It’s only the second week of this semester, but I already feel really busy. But I really like it. I like keep my self busy and I really love all the classes I am taking this semester. I am currently taking 3 econ classes, a French class and an art history class. It sounds like a lot and it actually is, but when you are doing something you really enjoy, you just never complain and feel tired. :-)
We went to the Logan Museum today for my art history class and we actually have a cave in the basement of the museum. I didn’t know that until today. The cave is actually a copy of the famous Lascaux Cave in France and all the sculpture and painting are actually done by the former Beloit College students. Here are some pictures of it.
(the famous bird-headed man)
In this Bird-Headed Figure Scene, there is a bird-headed man, a bison and a spear-thrower. The bird-headed man, as he is called, has a bird head and simplified body is lying on the ground with a spear-thrower whose outer is in the shape of a bird. By his body, there is a great bison looms over, aggressively. There is also a long diagonal line slanting across the bison’s hindquarter.This is a very interesting scene; it is the only scene in the Lascaux cave that seems to tell a story. It is abstract but detailed and it stimulates people’s imagination. For example, this man in the scene could be a hunter. He is wearing a bird mask and carrying a bird spear-thrower so that he could trap the bison and make the bison think he is a bird and go chase him. And he is probably pretending that he died (that explains he is lying on the ground) and trying to trap the bison go closer so he could kill the bison. Or he could be a shaman. And he is wearing the bird mask and having a bird-shape magic stick. Shamans are thought to be people who have special powers that they can communicate with animals. There might be other possible interpretation for this scene too. It could be just a random picture the ancestors drew, or it could be a history of their hero ancestors, or it’s a piece of art. I am not quite sure about this, but if there is no writing at that time, then this piece could be there original way of communicating and illustrating history.
