A framework for digital sunken relief generation based on 3D geometric models

Sunken relief is a special art form of sculpture whereby the depicted shapes are sunk into a given surface. This is traditionally created by laboriously carving materials such as stone. Sunken reliefs often utilize the engraved lines or strokes to strengthen the impressions of a 3D presence and to highlight the features which otherwise are unrevealed. In other types of reliefs, smooth surfaces and their shadows convey such information in a coherent manner. Existing methods for relief generation are focused on forming a smooth surface with a shallow depth which provides the presence of 3D figures. Such methods unfortunately do not help the art form of sunken reliefs as they omit the presence of feature lines. We propose a framework to produce sunken reliefs from a known 3D geometry, which transforms the 3D objects into three layers of input to incorporate the contour lines seamlessly with the smooth surfaces. The three input layers take the advantages of the geometric information and the visual cues to assist the relief generation. This framework alters existing techniques in line drawings and relief generation, and then combines them organically for this particular purpose

Dance in ninth century Java. A methodology for the analysis and reconstitution of the dance

This short essay presents a case study – that of the dance reliefs of the Prambanan complex in Central Java, aiming to steer the discussion around an important aspect of any archaeological investigation of dance. Rather than focusing solely on contextual issues, such as the nature and function of dance at a particular point in time and in a specific socio-cultural context, the Prambanan case study questions how to engage with the archaeological dance record from a dancer’s point of view, in other words in terms of movement reconstitution and its re-embodiment. It is almost tautological to say that dance is practice based and performance oriented. However it is often the case that it is precisely this aspect of dance which is neglected in archaeological accounts and no methodologies are being developed to deal with such issues. My work on the Prambanan dance reliefs attempts to bridge this gap

An iconography of insularity : a cosmological interpretation of some images and spaces in the late neolithic temples of Malta

This paper proposes a fresh model for interpreting some of the iconography and megalithic architectural forms that emerged in Malta during the Late Neolithic. Recent studies of the relationship between the Maltese archipelago and the world beyond, and between the monumental megalithic sites and their landscape setting, will inform an interpretation of some of the iconography and architectural forms that characterize these sites. Patterns in their use of spatial order, architectural devices and carved reliefs are interpreted as elements in a programmatic recreation of an island cosmology. It is suggested that the prehistoric islanders used these images and spaces to express and mediate concerns with cosmological order.peer-reviewe

Pictures in Your Mind: Using Interactive Gesture-Controlled Reliefs to Explore Art

Tactile reliefs offer many benefits over the more classic raised line drawings or tactile diagrams, as depth, 3D shape, and surface textures are directly perceivable. Although often created for blind and visually impaired (BVI) people, a wider range of people may benefit from such multimodal material. However, some reliefs are still difficult to understand without proper guidance or accompanying verbal descriptions, hindering autonomous exploration. In this work, we present a gesture-controlled interactive audio guide (IAG) based on recent low-cost depth cameras that can be operated directly with the hands on relief surfaces during tactile exploration. The interactively explorable, location-dependent verbal and captioned descriptions promise rapid tactile accessibility to 2.5D spatial information in a home or education setting, to online resources, or as a kiosk installation at public places. We present a working prototype, discuss design decisions, and present the results of two evaluation studies: the first with 13 BVI test users and the second follow-up study with 14 test users across a wide range of people with differences and difficulties associated with perception, memory, cognition, and communication. The participant-led research method of this latter study prompted new, significant and innovative developments

A note on reliefs for traveling expenses to work

Assuming that higher traveling expenses reduce traveling time, this paper considers reliefs for traveling expenses to work when a distorting wage tax is levied. While the decision on traveling expenses would not be distorted if traveling costs were completely deductible, taxation would still not be neutral with respect to the leisure-consumption choice. Moreover, the paper shows that second-best optimum taxation requires less than complete deductibility of traveling expenses to work. --income taxation,reliefs,traveling expenses to work,optimum taxation

Polyneices’ Body and His Monument: Class, Social Status, and Funerary Commemoration in Sophocles’ Antigone

There has been much debate about the role of Greek tragedy in questioning and/or affirming values. This paper addresses the broader relationship between theater and society in terms of the ways in which the dead were commemorated in fifth-century Athens. In section 1, I briefly consider different forms of funerary monuments and, in particular, the increase in the use of images of women. I argue that the types of monuments that people erected conveyed specific social and political meanings. In particular, I draw attention to the new role played by images of women to represent the class and civic status of the family, by focusing on the social and political implications of this form of commemoration in comparison with archaic-style burial mounds. Whereas images of women or men in a domestic setting allowed for more ambiguous messages concerning the status of the family, burial mounds (which continued to be erected by a few families in fifth-century Athens) promoted an elite identity that drew on Homeric models. In section 2, I bring together Sophocles’ Antigone with the insights from changes in iconography and funerary practice. I first discuss the representation of Polyneices in the debate between Antigone and Creon, highlighting the emphasis placed on social status. The play defines Polyneices’ class and status through a series of contrasting images (e.g., slave, lower-class male) and further emphasizes the outrage of Creon’s edict by depicting the denial of burial as an attack on Polyneices’ social standing. Then I analyze the representation of his burial and the references to the tools used to build his tomb. I argue that the play presents an aristocratic burial through the location and description of Creon’s construction of the tomb. While the play provides clear support for Antigone and her defense of the unwritten laws in terms of the general right to burial, it also indicates an ongoing concern with social class and its contested role in Athenian society