A place for Percy Jackson and the Olympian fans to roleplay.


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    Feminist sculpting 101 (join in!)

    Morgan Landry
    Morgan Landry
    High Queen of Narnia


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    Post by Morgan Landry 10/3/2018, 2:07 pm

    Whenever Arian has a problem with some sort of social issue (which, let's be real, she does 24/7), she usually reaches for her art tools to create something snarky and targeted. Her art blogs are filled with social pieces inspired by capitalism, abortion, the rise of the Italian right wing, anything that gives her a deep anger. Give her an issue and she's out there with twenty palettes and one will to change the system.

    Today she was working on a set of two sculptures. They were pretty much copies of two of the most famous statues of Classical Greece: Polykleitos' Doryphoros and Praxiteles' Knidian Aphrodite. Both had been hailed  by academics and art historians as the best examples of Classical gender ideals, representing peak masculinity and peak femininity.
    And Arian had a big problem with that.

    Why?

    Cause the Doryphoros was a statue of a cool, muscular guy with his chest out and a relaxed, open stance. Everything in his body language, from his upright posture to his straight head tilt indicates he's awesome and he knows it. To the average Classical Greek guy, he was peak masculinity. A chad, if you will.
    And the Knidian Aphrodite?
    It's a statue of a woman who's just realized she's being spied on. Greek art was 3D for a reason: it wasn't just a static sculpture, it was a situation in which the viewer was supposed to participate. In this context, the Knidian Aphrodite was taking a bath and a guy just walked in on her. She's hunched in, her body language shows she's super uncomfortable and definitely did not sign up for some creepy voyeur to see her naked. And yet this statue has been applauded and admired as the most sensual statue of Aphrodite ever created up till then?? (It was actually the first naked statue of Aphrodite made, women statues before then were fully clothed. It was a scandal when it first came out.)
    So yeah - when you look at the Doryphoros, he's the one in power, cause he's better than the viewer and he knows it. But for the Knidian Aphrodite, the viewer's the one in power. She's just wanting to have a bath in peace.
    And if there's something that Arian really hates, it's creepy voyeuristic tendencies romanticized as normal and exciting. She's been on the receiving end of it. Practically all of her friends have been on the receiving end of it. She guessed way more girls she knew had been as well. And it infuriated her.

    So here she was, snipping away at the two statues. Marble chips fell the floor as the sculptures gradually emerged from the stone. The Doryphoros, hunched over in the exact same pose as the original Knidian Aphrodite, trying to cover his naked body with his hands to escape the look of some voyeuristic dude. And the Aphrodite, standing tall and proud, looking at the viewer with the same noble, detached look the original Doryphoros had.


    Last edited by Morgan Landry on 10/4/2018, 5:01 am; edited 5 times in total
    meliae
    meliae


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    Post by meliae 10/3/2018, 2:17 pm

    ooc: do you mind if i join? liam loves art too c:
    Morgan Landry
    Morgan Landry
    High Queen of Narnia


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    Number of posts : 15906
    Registration date : 2011-12-31

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    Post by Morgan Landry 10/3/2018, 2:18 pm

    OOC: Sure thing! I was actually putting it up for Arian& Liam :)
    meliae
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    Post by meliae 10/3/2018, 2:42 pm

    liam choi, son of phobetor
    Feminist sculpting 101 (join in!) 7f3e5beb00e3717a67a7ded018c1e343214f8e61_hq

    liam was, as per usual, in an artsy mood. he needs an outlet for his negative emotions and ideas, and the arts and crafts room was perfect for that. it was heaven in there; the pungent smell of turpentine oil, the messy tables covered in scratches and patches of acrylic paint, the dimmed lights, and the best part: it was usually completely empty. liam wasn't entirely sure what he would make today. his hair is messy and covers his forehead; he had not bothered to fix it up this morning. his white t-shirt is clean and smelled of cotton, just the way he likes it, and his favourite grey sweatpants make him feel warm and content. his sneakers squeak as he opens the door to the crafts room, and walks in.

    liam lets out a sigh of relief. empty, thank zeus. but then he hears some crackling and he goes to investigate; a girl, roughly his age, was chipping away at a statue of... was that doryphoros? liam smiles, excited. he just adores statues like these, he always wonders how the sculptors were able to make them so smooth and pristine, their alabaster skin so luminous. liam quietly walks up to the girl, watching curiously. then he realizes there was a second statue: the knidian aphrodite. but the roles were reversed. liam wrinkles his nose, clearly confused. why would one ruin such a beautiful piece of art? looks good, he remarks, walking up to the girl, all confidence, but i'm pretty sure it's the other way around.


    Last edited by meliae on 10/4/2018, 10:32 am; edited 1 time in total
    Morgan Landry
    Morgan Landry
    High Queen of Narnia


    Female
    Number of posts : 15906
    Registration date : 2011-12-31

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    Post by Morgan Landry 10/4/2018, 9:13 am

    Arian was working on replicating the face of the Aphrodite - she wanted both statues to be unmistakably recognizable - when a voice spoke. She whirled around, chisel and hammer at the ready.

    "Oh. Hi."

    She hadn't heard him come in. The guy was about her age, dressed in comfortable clothes. He had messy hair, but the kind of messy that looks good. If it weren't for the critical look and wrinkled nose, she'd have found him quite handsome.

    "That's the point," she said. "It's supposed to be inverted. I want the viewer to feel weird, and introspect a little. I don't know, what do you think when you look at this?" she asked, gesturing at the muscular Doryphoros shielding his nakedness with a hand whilst looking at them in a really uncomfortable way.
    meliae
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    Post by meliae 10/4/2018, 10:43 am

    liam choi, son of phobetor
    Feminist sculpting 101 (join in!) 7f3e5beb00e3717a67a7ded018c1e343214f8e61_hq

    liam casually walks over to the table opposite the girl and leans against it, arms crossed. he tilts his head to the side a little, deep in thought. then he smiles, all teeth. "the knidian aphrodite was made by praxiteles to be controversial. i'm sure you're aware naked women were considered obscene back then, so this sort of thing would have been revolutionary. instead of making it seem like it was made for the male gaze, you should consider it as one of the first examples of women's rights, almost," he says, "as previously, only men would have been granted the privilege of a 'marble clone.'"

    liam thinks for a couple of seconds, his long fingers now tapping on the table beside him. "i get the point you're trying to make: 'how would you like it if you were being watched by some creepy dude: but that's just not the case when you look at praxiteles' aphrodite - she is simply preparing to take a bath." liam finishes his rant, hand gestures flowy and exaggerated like they always are when he gets excited and giddy.


    Last edited by meliae on 10/4/2018, 2:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
    Morgan Landry
    Morgan Landry
    High Queen of Narnia


    Female
    Number of posts : 15906
    Registration date : 2011-12-31

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    Post by Morgan Landry 10/4/2018, 12:40 pm

    Arian massively disagreed - how could anyone have studied Classical or Hellenistic art and come to that conclusion?

    "Women's rights? Dude. How is it a right to be spied on when you're in private?" She shook her head. "You're completely misreading the statues. The men who were represented in stone were made to look powerful and superior to the viewer. The Aphrodite of Knidos was just eye candy! Like every piece of Dionysian art after that - every maenad, every nymph, every sleeping Ariadne. All of them were sculpted to give guys something hot to look at. Come on, do you even know the story about the stain on her leg? Praxiteles didn't mean to dignify her when he sculpted her, or he would've chosen an entirely different situation - like, I don't know, one where the viewer actually respects her private sphere. And I'm not just saying cause I'm the daughter of the god of arts, I have the bibliography to back it up." She crossed her arms. "Which, by the way, was mainly written by guys. What sources do you have?"
    meliae
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    Post by meliae 10/4/2018, 2:32 pm

    liam choi, son of phobetor
    Feminist sculpting 101 (join in!) 7f3e5beb00e3717a67a7ded018c1e343214f8e61_hq

    liam watches, very amused, as the girl whose feathers he has clearly ruffled continues to spout more and more of her feminist speech. liam rolls his eyes. "sooooo, you're saying that michelangelo's david wasn't just eye candy? the barberini faun? not eye candy? do you think only men enjoyed drooling over the opposite gender? because that's kiiindaa stereotyping. i think women like aphrodite would have enjoyed some nice six pack abs, wouldn't you?" liam was enjoying this very much. maybe a little too much. this was a topic clearly very important to her, she was speaking quite confidently, her arms crossed in a position that liam interpreted as a way of intimidating him. the son of phobetor just chuckled, shaking his head. "i have no sources. just opinions. i'm pretty certain free speech is a big deal in the western world."


    Last edited by meliae on 10/6/2018, 2:27 am; edited 1 time in total
    Morgan Landry
    Morgan Landry
    High Queen of Narnia


    Female
    Number of posts : 15906
    Registration date : 2011-12-31

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    Post by Morgan Landry 10/5/2018, 1:22 pm

    Arian was about to jump back into the debate, arguments all hot and prepared about how the Barberini Faun had been intended as an explicitly homoerotic statue and, just like the Sleeping Hermaphroditus, was supposed to be a joke at the expense of the viewer to make them question their sexual preferences; and that anyway antique statues had rarely been conceived for the female gaze… but then she realized something.
    That chuckle, that smug satisfied look. Arian knew it. She'd seen it on the faces of quite a few guys in her classes and art galleries, the kind of guys who enjoyed making other people angry simply for the satisfaction of it. She was getting vocal because she was passionate about Hellenistic sculpture, and this dude was making fun of her. He was expecting her to waste her time explaining her point to him when he had already decided to disagree. He had no sources! No arguments! He hadn't done the slightest bit of academic reading, but still he thought he had something valuable to bring to the conversation.

    Arian looked at him and dropped her arms. "Okay," she shrugged. "Well, I hope you've got better things to do with your time than this. May I suggest you read up on the stuff you talk about? It could prevent you from having a misinformed, uneducated opinion." She smiled stiffly and turned back to her statues. "Free speech is only good when you have something to say."
    meliae
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    Post by meliae 10/6/2018, 2:45 am

    liam choi, son of phobetor
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    liam laughs aloud this time, his sharp white teeth glinting. "just because you don't agree with me doesn't mean that i'm wrong, you know."
    li yawns and ambles over to the cabinet, whistling, hands in his pockets. he runs his fingers through his hair and opens the cabinet door to reveal materials some artists could only dream of, and vibrant colours filled his eyesight. dark, seductive maroons, sunny yellows and crisp greens stared back at the demigod. liam reached into the cupboard and picked out a few brushes of different sizes (centaur hair, apparently, which liam finds slightly cruel), a couple of oil paints and some turpentine oil to dilute the paint. he then looks for a canvas of the right size,  his dark eyes glittering with excitement. liam forgets about the heated argument the moment his brush touch the thick, smooth paint. the brush hair carries just the right amount of paint, gliding over the rough canvas surface. he could spend hours and hours like this, watching paint sail over the canvas like this.

    liam only feels this amount of peace when he sketches or draws. he could feel his heartbeat slowing down, the tension in his neck releasing, the weight on his shoulders being lifted. the face in front of him was coming alive, the eyes began to shine. liam brushes his hair back again, sighs and then cracks his knuckles, spinning the paintbrush around his fingers. liam looks outside, the way the light filtered so gorgeously, and then he looks at the girl who had been so vigorously convinced that she was right. she probably was. his head in his hands, he watches her for a few moments, calm and cautious.


    Last edited by meliae on 10/7/2018, 1:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
    Morgan Landry
    Morgan Landry
    High Queen of Narnia


    Female
    Number of posts : 15906
    Registration date : 2011-12-31

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    Post by Morgan Landry 10/7/2018, 11:12 am

    Most scholars would think you're wrong, buddy, you'd know that if you'd done any research, Arian angrily thought. Gods, she hated people who acted like opinions were facts. 'Everyone is entitled to an opinion', yes, but there should be laws against speaking when you have no clue what you're talking about. So much sh!t could be avoided. Brexit wouldn't happen. Trump might still be doing reality TV. LGBT+ people wouldn't be dealing with so much Cretan bull crap. Breathe, she told herself. Count to ten. What would David say? Opinions are only relevant for tastes, not science or academia. She sighed; gods bless that son of Athena.

    Arian carried on with the statues, polishing Aphrodite's face and smoothening her cheeks. She was working on giving her a superior, confident expression, the kind of look that said, 'I know myself and I'm invincible.' She wanted it to inspire the viewer, especially if he/she/they had felt treaded upon or had their privacy infringed on. Abused kids, people with stalkers, people who had been spied on in intimate moments... Maybe she should write a little something in the marble of the base. Something uplifting. Not the empty 'you can do it!!!1!', something with a bit more depth and compassion. Dad, some inspiration might be good right about now.

    OOC: Realized I hadn't described her. She's wearing a white top and a pair of burgundy shorts, very simple, no jewellery safe a little necklace with a golden dolphin. She's got blue eyes, a dark olive tan, and sunkissed hair tied into a messy knot.
    meliae
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    Post by meliae 10/7/2018, 1:38 pm

    liam choi, son of phobetor
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    liam chuckles when the girl sighs: she was clearly annoyed. liam whistles, nonplussed, and continues to paint. the atmosphere in the room is tense for a few minutes before liam accidentally spills his turps onto his white tee, the red pigment dissolved in it creating a blood-like stain on liams front. "damn you, apollo and everybody else responsible for the arts!" he swears loudly, finger waggling at the sky, his eyebrows furrowed. after releasing several more strings of curse words, liam walks to the sink and begins to rinse his shirt, to no avail. the red stain was going to stay there, liam feels, so he plops down back into his seat, shaking his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. the girl was probably thinking about karma or something. why do bad things happen to good people?


    Last edited by meliae on 10/13/2018, 7:08 am; edited 1 time in total
    Morgan Landry
    Morgan Landry
    High Queen of Narnia


    Female
    Number of posts : 15906
    Registration date : 2011-12-31

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    Post by Morgan Landry 10/11/2018, 6:23 pm

    Arian spared him a look over her shoulder. She let him try to get the red out of his shirt with water, knowing full well it would not work. That paint was particularly resistant. "Nice camouflage," she said, shaping out Aphrodite's shoulder. "But Capture the Flag is on Friday, you're a bit early." She was still pissed at the guy and in no mood to tell him where to find the cleaning product.
    meliae
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    Post by meliae 10/13/2018, 7:13 am

    liam choi, son of phobetor
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    liam looks over at the girl, scowling. he glares over at the statues she was still busy carving, and slowly a smirk creeps onto his face. "same goes for your aphrodite. you're a bit early for the 'worst art of new york' conpetition on saturday. i think yours is gonna win, good going!" he says, sarcastically flashing a 'thumbs up'. li shakes his head and sits back down to continue with his painting. that girl was so infuriating. couldn't she make her stupid statue somewhere else?

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