have “They had a view that perfection doesn’t exist in nature. Perfection is what art gives to nature. The idea of a been used to cut the image and introduce in this dancing static images of a statue and drawings. sculpted body was design. It didn’t take inspiration from one model, but from several models; the arm of one, Nicolas is dancing.We experience this scene by seeing through his lovers’s eyes. the head of another, and not only male but female bodies. The biggest compliment you could pay a young They project their own references on Nicolas while he dances following the light’s rhythm. man of the time was to say he resembled a statue or sculpture.” He represents perfection for both his lovers yet in a different way. His female lover views him a as the statue A technique reused by Rodin, a lover of the antique aesthetic. In his research of perfection, he got inspired by of David of Michelangelo while his male lover views him as the characters from Cocteau’s drawings. different fragments of Greek sculpture to create a body. All his life he collected rare ancient pieces to creates form repertory. Rodin combines the beauty of an antique ideal and the mystery of nature. Antiquity is a classical repertory of forms and ideas in which we believe. Sculpture is one of the most known aspects of ancient art, or rather the one that has remained to among us.

We are all searching for an ideal. Our ideal. As Pygmalion gave up to real women and created his own ideal. His sculpture represented his fantasy within the exact measure of his desire. Creating something too realistic, too personal can cause an attachment. Artists often make a confusion between inspiration and desire. (We see this phenomena also in the cinema with art director taking the same actress) We feel this sentimental connection at the end of the movie «Rodin» of Jacques Doillon. A scene were Rodin mentions his sculpture «Monument to Balzac» in these emotional terms: « I hope that he won’t lock him up in a museum» Like Pygmalion, the sculptor develops a relation with his Balzac sculpture which he struggled over for seven years. In this scene, he is delivering the statue to Emile Zola’s house. He talks about it as if it was alive for it’s need to breath the fresh air.

Greek artists reach a peak of artistic excellence to represent the human form in a way never seen before and which was much imitated. They were particularly concerned with proportion, poise, and the idealized perfection of the human body. It is this peak of artistic excellence people are trying to reach. Antique ruins are perfect even if they remain as ruins. They don’t need to be restored. The Belvedere torso of Michelangelo is a ruin, only the main part of the torso remained, the fact that the rest is missing permits us focus on the muscles details.. This piece was asked by the Pope to restore it, he refused on the grounds it was an inimitable work of art which, though broken, possessed the ideal principles of Greek sculpture. In his «History of Art in Antiquity» Johann Joaquim Winckelmann describes the torso : «Abused and mutilated to the utmost, and without head, arms, or legs, as this statue is , it shows itself even now to those who have the power to look deeply into the secrets of art with all the splendor of its former beauty. The artist has presented in his Hercules a lofty ideal of a body elevated above nature, and a shape at the full development of manhood, such as it might be ifexalted to the degree of divine sufficiency»

Greeks were striving for perfection also in position. They found an advantageous balance for the human figure with the Contrapposto ; A position which had to value the harmony of proportion. Niels Schneider as David of Michelangelo Even in relatively static position, a slight movement is the achievement of the classical silhouettes. «Les Amours Imaginaires» Xavier Dolan The position Contrapposto distributes the weight on one leg and uses the torso as a counterbalance to su- blime the body. An attitude which creates a curve on the torso from the neck to the leg That stance is almost impossible to maintain in real life and perhaps it bothered the Greeks in their search for perfection. What happened to the Venus de Milo’s arms ?

«The Venus de Milo is an accidental surrealist masterpiece. Her lack of arms makes her strange and dreamlike. She is perfect but imperfect, beautiful but broken—the body as a ruin. That sense of enigmatic incompleteness has transformed an ancient work of art into a modern one.»

Jonathan Jones Why is she so special, so enigmatic ? As the Belvedere Torso, the Venus de Milo is incomplete. She became an icon,a fantasy, a model because of the absence of her arms. The star of the Louvre incarnates an unconventional muse. The mystery of her arms makes her strangely attractive. The philosopher Slavoj Zizek is taking the Venus de Milo as an example when he says «the safest way to ruin a work of art is to complete it» Unlike the custom of the time, the statue was not restored when it entered the collections of the Louvre. The Venus de Milo’s arms were probably holding clues to her identity. If she was Venus, she would have held an apple in one hand and a mirror in the other. There is also more details missing; jewlery, small holes for fixing them to the piece remain in the marble are giving are clues. All is alluded and uncertain, even her name. The incontournable art piece has a twin sister; Aphrodite of Capua in the archeological museum of Napoli. In her shadow, her complete and identifiable sister didn’t get the fame. Venus de Milo has been reinterpreted a thousand times by artists which found in its suggestive lack, a source of inspiration. Dali with his «Venus Drawers», Yves Klein with his «Blue Venus», the Venus tied with rope of Man Ray...and an impressive list of others.. Used as a beauty reference in the cinema embodied by Eva Green in «The Dreamers». An enigmatic element in «Twins peaks» in the red room, an imaginary place where she reflects the «frozen» statue of a character Laura Palmer who is trapped in between two worlds. Recently used for an international handicap NGO campaign. Her image appeal to a universal audience with various possible messages. In the 70’s an exhibition of Colette Lambrish titled «Venus de Milo or dangers of celebrity» was devoted to the famous sculpture. In the «Nouvel Observateur» magazine she is described in the following terms : «Souvenir of bazaar alongside the victory of Samothrace and the gargoyles of Notre Dame, bait advertising for the sale of a beauty milk, a film on the techniques of love or clothing for strong women, Venus de Milo is now in the public domain» Do we admire her because she is famous or because of what she represents ? Her image is mass produced due to her celebrity. She has become vulgarized, she is not a sculpture anymore, Eva Green as Venus de Milo she an idea, a message, a representation of... «The Dreamers» Bernardo Bertolucci Under their spell Cold as the marble

To be enigmatic is in the very nature of the statue. The ageless fozen figures are intimately linked to the past. We perceive ancient statues as white as marble or by the color by of their original matter. We are readily impressed by their monumental aspect, their human and expressive gaze. Known for their purity and whiteness they were originally vividly painted, borderline kitsch. The passage of time has made them lose their «primitive» color. Paint was an essential component of the In Alain Resnais’s movie «Last year in Marienbad» everything seems frozen in a anxious atmosphere. realism in greek art A large international palace, immense, baroque with a sumptuous yet cold decor. The black and wite, There is therefore a gap between the ancient art in it’s authentic state, and the image of the ancient art of the the attitude of characters,their slowness, the flowing dress of the leading actress like a drapé, every element Renaissance, wich is anchored in the collective imagination. evokesthe atmosphere of ancient Greek statues. This palace seems emptied of life, inhabited by creatures half In Greek the word for the skin, khrôs, meant also « colour ». The human skin was strongly human half statues. Incompletes, they exist in between the world of the living and that of the dead. connected to the notion of chromaticism. The skill of a painter was evaluated through his capacity to render the subtle shades of colour-skin and his ability to create the illusion of life. Ancient greek sculptures are dramatic, this may be due to their empty eyes, they seem to be hypnotised or asleep. The eyes are the mirror of the soul. They were coloured, yet the paint faded with time. In Jean-Luc Godart’s movie «Le Mépris», statues are painted in a kitsch and almost childish way. The expression « cold as a marble statue» does not only refer to the coldness of the matter but to their stone Eyes are filled by blue and red. Color is an important element for the director. like attitude and their expression. He goes so far as to paint history to tune the statues with the color of his film. This solid color in the eyes Mostly representing the dead, they are a constant reminder of the passage of time. They are forever carrying a gives them a frightening appearance. message. Godart shakes up the classic schemas by giving back to antiquity its original colors : The cinema faces the In the cinema, statues are coming back to life in a flash to give a lecon, to punish humans. This is the case as sculpture. An article on Gizido explains the function of these statues in Godart’s movie : they are wise, they have seen all, they know our human mistakes.The apparition of the commandeur’s statue «These frozen statues, they represent the classic cinema. They recall the heroes of a past time that must be in Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni illustrates this fact. overcome...They have a double meaning since they refer to this fallen figure of the man, and a certain cinema. Arriving as a god’s messenger, he asks Don Giovanni for his apology for his acts. By combining this idea with that of the starring couple Camille / Paul, who take on a mythological dimen- Too pround to excuse himself Don Giovanni refuses to be impressed and treats the Commander as his equal. sion, we understand that one is the equivalent of the other.» He does not express the slightest remorse, which causes his loss and brings him right to Hell. We make up stories revolving around statues to scare ourselves. Likewise, the artist Nico Ordozgoiti digitally paints iconic statues such as the Venus de Milo, in a Another punishment given by a statue is the bite of «Mouth of truth» hyperrealistic style which brings them to life. Looking at these images I experience a strange and unnatural The enigmatic «Mouth of Truth» in Roma is an antique massive marble mask known for its legend. feeling, as we are not accustomed to this representation. It seems inappropriate, and creates a inauthencitity According to superstition, people believe that the sculpture will bite your hand if you are not truthful. which is disturbing.Aware of the fact that even the statues were given a colourful appearance, what if we Tourists line up to put their hands inside the mouth of the statue, awaiting their judgment. would restore statues as they were? Would it be vulgar, kitsch, too much ? We are so accustomed to seeing them uncoloured that it would be a The statue comes to life in Jean Cocteau’s surrealist film «The blood of a poet», the sculpture invites the artist shock. to pass through the mirror; a metaphor to a passage to imagination. She closes paradoxically her eyes to see In his conference «Lecture on Architecture and Aesthetic», Slavoj Zizek refers to a billionaire in Beverly Hills and follow the poet throughout his journey. Angry at the statue and scared after his experience behind the who restores greek statues to their original state, his taste was made fun of, it was considered as kitsh. mirror, the artist takes his revenge by braking the statue. The statue then dissolves into a white smoke, which Are they kitsch ? the artist finds himself covered in. «By breaking statues, one risk is to turn into one» the voice-over said. I think it depends on the context. But they become easily kitsch in the manner that people are using them at Jean Cocteau’s movies are populated by human-statues, in his adaptation of «the Beauty and the Beast» present. They are art pieces in museum, and kitsch artefacts in a pavillon garden. statues are watching, being silent, they are part of the decor. To me, the word kitsch evokes instantly Jeff Koons. It is almost embarrassing to say that you like his art For Cocteau the statue is in between two worlds, they serve as an intermediary separating the real from the because it is centered around bad taste, commercial and provocative. It is as thought we have to learn how to unreal. appreciate his art. I think his approach to antique statues is interesting especially in his last exhibition titled«The Gazing Ball». We have developed a strange sensibility towards antiques statues, or we vow them a cult, an adoration, or we In his retrospective Jeff Koons combines antiquity and popular art. become terrified by their striking resemblance to ourselves. We are fond of mystery, we adore Venus de Milo Copies of famous painting and antique statues are used as a pedestal for the reflective gazing ball of blue because she keeps a secret, same as the Mona Lisa with her enigmatic figure. glass, placed on different spots. In a society in which we attempt to explain everything, I think it is important that we get a lack to appeal our Like a weight on Heracles’s shoulder. This intriguing object gives us a distorting vision, another persective of imagination the environement, including ourselves as onlookers. We as audience are in fact the subject of these artworks. He initiates a dialogue between ancient art and contemporary art,questioning the piece of art. Replicating theses statues in his turn, Jeff Koons is only updating a technique that has played a major role in the reproduction and dissemination of works of art and actively participates in the (re) discovery by the gene- ral public beauties of Greco-Roman sculpture. Other pieces representing objects, elements inspired by high antiquity that people place in they suburb garden, submerges them into banality. Conclusion

Rosalind Krauss defines the sculpture such as «Limit of time, the statue bears witness to wear and embodies eternity; she introduces a past in three dimensions in the flow of the present. It organises, in and between images, the circulation between the opposite poles of the past and the present, movement and immobility, life and death.»

To conclude I choose the myth of Medusa from the Mythology of Homere. With her supernatural beauty, she was punished for seducing and being vain. Previously she was a representation of perfection and vanity. Athena turned her into an immortal creature, a snake haired monster who has the power to petrify humans into stones who dare to look her in her eyes. Mythology says that many felt the pernicious effects of her look, and people around Tritonis Lake were turned in stones. I see this myth as a beautiful metaphor to imagine the origin of statues. As far back as Ancient Greece, in times when myths and legends were born, artists have created impossibly high ideals for the beautiful body. And as our culture has changed over time, so have the physical goals that humans strive to achieve. Technology and social media may have accelerated the pace of change, but it hasn’t changed the substance of the question: what is a beautiful body? I believe that the harmony of the human body conveyed by ancient statues is not oldfashioned but an relevant matter. Antiques statues served as aesthetic totems. Through their beautiful apparence, they are also a trace of a misogynist and rigid society. As Medusa, they embody arrogance and extravagance. I think we should take Antiquity off it’s pedestale and reevaluate our relationship with the classics.

Because of their perfect realism which humanises them, we get attached to them. They represent our heritage, our origins. Full of history they remained as witnesses, damaged by time.

What future do we reserve to these immortals scupltures ? A kitsch memory ?

We adore ancient greek statues for being incomplete, imperfect. Ruins inspire romantic and nostalgic feelings within us. This contemporary obsession with Antique statues hides a nostalgia for an earlier age that has not yet lost its power. Greeks left us so many pieces of art, still yet to discover. there is today an interesting contrast between the work of art, ruin and garden decoration. Statues have always had a decorative function in gardens and palaces. In the past they were intended for temples, public spaces, they were also private property of the very rich and powerful. They have now become the object of copies and become accessible to all. People are building fake ruins,using antique images in order to sell. It fascinates me to discover, biking on my way home, that a lot of people own copies of the David of Michelangelo, Venus de Milo and others. We appropriate their images by owning a copy and using it as an artefact. By reproducing these works, their image is being over produced and vulgarised. But we shouldn’t close them up in museums either, I think that it takes away their romantic soul.

What will be left for us to refer to when ancient statues are reduced to artefacts in a suburban garden ? Bibliographie Sculptures :

Movies/Videos : -David, Michelangelo, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence -Perseus holding Medusa’s head, Antonio Canova, Vatican - « D-A-V-I-D» Guan Xiao -Winged Victory of Samothrace, Louvre, Paris - «The Dreamers», Gilbert Adair -Belvedere Torso, Vatican - «Call me by your name», Luca Guadagnino -Monument to Balzac, Rodin, Paris - «Last year at Marienbad», Alain Resnais -The capitoline Venus, Capitoline museum, Rome - «Statues in the Cinéma», Blow up, Arte -Venus de Milo, Louvre, Paris - «Le Mépris», Jean-Luc Godart - «Les Amours Imaginaires», Xavier Dolan - «The Blood of a poet», Jean Cocteau

Articles :

- «Rodin, dialogue with Antiquity, Paris» Reportage : Nicole Bappel, Virginie Delahautemaison, Rupert Edgell https://culturebox.francetvinfo.fr/arts/sculpture/rodin-dialogue-avec-l-antique-a-paris-145587

- «Etudier ou Rêver l’antique, Félix Ravaisson» Mekouar Mouna http://journals.openedition.org/imagesrevues/222

- «Quand l’antique passe au numérique» Visual Magasine (https://vysual.org/quand-lart-antique-passe-au-num%C3%A9rique-a63810e68b67)

- «The ideal human form as manufactured in ancient times as it is today, as shown in The Body Beautiful exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery», Michelle Pountney, Herald Sun. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/arts/the-ideal-human-form-as-manufactured-in-ancient- times-as-it-is-today-as-shown-in-the-body-beautiful-exhibition-at-bendigo-art-gallery/news-story/ f54a725285265e5877c2aa90a5fe98f5

Conferences :

- «Lecture on Architecture and Aesthetic» Slavoj Zizek philosopher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdbiN3YcuEI

- «The human body in ancient greek art and though» Dr Ian Jenkins, senior curator The British Museum, Department of Greece and Rome, Portland art museum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfWd9QZfils

Book :

- «Seeing though Clothes, Fashioning ourselves, an intriguing new look at image-making», Anne Hollander