The Ancient Egypt Exhibition Stage 3: Contextual Analysis
Symbolism plays an essential role in perception and correct understanding of the ancient Egypt and its multiple faces. The Great Pyramids of Giza, as an example, represent layers and layers of symbolic significance that show much more than religious and socio-cultural concepts. Acting as the very essence of creation, they speak of origins of life and, in most cases, their meaning is what the scientists and archaeologists have agreed upon. One of the most important aspects of an exhibition that must always be taken into consideration is a strict differentiation between what represents an attribute and is shown on a display, and the symbols that represent certain ideas, perceptions of life and death, beliefs, behaviors, and the attitudes. In a certain sense, symbolism can be approached as a "primary form of thinking of the ancient Egyptians as both artists and architects, people of all crafts have always utilized symbols in the design and construction stages of various objects" (Robins, Gay). The aim of an exhibition, however, is to show that symbolism is not only a way to implement visual and decorative traditions, but to show and explain a particular view on life and on ancient reality by showing how symbols interact with the objects, relevant activities, authority, responsibilities, and beliefs. Another aspect that should be brought to attention is that symbolism and the ideas it represents are often intertwined and are not always what they are believed to be due to frequent adaptation to reality and a framework that seemed acceptable (Strouhal, Eugen). When uniting the past and the present, there is always a space to show how symbolism of the ancient times can be applied to the present era by revealing all contradictions of life, ways of thinking, and the art used as a form of artistic and symbolic expression.
Works Cited
Robins, Gay. The Art of Ancient Egypt. Cambridge (Massachusetts), Harvard University Press, 2000.
Strouhal, Eugen. Life of the Ancient Egyptians. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, …