I loved her the first time I ever saw her.
Picture the scene:
There in the dark auditorium on my first day of Art History class the slide projector clicks and suddenly the giant screen at the front of the room is filled with the image of a vibrant orange figure, every lovely curve shown in explicit detail.
The instructor explained that they called her "Venus", but he did not agree with that name as she was carved long before the civilizations of Greece rose. He called her "fertility icon", dutifully I put that down in my notes. The name didn't fit for me, though. To me she looked like a mother, the mother of the world, and that's what I called her.
In Art History her only significance was the honor of being the oldest female figure found. The instructor spent less than 5 minutes on her. And then clicked on.
It would still be more than a year before I learned more about her; eighteen months before I discovered what she meant in archaeological circles, that she was the icon of a newly forming movement, a whole new school being born among anthropologists. It would be through her that I would come to know and understand the true power a woman can wield, but that day in late August all I knew was my imagination had been completely captured by a four inch statue I could not get out of my head.
And to day is her birthday. Well of sorts. 100 years ago today she was unearthed near the village of Willendorf, Austria. On August 7, 1908, she once again came into light after thousands of years buried in the earth.
And she's still every bit as beautiful.
Ms. Betty
2 comments:
I see and understand Ms. Betty. A comforting thought not to be alone and in complete power after all. I celebrate with you, of you, and for you, too!
there is a nurturing, appealing warmth to her. i felt an attraction also.
and like my buddy Jon i celebrate your warmth, wit, compassion, and power.
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