“Megalith”
From the great
pyramids of Giza to the contemporary work Levitating Mass, by California artist
Michael Heizer, humans have chosen large stones as their medium of expression.
Megalithic structures have captured the imagination and minds of archeologists,
historians and artists. The term megalith, from the Greek word for "great
stone" is a large stone or stones that are moved by mankind to build a
monument or structure. The stones are often assembled by the craftsman
without the use of mortar. Instead the massive stones are often interlocked
together to create the megalithic structure. One cannot observe such a
structure without asking key questions such as, why ancient artisans chose to
build the enormous monuments and what they were used for. What is even more
perplexing is how these massively heavy stones were moved by civilizations that
had limited resources and technology.
In his work,
Levitated Mass, (2002) Micheal Heizer attempts to evoke the enormity and
ingenuity of ancient craftsmen and the meaning behind the megalithic structural
form. Using today's technology and resources, the 340 ton granite megalith took
11 nights to move 340 miles from a quarry to its installation at the Los
Angeles County Museum of Modern Art. The public who can move around and
underneath the structure must wonder how feats such as Heizer's could possibly
be achieved by ancient man.
In his film,
"levitating Mass", film maker Doug Pray shows great numbers of people
coming out of their homes to watch the stone being moved. As I watched the
viewers in awe of the Herculean effort of the moving crew I felt as if they
were participants in an ancient religion honoring such a massive stone. Could
this be modern art as a spiritual institution?, I wondered.
Pray's documentary gives insight into the mysteries of ancient
megalithic structures. It helped to explain how and why structures such as, The
Stone of the South, circa 970 BC was moved and erected. The Stone of the South
weighs an estimated 1242 tons and is the largest megalith ever worked by man.
It was raised 20 feet in the air and was made to fit with precision with other stones
around it.
Refrences
Documentary
Levitated Mass, (2002) Micheal Heizer
Book
The seventy wonders of the ancient world By Chris Scarre
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