Was it a trick of the light that drew our Stone Age ancestors into caves to paint in charcoal and red hematite; to watch the heads of lions; likenesses of bison; horses; and aurochs in the reliefs of the walls; as they flickered by firelight? Or was it something deepermdash;a creative impulse; a spiritual dawn; a shamanistic conception of the world efflorescing in the dark; dank spaces beneath the surface of the earth where the spirits were literally at hand?In this book; Jean Clottes; one of the most renowned figures in the study of cave paintings; pursues an answer to this ldquo;whyrdquo; of Paleolithic art. While other books focus on particular sites and surveys; Clottesrsquo;s work is a contemplative journey across the world; a personal reflection on how we have viewed these paintings in the past; what we learn from looking at them across geographies; and what these paintings may have meantmdash;what function they may have servedmdash;for their artists. Steeped in Clottesrsquo;s shamanistic theories of cave painting; What Is Paleolithic Art? travels from well-known Ice Age sites like Chauvet; Altamira; and Lascaux to visits with contemporary aboriginal artists; evoking a continuum between the cave paintings of our prehistoric past and the living rock art of today. Clottesrsquo;s work lifts us from the darkness of our Paleolithic origins to reveal; by firelight; how we think; why we create; why we believe; and who we are.
#199151 in eBooks 2016-02-26 2016-02-26File Name: B01C8R5C1O
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Not Quite What I RememberedBy Adrienne ParksI read Anthony Burgesss translation/adaptation of Rostands play decades ago; and Im sorry to say it doesnt hold up to my memory of its brilliance. A lot of the language feels forced to fit into Burgesss rhyme-sceme; and what struck me as witty now feels somewhat contrived. Additionally this edition changes some of Burgesss original adaptations (such as removing Roxanes physical presence from the siege of Arras and substituting a letter from her) back to Rostands original version; which paradoxically does more harm than good. If you want to read Burgesss version; get his translation without these later "re-amendments." If you want Rostands; read the older; blank verse Brian Hooker version...or better yet read it in French!10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. The only translation that captures the poetry of Rostands originalBy Jack E. Holt; IIIAs time goes on; I am more and more impressed by Anthony Burgesss translation.Most readers and performers are probably more familiar with the translation of Cyrano by Brian Hooker. Hookers translation has much to recommend it but it fails to capture the poetic power; whimsy or grace of Rostands play. I feel the Burgess translation better represents Cyrano to a modern reader.One previous reviewer suggested that there was something almost absurd about Cyrano as he is portrayed by Rostand. Burgess himself had qualms about translating the play into rhyme. But this convention is powerful because it suggests that the men and women of Cyranos dramatic world (even the lackwits) were impressed by cleverness; grace and beauty. It is set out in the play that Roxanne is one of the literary precieuse. The type of cleverness that Cyrano portrays in rhyme would appeal to her.At the same time; Cyrano is not a fop but a man of action whose mind is not stilled even by combat. This translation also shows that Christians "military wit" was something Cyrano could appreciate for its poetic appropriateness as well as for its courage. I think in some ways Cyranos chivalry and heroism; as well as the more unrealistic elements of the play; are actually made more vivid and convincing by the use of rhyme.Burgess transports us to Rostands imagined world of poetry and chivalry directly. . . and does not relent for a moment in portraying it. I think the real Hercule Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac would have appreciated the flair of it all.This version was also used as the basis for a musical starring Chritopher Plummer. The musical; unlike this translation; adapts the play freely at points.
