Wen2 Yi4 Shao4 Nu3s Hit the Nat Museum!
As mentioned previously I went to the Nat museum with Auntie to view Greek pieces on loan from the Louvre. Testament to my lack of museum knowledge - I didn't know Singapore had 3 museums! Pretty uncouth huh? I know of the ACM (only caz it was near some pub, hurhur) and National museum, but apparently they (We! I mean We!) had an Arts museum as well so it was cool. I think they also have a stamp one, plus a memorial hall or something. Do those count? And we almost cabbed there, as well, when it was really within walking distance from BBC. Gosh, folk(s). I think this is my new low.
Glad we went though, though I was actually expecting to see Greek-Greek statues instead of Roman copies. Apparently the Greeks had their statues in bronze, and the Romans, so enamoured of the sculptures, made copies from marble while melting the bronze down for tools and weapons. Big waste, huh. Still the pieces were ancient, and very well-preserved, and let us have a glimpse of what mattered to these people so long ago. Without meaning to be disrespectful, here's my own summary of this.
1. Greeks have many many MANY gods
2. Greek gods are very promiscuous
4. There are many naked people in Greece
5. Also there are no fat people in Greece, only those with receeding hairlines (eg. Tradesmen or one philosopher whose name I forgot)
5. Greeks are highly competitive and hold sporting events like the Olympics (with naked athletes)
6. Greeks have highly structured rules - even with regards to fighting. Eg. If they are having the Games then no warfare is to be conducted
7. Gold still looks pretty shiny 10000 years till now
My conclusions
1. Don't build statues in bronze - just in case. Marble is prolly the way to go.
2. Do put your life history (Grateful dead CD's Fann Wong posters, etc) in your coffins so people can dig you out 10000 years later and display you in a museum
OK the above is pretty tongue in cheek redneck tourist version, apologies! It's definitely worth taking a look at the exhibits to get a better feel.. Despite the above it's really something when you lay eyes on something that has survived the rise and fall of empires and stood the test of time. To have been able to work sculptures in those days to such detail - I can't even imagine the skill that must have been required to make and build these things. Which again leads me to wonder: what can we leave behind? Since SG's only resource is human -- prolly 10000 years later they will display overwhleming scores of bones under "Singapore" . No ornate silverware, no statues (oh we have a couple) - just..bones. You prolly won't be there by that time, but ah well. You read it here first.
Glad we went though, though I was actually expecting to see Greek-Greek statues instead of Roman copies. Apparently the Greeks had their statues in bronze, and the Romans, so enamoured of the sculptures, made copies from marble while melting the bronze down for tools and weapons. Big waste, huh. Still the pieces were ancient, and very well-preserved, and let us have a glimpse of what mattered to these people so long ago. Without meaning to be disrespectful, here's my own summary of this.
1. Greeks have many many MANY gods
2. Greek gods are very promiscuous
4. There are many naked people in Greece
5. Also there are no fat people in Greece, only those with receeding hairlines (eg. Tradesmen or one philosopher whose name I forgot)
5. Greeks are highly competitive and hold sporting events like the Olympics (with naked athletes)
6. Greeks have highly structured rules - even with regards to fighting. Eg. If they are having the Games then no warfare is to be conducted
7. Gold still looks pretty shiny 10000 years till now
My conclusions
1. Don't build statues in bronze - just in case. Marble is prolly the way to go.
2. Do put your life history (Grateful dead CD's Fann Wong posters, etc) in your coffins so people can dig you out 10000 years later and display you in a museum
OK the above is pretty tongue in cheek redneck tourist version, apologies! It's definitely worth taking a look at the exhibits to get a better feel.. Despite the above it's really something when you lay eyes on something that has survived the rise and fall of empires and stood the test of time. To have been able to work sculptures in those days to such detail - I can't even imagine the skill that must have been required to make and build these things. Which again leads me to wonder: what can we leave behind? Since SG's only resource is human -- prolly 10000 years later they will display overwhleming scores of bones under "Singapore" . No ornate silverware, no statues (oh we have a couple) - just..bones. You prolly won't be there by that time, but ah well. You read it here first.