Christopher Gabro - Harrison

During our discussion of Harrison’s piece, we discussed at length the way in which art and ritual have diverged.  Harrison details the way in which the ancient Greek theaters were constructed and how this construction played into the role of art.  The temenos is what cut off the main land from the theater.  Harrison concludes that art and ritual are mutually intertwined and derive from a common human impulse.

Touching upon this human impulse, it makes me wonder if there is also a human impulse to only imitate the way in which art is represented.  This also touches upon our discussion of Plato.  Should we continue to mimic the forms of art that have been performed since Ancient Greece or should we be progressing to new forms of art?  I believe Emerson once proclaimed that “imitation is suicide.”   By our consistent tendency to mirror art from the past are we destroying both the artwork and the art itself?  What made the ancient Greeks special is that they did not imitate the art styles that came before it—they transgressed art into a new space.