Summary Of Jericho Parms Lost Wax

Art can be seen as a moment in time that is captured and forever frozen. The images seemed to have had something so magnificent that the artist found it important to have the memory remain forever in one’s mind. Jericho Parms “Lost Wax” explored this idea of how art and memories forever remain in history. Parms essays displayed many moments of time that signaled the longing to be someone that was special enough to be captured as a piece of art that would remain in people’s minds.

Throughout the collection of essays Parms often discusses many pieces of art that she found intriguing. She often would wonder how the artist would decide to capture that exact moment or object. Eadwaerd Muybridge’s painting of the “horse in motion” was one of the

Parms had many obsessions that she seemed to acknowledge throughout the essays. She tried to learn many languages including Greek and Spanish. She also wrote that she had obsessions that were of “religion, colors, list making, and prisons. These obsessions were a sign that she desired to create the image of something unique. Unique enough to be cast as a piece of art. As written on page 112 Parms writes of how “The Greeks, and the in turn the Romans, were masters-obsessively so-when it came to capturing the ideal, the kind of perfection now relegated to mythology. So, what can be said of us mortals? Why do we so stubbornly aspire to such flawlessness?”. These obsessions to be unique created such restlessness in Parms that she could not find her true self. Therefore, she moved often and traveled to many countries. She explained how home was “variable” and when in one place longed to be in another (pg.91). She stated on page 110 that her parents’ divorce “which may have been the foundry of my restlessness” was to blame for the constant need to change scenery by moving often. These moments in her childhood created the void that she long to fill. The relationships that she had can also be seen as a restlessness and was often short

When describing her relationship with a man named Joe, she writes “How many times can we cast the same pain from a single mold before it recedes into yet another landmark, like a statue in a night-fallen sculpture court? (pg. 113). This statement can be seen to represent the idea that she longed to find a partner. Though she tried many times the relationships could not become permanent and would fall apart. The anger within her was to blame for her lack of finding the true love she desired to have. This anger was the product of her “lost self”. The need to find her uniqueness caused such anger that she could not find happiness within lasting relationships. She also writes describing her relationship with her father. Her only connection with the man was the songs that she remembered singing with him when she was five years old. These songs were the memories that created the image of the father she thought she knew. She soon realized as written on page 41 that “After years of attempting to navigate the out-of-touch daughter, I didn’t know my father at all.” Parms yearned to have the relationship she once had with her father. Trying to reconnect with him through music. Trying to do, so she often felt the need to be seen as something exceptional, someone her father would find of interest. The need formed the wish to stand out or stand for something that is significant. She often talked of “people power” or the