Relief sculpture

This problem incorporates a number of stylistic challenges. The images available, for example, are not clearly designated to be of the subject, Gilgamesh. The story itself, as recorded under the reign of the Assyrian king Assurbanipal, is comprehensive in any of its translations so that the Epic may be understood in much the same way as the stories in the Old Testament of the Bible may be understood. 

The cuneiform texts, recognizable as writing but unreadable to most of us, function as more than a visual motif or design. Knowing that a story exists 'inside' the collective cuneiform marks lends the tablets a mystery and a significance that has an appropriate mysteriousness for this drawing. 

In addition, early writing in 3200 BC (approximately) was greatly valued because of the long apprenticeship needed to learn it. Cuneiform was used for both commerce and for secret religious codes and rituals. Such was the value put on writing that it was seen as a way to communicate with the gods. 

The actual story of Gilgamesh (half man, half god) and his friend Enkidu (half man, half beast) resonates from millennia past. The sharp features of the Epic generate distinct pictures, imaginatively. 

 

 

GILGAMESH

The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered to be the oldest story in recorded history. It was written down by the Assyrians on eleven tablets in cuneiform writing and takes place in ancient times in Mesopotamia. The tablets on which the story is recorded date from the 7th century, BC but the story itself is much older.

 

A statue that may be Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh in Cuneiform

For this problem, each student will read the Epic on line and make decisions based on the reading and the research of salient images.

1. Materials need to be chosen for expressive properties

2. Content must be based on research and may be abstract or literal

3. Text must be incorporated as either the background or the subject of the drawing.

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