Art Piece: The Temple Of Sensitivity

Reflection of “Geometric Aljamía”

Art Piece: The Temple of Sensitivity- Jorge Benitez, 2015
Illustration board, Hydrocal, Bristol Board, Acrylic

The title of the piece and the structure is a juxtaposition to the ugly creatures depicted and Islamic artistic traditions. I think this is created in a satirical manner. Islamic art follows a tradition of depicting the beauty of the universe and this piece of art depicts ugly mythical creatures. The title of the art piece as The Temple of Sensitivity is ironic because there seems to be depicting the opposite of sensitivity. It seems to be a temple of evil, according to Islamic beliefs. It goes against the traditional practice of not depicting animals and it goes against traditions of revealing

The whiteness of the art piece could refer to the 17th and 18th centuries’ practice of removing color from Greek, Roman and Byzantine art for its “purity”. The texture of the board and the acrylic paint are similar to the rough popcorn ceiling paint and spikey feel to it. The hydrocal/plaster looks as if it used to create the top of the 9 sided dome and the faces. The edges of the dome and the building have a sharpness to it because of the illustration board. The lighting in the gallery accentuates the sharpness and the texture because it is white. Benitez uses lines to draw the focus from the bottom of the art piece with the faces to the top of the dome. The sharpness of the board gives each side of the dome separation from every other face: almost as if each face stands on its own panel. The top of each side has three borders before the dome begins. It is a formal separation and transition from the dome to the nonagon base. defines the shape of the art

It is beautifully crafted but the animals/creatures depicted are ugly and mean. In modern culture, this temple would have been associated with Disney Villains, as a sculpture or building in their possession as a reflection of their mean-spiritedness and love for evil. Every other face resembles something of a chameleon but without a nose. The other faces are as followed: One face of this piece seems to be a devil’s skull, another face resembles a boar, another face looks like an angry mask, another face is similar to a rat’s face but with sharper teeth and holes in his ear, and last face looks can angry pig with sharp teeth. All of these creatures have similar expressions of Satan or Demons by Christians from the 14th to the 18th century. Especially two of the faces bear resemblances to pigs, there is an ugly depiction of pigs and their ancestor, boar, for their uncleanliness and filth. In Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions, cloven-hoofed are associated with carnal desire and are consistently associated with the Devil. This art piece depict creatures that are unclean, angry and have a mean/evil spirit about them. In the Quran, there is no punishment for killing mice, rats, and four other animals. They are corrupt and the Prophet commanded to kill