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This piece really popped out to me. It is all gold and the jewelry on it, made it beautiful. Jewelry plays a significant role in wealth. You can tell that wealth is very important because it has jewelry all over the legs, chest and head. But it also has a lion and a wheel at the base. It stands for royalty. Even the lions and the wheels at the base has jewelry on them. This Buddha has four faces. Others had six faces or one. Another difference that this piece has, is the way the feet is position. It is not facing upward, rather it is facing his inner thigh. The hands are up also,  which represents peace.

This is a statue of Bodhisattva Maitreya, meaning ‘Buddha of the Future’. Basically it is Pakistani and made of schist. The reason why it is known as Maitreya is because of the symbols in his left hand and his hairstyle. When you look closer to his left hand there is a feature of the lip of the water flask that is considered to be sacred. Also, there is an apparent characteristic that his hairstyle is long and loop topknot compared to other buddha statues. The very common thing we can easily notice is that the Buddha has a very short hair, especially curly, so that the big ears with many jewels, which symbolize his power and wealth, are easily exposed. However, the long hair of this statue almost covers his ears and the clothes look worn out and inexpensive.

This is a statue of standing Buddha. It is indian and made of Bronze. In my opinion, this material makes the statue look more fancy and classy than the previous work. As expected, it has common features that he has long and big ears with jewels, and short curly hair. He shows a different gesture of his hands. The previous buddha has no right hand and his right palm is folded while this buddha has both unfold palms; the left palm faces upward with some folded fingers and the right palm faces forward. Moreover, this statue looks feminine because of his skinny body type compared to the previous statue which I can see muscular build.

Dukhwa Seo

Group Members: Alyssa, Kira, Jasmine, Vitaliy

Act I.

Central conflict/Summary:

The first act is somewhat of an introduction to the story.  The central conflict is presented as Callimaco explains his passionate longing to be with Lucrezia.  The problem is that Lucrezia is married to a rich fool named Messer Nicia.  She is an honest woman committed to her husband.  Throughout the act, Siro amd Callimaco brainstorm ideas about ways in which Callimaco may be able to satisfy his passionate longing for Lucrezia.

Quotes:

” I don’t think there’s much truth in that old proverb about marriages that says ‘God makes men, they match themselves”’. (pg. 12)

This refers to Lucrezia and her husband Messer Nicia and that she was clever, refined and fit to rule the kingdom and he was stupid and just  lucky throughout his life to become wealthy and marry a beautiful woman.

“And after many arguments back and forth, Cammillo,somewhat irritated,said even if all Italian women were monsters, a certain relative of his could win back their lost prestige.”(pg. 8)

This quote helps to stress the beauty Lucrezia possesses which is a main source of Callimaco’s longing for her.

“One is the utter simplicity of Messer Nicia, for although he has a doctor’s degree, he is the silliest and stupidest man in all Florence.” (pg. 9)

This quote provides an example of one of the ideas that Callimaco brainstorms, of which he can use to his advantage in finding a way to satisfy his need for Lucrezia.

Group Members: Sara Ramlakhan , Franklin Penaloza, Julianne Patrina, Pablo Vasquez

Central Conflicts:The central conflict is gaining the trust and  convincing Nicia of the plan to give his wife the Mandrake root potion.

Scene 2, pg 18

Callimaco: It could also be that this sterility is  caused by you, because of impotence.  In that case, there would be no possible remedy.

Nicia: Me? Impotent? Oh, you’ll make me laugh! I don’t think there’s a man more vigorous and virile to be found in all of Florence!

This quote is significant because it never questions Nicia’s fertility but immediately puts the blame on Lucrezia.

Nicia: When would she have to take it?

Callimaco: Tonight after supper, because the moon is in its right phase and the time couldn’t be more propitious.

The mandragola is the root of fertility and the story revolves around it.

Nicia: get my wife to agree, which i don’t think she”ll ever be willing to do.

Callimaco: you’re right, certainly;but i wouldn’t want to remain her husband another minute if  i couldn’t make her do what i want.

This quote is significant because it shows the competitiveness of men and it questions Nicia’s  manhood.

Group Members : Dukhwa Seo, David Yang, Nicole Chicon & Luis Gonzalez

Summary:  After Callimaco and Ligurio persuaded the simple-minded judge, Nicia, the next challenge was to persuade his wife, Lucrezia, to take the mandrake root potion. The cunning duo then exploit Lucrezia’s weakness which is her mother Sostrata. Sostrata speaks with Lucrezia and the friar and agrees to go on with “the strangest” plan.

Central Conflict:

(1)  The central conflict is getting Lucrezia to go along with  the plan. Her husband, Nicia, has no authority over her and is of no help in resolving the situation. Therefore it is up to the corrupted priest and Lucrezia’s mother to ultimately please Callimaco.

Quotes

(1) “She used to be the sweetest person in the world, and easy to handle…But when…one of those fat friars started sniffing around her , so that she wouldn’t go back there anymore.”(Page 26 Act 3, Scene 2).

This quote further illustrates Nicia’s impotence that was hinted back in Act 2. Nicia is useless when it comes to influencing his wife’s decision. It also shows the root cause of Lucrezia’s lack of trust in the church.

(2) “I’ve always been afraid that Messer Nicia’s longing to have children would make us do something absurd…I think this is the strangest — that I should have to submit my body to this outrage, and to be the cause of a man’s death for outraging me.”(Page 35 Act 3, Scene 10)

This quote is significant because it shows Lucrezia’s internal conflict with committing adultery and becoming a murderer.

(3)“As for the act itself, to call it a sin is empty talk; for it is the will that sins, not the body. What makes sinful is to displease the husband…the end must be considered in all things.” (Page 36 Act 3 Scene 11)

The priest is encouraging Lucrezia to commit adultery by  shifting her thoughts on the act it self instead to focus on the end goal. The end goal being to receive a gift from god in the form of a child.

Group Members: Arbnore Kukaj, Annelise Schroeder, Michael Zarbaliev, Julia-Zoe Hung

Summary/Conflict: The scene opens up with Callimaco awaiting Ligurio’s arrival to inform him whether or not Friar Timoteo convinced Lucrezia to go along with the Mandrake potion plan. Once he finds out that she agrees, Callimaco realizes he told Messer Nicia that he would accompany Ligurio, Messer Nicia, and Siro to capture a random man to sleep with Lucrezia. This creates a problem because if he is searching with the rest of the group, then he cannot be the one to be captured.  Ligurio comes up with a solution to disguise the friar as Callimaco, so Messer Nicia will not notice that the man they actually kidnap is Callimaco. At the end of the act, Callimaco is captured by the men and brought into Messer Nicia’s house.

Quotes:

“…if that should happen this would be the last night of my life, for I’ll either throw myself in the Arno, or I’ll hang myself, or I’ll fling myself out of those windows, or I’ll stab myself on her doorstep.” (Scene 4)

This quote shows that Callimaco is willing to go to any length just to be with Lucrezia. It shows that his love has made him suicidal.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I would have put a couple in my mouth, too. You know how important it is not to be recognized by the voice.”

“Oh, you disguise your voice very well.” (Scene 8)

These quotes collectively demonstrate the stupidity of Messer Nicia. He is easily manipulated and fooled by Callimaco and Ligurio’s plan.

The picture above shows the sculpture of Hercules, son of Zeus and Alkemena. The first things I noticed about this sculpture are Hercules’ posture and body shape. He is known as a very strong man, and this is exactly what the sculpture depicts. The sculpture is very similar to what we are used to seeing with Greek sculptures. Usually, if the sculpture is that of a emperor or warrior, they show their height (most often make them look taller than their actual height), wide chests, and strong arms. However what makes this sculpture different is the way Hercules is standing. His legs are apart, the right one is straight whereas the left leg looks like he’s dragging it almost as if he was walking. Both of his hands are occupied with something; in the right arm he’s holding a piece of cloth which could be a toga, and in the left one he’s carrying something that looks like a piece of wood.

This is the sculpture of “Monkey King.” In comparison to Hercules’ sculpture, this one is very different. I notice that his shoulders are wide unlike his chest, his arms are big but not muscular as we saw with Hercules’ sculpture. His waist is very small, while his legs are fat. Also he seems very short compared to Hercules. He, unlike Hercules, is wearing a hat and a lot of jewelry. Overall, this sculpture is not trying to depict Monkey King as a strong person but rather as a peaceful one judging by the gesture of his hands.

Here is a marble sculpture of Youthful Hercules. This sculpture was created during the Flavian Dynasty around 68-98 A.D. It is a Roman sculpture depicting the Greek hero, Hercules in his youth. As a Roman sculpture, the style known as contrapposto is evident. The facial structure of Hercules is so defined that it seems almost as if it was an actual portrait. The wide shoulders and exposed genitals help express masculinity. Its important to note that the size of the genitals does not matter because proportion is favored.   On his left arm where the lion’s fur resides, is portrayed to reference  Hercules’s first labor. Behind him, one can see Hercule’s club. Without a doubt, this sculpture represents courage, masculinity, and the importance of Hercules’s legacy.

The Marble Statue of Hercules Bearded, derives from the Flavian Dynasty around the same time as the Youthful Hercules. Much to the latter, the contrapposto is also evident based on how he is standing. Again, the sense of masculinity is portrayed around the posture and genital exposure.  The only difference really is the absence of the club and the different arrangement of the lion’s fur. The lion’s fur seems to be more elegant and reserved while on top of his head. Overall, the two statues are extremely similar with very little to none differences. Even as he ages, Hercules still retains the appearance of an Adonis being.

These two pieces really captured my attention. They both are results of religious influence. The first sculpture is taken from the Chinese exhibit, and is of Bodhisattva. The posture of the stature, in my opinion exhibited a transience of peace. The more we spoke about the piece the more I noticed. For instance the way that the statue is clothed is very minimal, except for the head piece there is a non-materialistic feeling emitted from the piece. The way the hands and feet are positioned emphasize inner peace. I didn’t know that flexibility played such an important role in this culture before a discussion was held in front of the piece. The second piece drew many of the same feelings from me. The second piece, is the Seated Bodhisattva Maitreya (the Buddha of the future). Even though these two sculptures are made from the same medium, you can see the differences in craftsmanship, as this piece came from modern day Afghanistan. Here we have a Buddha which, off the bat is different in gender, body shape, as well as the clothing. This form of Bodhisattva wears jewels and is adorned with necklaces and bracelets, not giving off the simple vibe which was introduced by the first statue. The hand gestures however remain the same, allowing for that inner peace to shine through. These gestures are something seen a lot also through Hinduism, so it’s important to note how cultural values travel, along with explorers.