User:LISARRHH/sandbox

During the Week 5 tutorial of WRIT2002, the cohort had an excursion around the University of Sydney’s main campus. During the excursion, students explored various locations of the campus while observing statues erected for certain reasons. The statue that I have chosen to analyse is the Statue of Gilgamesh, which was made by Assyrian artist Lewis Batros and donated by the Gilgamesh Cultural Centre on behalf of the Assyrian community.

CONTEXT, PURPOSE & AUTHOR

The bronze Statue of Gilgamesh was a gift to the University of Sydney to celebrate its sesquicentennial or 150th anniversary. Many Assyrian dignitaries and government officials were invited to attend the function, which also included the official ceremony of the unveiling of the Statue of Gilgamesh. Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Dame Leonie Kramer, unveiled the statute on October 15th, 2000. Gilgamesh was a king of Uruk, Mesopotamia and is the main character of an Akkadian poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is considered to be the first great work of literature. Gilgamesh is described to be a demigod of superhuman strength who built the city walls of Uruk to defend his people. Gilgamesh was said to have fought the demon Humbaba (or Huwawa), along with wild man Enkidu and brought his head back to Uruk on a raft. The pair also defeated the Bull of Heaven sent by the furious goddess Ishtar. These conquered beasts can be linked to the creature in the statue as a representation of Gilgamesh’s strength and power. Gilgamesh is seen as a worldly-wise, cultured king and protector who is at the centre of human society, which can be translated into the statue as Gilgamesh stands strong with closed fists and a creature cowering in his embrace. The purpose of the statue suggests that it was erected to celebrate the might and power of Gilgamesh and commemorate his achievements as a protector and king. Lewis Batros is a renowned Assyrian artist who has works all over the world but currently lives and works in Western Sydney. Many of Bartos’ works take inspiration from Assyrian heritage, stories, art and culture therefore his works are personal. The reason why Bartos may have created the statue of Gilgamesh is because copies of literature about Gilgamesh were found in the library ruins of an Assyrian King, which suggests that Gilgamesh is a part of Assyrian history.

AUDIENCE

The intended audience for the Statue of Gilgamesh could be historians and those who have an interest in Gilgamesh and the literature about him. The statue may have been created to recognise this historical (or mythological) part of Assyria

THE TEXT

The statue is cast bronze and the main idea of it is to commemorate Gilgamesh and his triumphs against various monsters and demons. This is a visual representation of Gilgamesh and depicts him as a strong and powerful figure. The Statue of Gilgamesh conveys Logos appeals and Ethos appeals as the statue seems to be erected to show strength and power. Although Gilgamesh it has been generally accepted that Gilgamesh was a historical figure, the story of Gilgamesh is hard to confirm and may just be mythological. The Statue of Gilgamesh does not seem to be protected by netting to keep birds away and there seems to be a lot of corrosion happening in various spaces of the statue. The location of the statue seems out of place and insignificant as I, myself, have never seen the statue before the excursion. The scenery and environment surrounded the statue also seem insignificant as it is just a sports field and various paths so it did not evoke any significant emotions from me.

Through the research done for the statue, I have new knowledge of a powerful figure in history (or mythology) and have been impressed by his story and the literature written about him.