Who is this?
This statue is referred to as "Head and Bust from a Seated Statue" because we do not know what this man's name was. Without an inscription including the person's name we have to rely on visual cues from the statue itself to give us some idea about the man's identity. What features stand out to you the most?
I'm drawn to his eyes.
The eyes are definitely striking. Eye shape in Ancient Egyptian art was something that changed across different time periods. The eye shape, and in fact, the style of his whole face suggests that this statue was made during the 18th Dynasty, more specifically during the reign of Amunhotep III or later. From an inscription on the shoulder we know this statue was made during the reign of Amunhotep IV, the immediate successor to Amunhotep III.
I noticed that it says there's an inscription on his right arm, but I can't locate it. Can you tell me exactly where it is?
The inscription you mentioned is on the front of his right shoulder. It's just a single cartouche and is actually quite faint. The cartouche contains the name of a king, Amunhotep IV, which actually tells a very interesting story. Amunhotep IV only used that name for the first 5 years of his reign and then changed his name to Akhenaten. You can learn about why in the small gallery to the left of the one you're in now. The presence of this name alone dates this statue to that very specific 5 year period.
Was his nose broken on purpose? Is it to deprive him of his power?
Some statues' noses were certainly chiseled off to "ritually kill" the statue. In this case, however, it looks like the lack of nose is a result of thousands of years of wear.
Do you know the type of material and tools were used to make this?
This statue is made of granite, a popular material for Ancient Egyptian statues because it is very hard and therefore lasts a long time. The dark color also makes details in the carving easier to make out.
Ancient Egyptians used mostly chisels for outlines and rubbed the stone with a sand-like materials to smooth the surface.
Does that explain why it has a sparkle to it?
The sparkle has more to do with the properties of the granite itself, mostly the minerals it contains like mica. Another reason that the Ancient Egyptians valued it as a material to sculpt.
Why is this boy covered in blood?
In this photograph, Nicolai Howalt wanted to show a boy before and after his first boxing match! The photograph on the right was taken right he left the ring. Howalt wanted to show us how a person changes after going through an event like boxing.
Thanks.
Who made this?
That stained glass window was designed by John LaFarge, one of the leading American stained glass makers and a rival of Louis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany & Co. It widow was made for a private house in Brooklyn. The woman in the window symbolizes "Hospitality" and was installed in at the entrance hall in the home, welcoming people in with open arms.
Who made this?
This was made by American glass artist Dale Chihuly. Chihuly works out of a studio in Seattle, Washington to create glass art. It's called a "basket" but it's really made as a work of art, to be looked at and not used!
What is this photo about?
This is Zdenek Lhotak's close up shot of the Spartakiad Games. The Spartakiads or Spartakiades in Czechoslovakia were mass gymnastics events, designed to celebrate the Red Army's liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945.
The Spartakiads were attended by large numbers of people. For example, at the 1960 Spartakiad about 750,000 gymnasts from the whole country took part and over 2,000,000 spectators witnessed the event!
One good thing was that men and women of all ages and body abilities participated in these gymnastic games. However, the bad thing was that participation was mandatory.
What is this photo about?
Let's look at it together! Can you tell which sport it is?
No
It's rugby! This is a photograph of Serge Betsen, a rugby player, shot by Gérard Rancinan. It looks like you're getting a really personal view of the action, but how would a photographer have taken this photo during the game?
How?
He couldn't! It's not like he could just wait for a player to fall down after being hit, then run up to him, crouch down, and take a photo, in the middle of the game. The photo is staged, with the player pretending he is in the middle of a game, but because of the mud, and the super close-up view, you don't even think that it could possibly be staged, it just seems "real."
How does that make you feel? Do you like it more or less?
Less.
I originally felt the same way, but then I realized that just because it's staged, it doesn't mean that both the photographer and the player didn't want to show you what the game really feels like.
By staging it, they made it possible for us to see the side of sport that you could never see on TV, the face-hitting-the-mud side of things!
What's going on here?
Titled "Mexico Car Frenzy," this photograph by award-winning photo journalist Tomasz Gudzowaty captures a moment of illegal car racing popular in Mexico and representative of culture of motor enthusiasts. The darkness of the image coupled with the overlapping spiral ramps emphasize the mysterious (and sometimes hidden) nature of this illegal sport.
Thank you.
