In college, I begrudgingly singed up for an Art History class to fulfill my Arts and Letters requirement. I remember the pleasant surprise one day of being introduced to my favorite work of art – the Discobolus by Myron. The original is lost, but last weekend, I got to see the best Roman copy on display, in person, at the Portland Art Museum! Once in a lifetime opportunity, and so completely worth it. When I walked around the corner and saw it, I stopped on the spot and looked for a good 3 minutes. They have it lit perfectly.
This picture taken in low light with my cheap point and shoot camera does not do it justice.
The statue has subtle tricks in the way it is setup that makes it ‘pop’. For example, the toes are clinched as if digging into the earth. In person it is truly amazing and relaxing to behold.
To all my design buddies out there: I highly recommend you check this out before January 6th 2013 when the exhibition is over. My wife and I got in for only $5 each via the 4th Friday program – makes a great date too!
Information about the Portland Art Museum – The Body Beautiful:
http://www.portlandartmuseum.org/
More about the Discobolus:
The statue has always impressed me because it really looks like he is about to whip around and throw that disc! How Myron was able to convey that, some 2400 years ago, amazes me. In fact, I don’t think anything comes close to the quality of this work.
“The moment thus captured in the statue is an example of rhythmos, harmony and balance. Myron is often credited with being the first sculptor to master this style.” – Wikipedia
I have also been to the copy at the Harvard campus, which in my opinion completely misses the mark. See how it just isn’t as balanced and alive as the marble version above?
Skip the King Tut exhibit in Seattle:
While on a short vacation in September, we also toured the King Tut exhibit in Seattle. A couple neat things there, but overall a disappointment. There is lots of little stuff, nicknacks, and a burial mask from another Pharaoh. For all the hype it got, I was expecting to see the 8ft tall gold sarcophagus, especially for $35… but no, all we got was a computer animated video of it in the last room. Bah!
