The Classical Beauty and the Inner World of Aphrodite
I was always echanted by those astounding classical statues; a standard of “beauty”. Always though, I had second thoughts which overwhelmed me. What does “beauty” help conceal? Could it be possible that, underneath that façade of “beauty”, there lurked some ugliness? How much pain and sorrow can beauty keep hidden? Aphrodite of Melos, what sort of person was she? Or was she just plain beautiful? Was she admired because of her gracefulness and the harmony of her body? These and many other questions could be posed to approach the concept of beauty as perceived in the past – and the concept of
beauty as perceived in the present. And, finally: “What is “beauty”? Could the narrative of a defeat, of a defeated body, into classical sculptures, trying to uncover what the form, harmony, and beauty help conceal. A series of new sculptural ideas resulted from this venture, ideas now independent, detached from their original source. Now, when one looks at them, they seem as grown children who no longer carry anything of their mother or father in them. It is with great effort that you get a sense of their origin, of how they came about. Some may call me profane-it is just that in art there is no profanity, especially if the artwork becomes autonomous and goes on to claim the position it deserves.
Thanassis Lalas