Café Philos: an internet café

I'm in love with the work to the left even though I am not generally a fan of pseudo-classical poses. But the pose is so dynamic that you almost have to love it. Or even perhaps hate it -- I suspect this is one of those works that brings out strong emotions. Am I right about that?

I tried putting the photo in the sidebar for this week, but unfortunately, blogger squashed and distorted it. The photo lost its power and became something of a cartoon of itself. Still, I wanted to share it with you, so here you have it.

To me, the pose captures extraordinary strength combined with magnificent grace. So, I'm willing to forgive that the setting is a pedestal and building, rather than nature.

Why do you suppose the artist chose that setting? What do you suppose Mark Jenkins was trying to convey? Is it merely an attempt to connect with Western Classical sculpture? Or, is there more to it than that?

If you click on the above picture, it will expand to full size. That is worth a look. The negative shapes are especially stunning, I think. The lighting seems perfect to me. It at once creates the mass of the body, defines the musculature, and brings out the grace of the shoulders and limbs. The lighting also perfectly creates the illusion that we are looking at a statue rather than a living man. And although I'm not entirely happy with that last effect, I must admit Jenkins is amazing.

Symbolically, I want to believe that what we have here is The Cosmic Dancer.