The Mythical Divine :: Art Artistic Architecture Essays

The Mythical Divine It is the mystery of the past which s super acids the liking of the future. The remnants of lost cultures, ever enticing with their fractured story, have continually piqued the interest of humankind. superannuated Egypt reflects 3000 years of splendor, serenity and mystery. This enigmatic civilization has become the focal manoeuvre of scholarly study and fraudistic reproduction over the last cc years. It has been unsurpassed in use and depiction as a fabric to convey many differing images. One, most unique, replication of dynastic Egypt is Pharaohs Lost demesne amusement park in Redlands, California. It is a composite of ancient art and architecture used to recreate a world of mystery and charm in a modern day setting. The park rises seemingly forth of nowhere just as the Giza pyramids project from a barren lay waste to floor. As you enter, you embark on a journey from the monotony of cursory life to a sacred mystical landscape. In his book, Spiritual Pa th, sacred Place, Thomas Barrie states The sacred place was never an impassive backdrop... it was a dynamic place, often charged with emotional energy and experienced spatially and temporally as its users moved through its spaces or entered its sacred enclosures. (p.54) For the participant, particularly children, this emotion of complete awe mixed with fantastic delight is elicited as soon as one gazes upon the central edifice of the park complex.The entrance to the park, the line separating what is real from the imaginary (the constructed), is guarded by a huge sphinx. Here, as in Egypt Its essential function has been to embody obtain and protection. (Egyptomania p.22) Yet the creators of the theme park have gone further. They have by choice replaced the Pharaoh Khafres head with the funerary mask of King Tutankhamun. This coupling is an attempt to like a shot give the visitor two extremely recognizable images. The typical traveler is left mystified by the immensity of the s tatue, unaw be of the mixed icons. In many types of building plans The demarcating of sacred ground was typically accomplished architecturally by the form and geometry of the sacred place. (Spiritual Path, Sacred Place p.56) The central building of Pharaohs Lost Kingdom applies this ideal to announce the grandeur and monolithic proportions of its premises. fin large pyramids sit atop the rectangular building pointing toward the sky. Some are reminiscent of Djosers stepped pyramid while the central one is a little version of the great pyramids of Giza.