Tuesday, 10 February 2009

Unity


Both the pyramids at Giza, and the Hatshepsut temple have a really great sense of unity. The three larger pyramids at Giza, along side the three smaller pyramids all fit together very well. It gives you the sense of safety in numbers. 
"While pyramid construction had been solely for the reigning pharoah prior to Khufu, his reign saw the construction of several minor pyramid structures that are believed to have been intended for other members of his royal household, amounting to a royal cemetary." (-Architecture handout) Knowledge of the familial relationship of these temples unifies them on a different level altogether. It unifies them on a more emotional scale. 
The pyramids are also unified in the sense that they are made of the same materials as their surroundings. Because they are so out in the open surrounded by desert the pyramids draw you too them. 
The Hatshepsut temple is unified in the sense that it is physically connected to its environment, as well as made out of it. It is built into a mountain. This aspect of the temple makes it seem more ominous and uninviting. You have to travel and look hard to find this temple, and when you do it gives you the feeling that you're not allowed to go inside.
In a more artistic sense, unity is what we cal when separate parts work together. Unity is the visual experience of going into a space that is multifunctional and has a number of different parts and purposes so that your visual experience is to see a single thing. You see only one place, with many parts that make up that space. 



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