Character and Characterization: An Inquiry

Abstract

On the ground floor in the Johnson Museum at Cornell stand two statues — the one by Jason Seley entitled Herakles in Ithaka I (Herakles is the Greek name for Hercules), the other by Alberto Giacometti entitled Walking Man II (See Figures 1 and 2). Seley’s figure takes its meaning from the prototype of strength, Hercules; this epic figure of strength, this figure whose name is synonymous with physical prowess, is rendered in the medium of postmodernism, or perhaps we should say post-industrialism: discarded automobile bumpers. At first the ten-foot tall Herakles made of shiny automobile bumpers seems to call into question the statue of Hercules as a heroic figure; shiny as if hand-polished, and gleaming in the light, the bumpers seem to suggest the armament of a warrior. But gradually we understand Seley’s bumpers as a post-modern medium which lends dignity to the huge nude male figure, for even as he acknowledges the expected imposing physical presence of his Hercules, Seley expands the concept of ‘beauty’ to include intellectual and emotional stature. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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