Hyper-Reality in Ancient Greek Sculpture

Idealized Male Depiction

• Ancient Greeks aimed for a perfected ideal of male form.
• Concept of "hyper-reality" where the sculpture appears more human than human.
• Mention of Nigel Spivey, a well-known Greek classicist.

Lost Wax Technique

• Technique used to make bronze sculptures.
• Steps:
  1. Make a sculpture from clay.
  2. Create a plaster mold.
  3. Pour molten bronze (alloy of copper and tin) into the mold.
  4. Wax falls away, leaving the bronze form.
• Technique is ancient but still used today.

Rio G Warriors

• Bronze sculptures known as the Rio G warriors.
• Found in the seabed after a shipwreck during transportation.
• Commissioned in Greece.

Roman Marble Copies

• Many Greek bronze sculptures did not survive antiquity.
• Roman copies were made in marble and often referenced as "Roman marble after Greek bronze".

High Classic Period and Hyper Reality

• Greek artists divided the human form into perfect shapes.
• Concept of hyper-reality to create a more perfect human form.
• Example: Perfect line down the center of the back and exaggerated iliac crest.

Contemporary Use of Lost Wax Technique

• Robert Graham, contemporary artist, used lost-wax technique.
• Created male and female nudes for the peristyle of the Colosseum in Los Angeles.
• Figures represent universal athletes with no facial features.
• Male form modeled after a water polo player.
• Connection to the Olympic Games and Greek ideals of bronze casting.
• Peristyle updated for Olympics in 1980s and will be used again when Olympics return to Los Angeles.