The area on the difference between animal and human bodies has been inadequately researched. A chronic problem in the field of body studies relates to the manner in which the nature-culture is adopted in the social parlance, even in the work that tries to sidestep this conceptual determinism. The correlation between nature and culture is closely entwined as they mutually play a significant mandate in outlining the historical and cultural embeddedness of this incomparable way of thinking in the philosophical scientific knowledge of the west.
Philosophers and anthropologists have given examples of indigenous uncountable philosophies that contrast the overwhelming thought of the west. Ethnographic examples show that in many non-Western cultural contexts, the culture-nature and mind-body polarizations are less sharply drawn. Mind, consciousness and the sense of being have been shown to be situated in the material world and on the other hand, the body has been shown to be inseparable from objects such as prosthetic group that constitute it. Some scholars have argued that our own thought is far from the post-enlightenment, as well as the modern abstraction of the separation of the mainframe. This paper focuses on the elemental nature-culture, and does this by giving avenues to find solutions for the correlation between human bodies and animals
A classic example that clearly examines the relationship between animal and human bodies is the Pradesh, Shiva, India, Madhya and Uma who are seated on the Bull Nandi in what could be known as a Loving Embrace of the 9th Century, Gallery 141 which can be found in The Chicago Art Museum. The sculpture is an Asian art that measures 79.4cm by 53.3cm by 18.6cm and its medium is red sandstone with vermilion pigment. The artwork is a gift from Kate S. Buckingham Fund 1961.775. In the sculpture, Shiva and his wife Uma are seen sitting in happy and intimate embrace on the sculpture on a bull. Nandi; the bull is the mount for Lord Shiva.
In the sculpture, the profound symbolic message of Shiva is a constant reminder of many fundamental truths from the outward appearance. He is an embodiment of the three principal themes of Indian Philosophy which must be incorporated in our lives before any kind of progress is made in the path of spirituality. The themes are Bhakti which means devotion, the Ganges flowing from Shiva’s hair represents the stream of Bhakti, and the second theme is knowledge. The third theme drawn from the artwork is Vairagya is a clear representation of the disenchantment as well as the indifference that Shiva associates with the things of the world. More than often, Shiva could be seen associating with the cremation grounds, where he would smear himself with the burnt ashes. As for the bull Shiva rides upon, the ancient texts heap praise on it when they call it the Bull of Dharma. The Bull of Dharma has forgiveness for its horns; it also controls the senses for its ears, the eyes of faith as well as the Vedas of its breath.
On the part of the social - historical analysis, the auspicious beauty of Shiva is a classic example. For the pleasure of Parvati’s mother, Shiva turned himself into a supremely handsome man who was dressed richly according to social norms. Every part of Shiva’s body was exhibited an exquisite appearance; and was consequently regarded as the fairest and the most handsome radiance of the age. He was embellished with many ornaments and a garland of fresh jasmine flowers, and he had a delightful smile. For this reason, his mother in law was captured as she was stunned by the fascinating view beauty.
Shiva is the god of yogis, self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a lover to his wife. Shiva is the lord of destruction following Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver. After the destruction Brahma creates the world again and so on. When we talk about destruction, truly nothing is destroyed, but it’s the individual illusion that leads to destruction and for this reason, therefore, Shiva has great purifying power both on a more personal level when problems make us see reality more clearly, as on a more personal level. Destruction creates the path for the new creation of the universe and provides a new opportunity for the beauty and drama of the universe to unfold and therefore, Shiva represents the most essential goodness. It has the following attributes: he is the trident that represents the three gunas and the snakes show that Shiva is beyond the power of death and poison. More so, the vehicle of Shiva is the white bull known as Nandi and he is often seated on a tiger skin, with the tiger representing the mind.
The deviations from the canon of classical proportion by Donatello are obvious; he has represented a real boy whose chest was narrower and flank less rounded than the Greek ideal. In the antique nude, the flat, rectangular chest is supported by a formalized stomach, the waist is the center of plastic interest and from here all other planes of the body radiate. There are several reason why Donatello’s David had no successors for more than fifty years, one of the reason is the Gothic reaction that took place in Florentine art in mid fifteenth century when fashion for decorative tapestries and minutely finished panels of Low Countries superseded the heroic humanism of Donatello and Masaccio. The other reason is the inherent restlessness of the Florentine temperament and since the Florentines loved movement and they believed the more violent the better David was could not have a successor. Although Apollo was static, his gestures were calm and dignified and therefore the chances of him succeeding David were scarce.
David is depicted patiently waiting for battle; he is prepped with slingshot in one hand and a sword on the other. The sculpture is of marble and is carved properly. David is casted in this image as a naked man, and has heavy muscular physique. Besides, his veins are visible in his arms and his arms and hands appear to be disproportionally larger for his body. The heroic nude is standing in contra opposite direction. David is also represented as a young boy who is strong and assured. The sculpture is made of bronze. The nakedness of the bronze sculpture is a sharp contrast to the depiction of the 15th century images that has David captured. During this age, girls would become able brides in their teenage years, whereas men did not marry generally until their mid-twenties. Indeed, this is a clear depiction of the adolescent situation in the Renaissance Florence generation. The nude also would indicate the misleading homosexuality behavior in Florence in the fifteenth century. Although homosexual relations were illegal they were nonetheless a pervasive and centric mode of behavior, linking individuals who were separated by class and by neighborhood affiliations.
David is not entirely naked, he has a large hat which perhaps draws mock attention to his nudity as his naked body emphasizes the striking presence of this contemporary headdress. The inclusion of the hat was an iconographic novelty, which reminds of his involvement in the drama, which would have been recognized and I think in the sodomitical culture the hat is prominent. The hat atop of the bronze David can be seen to reproduce this ambivalence, and it also amplifies David as the boy with the seductive beauty by branding the adolescent body as desirable. The hat is also firm on his head and beyond the reach of the beholders below underscores the victory of the boy.
The analyses of the sculpture complement each other in various ways. The hat a top of the head of David is formal paradigm, which links to the iconographical analyses about the homosexual behavior as the hat prominently features in the sodomitical subculture population. The other way the analyses complement each other is when look as the culture of the Fifteenth century Florentine sodomy, on the streets of Florence, the male adolescent body was both a compromised site for homoerotic gazing and also an expressive sign which was guaranteed effectively through the its potential innocence and purity. From the sculpture David is represented as an innocent boy who relates to the fifteen century culture of Florentine sodomy. One can see from the sculpture that David as embodying the victory of a young boy over the homoerotic gaze, his otherwise ichnographically inexplicable hat takes on new significance. Precisely it is the moral trumping that makes the homoeroticism of the David effective and licit.
David was liked by the Florentines because despite being an adolescent boy he was able to win the battle against the Goliath who was a giant. His physical beauty and command of mastery in poetry and music also made him to be relevant in the Florentines and therefore in the ancient world your physical appearance was a factor considered by people and if you had the attributes that they liked, you were seen as a supreme person.
The nude and necked image of Shiva leads to a study of cultural relevance of the society with its social and religious enrichments. In addition, this study gives a clearer revelation and connections between these images with the social and economic attributes of a society. Thus, the Indian traditions and practice sis well fostered in many attributes of the Shiva. This correspondence is critical towards a realization of the social compositions, its cultural values, and practices of the Indian community. Besides, the Shiva’s hue and prowess is attributed to the gods of the Indian society. The preeminence of superfluity and overriding supernatural endowments appears in the Shiva’s extraordinary features, which could only be attributed to a cult or a god. In fact, these godly attributes in both Shiva and Donatello’s David, clearly shows the supremacy of a supernatural being, and the command they have in any society.
Bibliography
Boric, D. Body metamorphosis and animality: volatile bodies and boulder artworks from the Siva Purana Retold. New Delhi: Rupa & Co, 2006.
Lepenski Vir. Cambridge Archeological Journal 15(1): 35-69. Top of Form
Menon, Ramesh. Siva: 2005.
Michelangelo, Buonarroti, Antonio Paolucci, Cristina Bucci, and Chiara Lachi. David: Five Hundred Years. New York: Sterling Pub, 2005.
Vanamali,and Cēkkil̲ār. Sri Shiva Lila: The Play of the Divine in the Form of Lord Shiva : As Found in the Sri Shiva Mahapurana and Sreemad Bhagavata Purana, Lives of Saints As Given in the Periya Puranam by Sekkizhar. New Delhi: Aryan Books International, 2002.
John Robb, and Boric Dusan. An Offspring from the past bodies; Body-Centered Research in Archeology.2008.Bottom of Form
