If I Were to Pose for an Oil Portrait in the Style of The Ambassadors Essay

If I Were to Pose for an Oil Portrait in the Style of The Ambassadors - Essay Example We have mapped the world, but I now live in a scientific age capable of mapping the very scientific architecture of life itself.   Ironically, what is large or significant is, in reality, so very small.   Knowledge is in the details, and this projected image of the human genome will emphasize attention to detail.   This background will further serve as the governing theme, that of scientific achievement, for the remainder of the objects in the portrait. The bottom shelf will represent the past. The shelf, though brown, is of a duller shade than the upper shelf. It is worn and splintered. Though old, the shelf is sturdy. It represents the foundation upon which the future shall forever rely. The bottom shelf contains, from left to right, a leather-bound volume describing the Phoenician Alphabet, an abacus standing upright, an oversized computer mouse, and old rabbit-eared antennae. The alphabet represents our ability to memorialize and to classify information; the abacus represents the evolution of our ability to calculate using technological innovation; the oversized computer mouse represents our ability to transfer remote persons into vast seas of information; and, the rabbit-eared antennae represents the ability to coordinate disparate scientific technologies for unified objectives-- it symbolizes reception or past successes. The top shelf will represent the future. It is wooden, too, but in the middle, it is nearly transparent. T he edges are varnished and a bright shade of brown. The transparency symbolizes looking into the future. This shelf will have a sculptured facial bust of an unknown person, a golden pillar with a clear glass of water on top, and a computer with legs. The objects on the upper shelf are intentionally vague. This vagueness is deliberate; indeed, it is suggesting that science can be unpredictable and surprising. The bust of the unknown person represents one person and everyone; the golden pillar and the clear glass of water represent the reality that fundamentals are too often forgotten.