The Mythical Divine :: Art Artistic Architecture Essays

The Mythical Divine It is the mystery of the past which sparks the imagination of the future. The remnants of lost cultures, ever enticing with their fractured story, have continually piqued the interest of humankind. Ancient Egypt reflects 3000 years of splendor, serenity and mystery. This enigmatic civilization has become the focal point of scholarly study and artistic reproduction over the stand 200 years. It has been unsurpassed in use and depiction as a model to convey more differing images. One, most unique, replication of dynastic Egypt is Pharaohs Lost country amusement park in Redlands, California. It is a composite of ancient art and architecture used to recreate a world of mystery and intrigue in a modern day setting. The park rises seemingly out of nowhere just as the Giza pyramids project from a barren desert floor. As you enter, you pretend on a journey from the monotony of everyday life to a sacred mystical landscape. In his book, Spiritual Path, Sacred Place, Thom as Barrie states The sacred range was never an impassive backdrop... it was a dynamic place, often charged with emotional energy and experienced spatially and temporally as its users moved by dint of its spaces or entered its sacred enclosures. (p.54) For the participant, especially children, this emotion of complete awe mixed with fantastic delight is evoked as soon as one gazes upon the rally building 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 be welcome and protection. (Egyptomania p.22) Yet the creators of the theme park have gone further. They have deliberately replaced the Pharaoh Khafres head with the funerary mask of King Tutankhamun. This coupling is an attempt to directly give the visitor two extremely recognizable images. The typical traveler is left mystified by the immensity of the statue, unaware of the mixed i cons. 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 state applies this ideal to announce the grandeur and monolithic proportions of its premises. Five large pyramids sit atop the rectangular building pointing toward the sky. Some are reminiscent of Djosers stepped pyramid go the central one is a smaller version of the great pyramids of Giza.