ELEPHANTS+OBSERVED

toc ELEPHANTS OBSERVED include component="comments" page="ELEPHANTS OBSERVED" limit="10"

=R.E.M. SONG MENTIONS PUSHING AN ELEPHANT UP THE STAIRS= // I'm pushing an elephant up the stairs // // I'm tossing up punchlines that were never there // // Over my shoulder, a piano falls // // Crashing to the ground // posted by Junius Wright || media type="youtube" key="k_JnCWT-_O8?rel=0" height="315" width="420" ||
 * ** The following lyrics appear in the R.E.M. song, "The Great Beyond": **

=ZED'S LINK TO DALI'S ELEPHANTS?=

=ZED INSPIRED SAND SCULPTURE= posted by Junius Wright. ||
 * [[image:zedpedia/sandmenobserved.JPG width="560" height="308"]] ||
 * Zed's work, Elephant's Observed, inspired me to create this sand sculpture on the beach with my kids.


 * London Elephants Observed **

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Posted By Irene Cheng

=Evolution and Elephants= This image is a connection to my (Micah Norton) discussion on Zed's Elephants Observed. This connects to my analysis of Elephants Observed because I said that this installation was a giant metaphor for the self-destruction of humanity through the creation of industrialization and technology. This image shows humans reverting back to primitive positions with the addition of newer technology. See Micah Norton's discussion at the top of this page to see my entire analysis.

Revelations Revelation! 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This passage comes from the Book of Revelations Chapter 20, written by John, inspired by his vision from God. This particular part of the prophecy comes from the Book of Life that speaks of Judgment Day. On Judgment Day, Jesus will judge everyone based on their good works and decide whether they will go to heaven or hell. The elephants are stagnant, wandering around the desert not getting anything of worth done. Similarly, our society makes great progress in areas that are of no interest to God. Our society isn't as concerned about helping others and being kind as we are about making scientific advancements and being better than everyone else. The elephants see that the stairs are their, open to heaven, but they can't climb the stairs. They are being judged and their path is the second death, not salvation. Our society will be judged and I think that many will find that God isn't impressed with their faith and works. The path to heaven will be open, but many will be unable to take the path because of the way they have lived their lives. -Alex Parler

The Metamorphosis: Desert Archetype Connection?
Passage One: "They had moreover brought most of their own furnishings and equipment with them. For this reason, many things had become superfluous which, although they could not be sold, the family did not wish to discard. All these things found their way into Gregor's room. The dustbins from the kitchen found their way in there too."

Passage Two: "Gregor kept trying to assure himself that nothing unusual was happening, it was just a few pieces of furniture being moved after all, but he soon had to admit that the women going to and fro, their little calls to each other, the scraping of the furniture on the floor, all these things made him feel as if he were being assailed from all sides. With his head and legs pulled in against him and his body pressed to the floor, he was forced to admit to himself that he could not stand all of this much longer. They were emptying his room out; taking away everything that was dear to him; they had already taken out the chest containing his fretsaw and other tools; now they threatened to remove the writing desk with its place clearly worn into the floor, the desk where he had done his homework as a business trainee, at high school, even while he had been at infant school - he really could not wait any longer to see whether the two women's intentions were good. He had nearly forgotten they were there anyway, as they were now too tired to say anything while they worked and he could only hear their feet as they stepped heavily on the floor."

The Persistence of Memory: Desert Archetype Connection?
posted by Cassie Howe

posted by Brendon Frankel The punishment of Sisyphus to push a boulder endlessly of a mountain is comparable to Elephants Observed.

The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory relates to Elephants Observed through the collapse of man-made objects.



For me, this is the first image that comes to mind when I see Elephants Observed. It depicts a person attempting to push an elephant up some stairs. Also, the hopelessness of the situation depicted in this image connects to my view of this work.

=Stairway to Heaven=



This image relates to my interpretation that the stairs resemble religion. This painting shows a stairway leading to heaven. posted by: Colin Frazier

=**Society's Impossible Task**=

The first image that comes to my mind when I saw this work was the daunting task of actually pushing an elephant of a flight of stairs. This mental image was immediately established in my mind because I saw the sand and desert as the societies and environments current status and the elephants of as the cites and in over for the world to become a better place they would have to make an effort which would be the equivalent to pushing elephants up a flight of stairs.

This image illustrates the task and how much work society would have put in in order to evolve into a better place.



posted by Tyre Moore