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| I swear, if this place doesn't have good reception...... |
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| How big is the garage again? only 1.5 bathrooms? |
One of the things mentioned in the Icon,Scimitar and Cross chapter and in the week 4 course material was the "Hagia Sophia", prior to this all I had in my head was some vague idea of a castle or cathedral like building located somewhere in the Mediterranean region, yet another famous/historical site in an entire book of places I could never afford to visit. To gain a bit more knowledge of this site I, of course, went onto old Wikipedia and proceeded to skim over the entire article of the Byzantine Empire, Hagia Sophia, Mosiacs and other related links.
The Hagia Sophia was apparently the third in series of churches built near the imperial palace of the Eastern half of the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople. It was commissioned by Justinian I, he chose a physicist named Isidore of Miletus and a mathmetician named Anthemius of Tralles as the lead architects. It looks like it was nation wide effort with pieces coming from all over the place. The emperor had material brought from all over the empire – such as Hellenistic columns from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, large stones from quarries in porphyry from Egypt, green marble from Thessaly, black stone from the Bosporus region, and yellow stone from Syria. More than ten thousand people were employed, and was celebrated in it's time as a major work of architecture.Which is kinda weird knowing as little as I do about art history, it seems that things tend to only be appreciated when they are gone or the people that commissioned or built them are dead. I was kind of reminded of one of those murals that elementary school teachers would have us make with the entire class, everyone putting something different in and in the end creating something unique and beautiful. Justinian supposedly proclaimed "Solomon, I have outdone thee!", in reference to the extravagance with which Solomon had built the famous temple in Biblical times.
The Hagia Sophia wasn't done however, Justin II, completed several mosaics throughout the complex adding to its complexity. Earthquakes in August 553 and on 14 December 557 caused cracks in the main dome and eastern half-dome. The main dome collapsed completely during a subsequent earthquake on 7 May 558, destroying the ambon, altar, and ciborium. It was rebuilt under the direction of Isidorus the Younger who proceeded to use lighter materials and elevated the dome by an astounding 30 additional feet and used pendatives in the reconstruction of the dome. The story goes back and forth throughout the centuries, with every so often something, be it a fire/earthquake/looting or new law changing a part of it's design or internal decoration. When it fell in 1453 to Ottomans in the siege of Constantinople the Sultan and his cohort entered the church he insisted it should be at once transformed into a mosque. For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many other Ottoman mosques, such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul), the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, the Rüstem Pasha Mosque and the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque.One of the sultans that was in power even brought over two huge urns carved from blocks of marble, some others added additional rooms and sections and another brought over two giant candles from his travels/conquests.
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| Hagia Sophia |
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| blue mosque |
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| Sehzade Mosque |
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| Süleymaniye Mosque |
There several mosaics (rock paintings, the "paint" is rocks/glass) throughout the building. The church was richly decorated with mosaics throughout the centuries. They either depicted the Virgin Mother, Jesus, saints, or emperors and empresses. Other parts were decorated in a purely decorative style with geometric patterns. During the Sack of Constantinople in 1204, the Latin Crusaders vandalized valuable items in every important Byzantine structure of the city, including the golden mosaics of the Hagia Sophia. Many of these items were shipped to Venice, whose Doge, Enrico Dandolo, had organized the invasion and sack of Constantinople. When it was converted into a mosque after the Muslims took over/conquered it in 1453, many of its mosaics were covered over with plaster due to Islam's views on representational imagery especially of the human form, which could be constituted as idolatry. In 1847–49, the building was restored by two swiss-italian brothers, Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati, and Sultan Abdülmecid allowed them to also document any mosaics they might discover during this process.
Currently the Hagia Sophia exists as museum, and as museum it supposed to display art among other things, but whose art? Because of its long history as both a church and a mosque, a particular challenge arises in the restoration process. The Christian iconographic mosaics are being gradually uncovered. However, in order to do so, important, historic Islamic art would have to be destroyed. Restorers have attempted to maintain a balance between both Christian and Islamic cultures.
What I found after reading those sections was a bit startling yet unsurprising at the same time. The Hagia Sophia is almost like a wall, a prime time piece of wall just ripe for advertising. It's just a giant turf war. Pretend the Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire, Crusaders and various other groups are rival gangs, then suddenly it all becomes clear. All the additions, changes, architecture, mosaics, statues and what not are forms of graffiti, each side hoping to display their ideals and things they believe in or believe to be beautiful. Each time another side came into power what was the first thing to go? the graffiti, the "art". What was painted over and replaced with the graffiti of the winning side?, the mosaics.
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| the illustrious mosaics of southport wriglelyville |
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| Graffiti "art" |
(translated from 2 paragraphs up into modern terms)
Because of its long history as both a church and a mosque(Different gangs using different words/slang for the same thing), a particular challenge arises in the restoration process(Scared to piss of gang leaders and get shot at). The Christian iconographic mosaics are being gradually uncovered(As we scrub off the top layer of spray paint we start to see that there is even more spray painting beneath this top layer). However, in order to do so, important, historic Islamic art would have to be destroyed(Let us never forget the conquest of 3rd street by Z-dawg, the layer and the slayer)(can be applied to any side). Restorers have attempted to maintain a balance between both Christian and Islamic cultures. (God I'm screwed no matter what I do, why did I get involved in this).
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| Different yet the same |
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| where does the art end and graffiti begin |
Has anything really changed when it comes to art? Maybe the tools have evolved to make it easier to create but other than that it still feels what seems to be like a long time ago. Could you imagine people killing themselves over some chicken scratch or colors on a wall, it sounds silly to fight over something so inanimate,something so very replaceable, something incapable of returning affection, but to some people it appears to be worth fighting, even killing for. My soul weeps at the wasted millions and billions that go creating, maintaining and restoring these monuments of violence that could have instead gone toward the cause of peace and yet there' s a dark part of me that laughs and cackles maniacally when I see the waste and despair, the part of me that wants to see the world burn. I'm also reminded of the cost/fighting that goes on to get a slot for commercial advertising during the super-bowl. Art is a medium for waging war over the Heart, Soul, Mind and wallet of man. It always has been and always will be.
I tend to think economically with some comfort in mind whereas ancient historical art always seems to be retardedly expensive,reliant on slave labor and wasteful which makes it hard for me to appreciate.
When I say art, it's more with a focus on architecture.... I've never really been a fan of monuments
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