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#6865
Maggie May
Participant

During the classical period, we see a shift towards a more idealistic and consistent representation of the human figure. This could be due to many factors, including new tools and ideas within Greek culture. Regardless, sculptures of humans began to be represented in the contrapposto stance more often, and were often similar. The women often stood upright with neatly braided hair, while the men displayed more muscular features. We see a consistent “ideal” human body displayed during art work of this time. Similarly, our own culture holds it’s own prevalent ideals in terms of what the human body should look like. Although these ideals differ slightly, the core belief a single ideal to measure all else against is the same. I think it is interesting to see different ideals between cultures and societies and how they have evolved. Recently, my friend visited Colombia. Many of the sculptures displayed there were of a similar body type- the women had large bodies with prominent breasts and stomachs. My friend explained that these sculptures were intended to signify abundant food and success. I wonder what has led our current society to have the ideals that we hold, and what they are intended to communicate.