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| Understanding the complexity of the Lascaux cave paintings and engravings |
I had not done any pre-planning and the visit did not happen. Summer queues, limited English tour times, so we pottered around the village and drove past the impressive Lascaux II complex, a replica of the caves built in 1983, as Lascaux has been closed to the public since the mid sixties.
Number 54:
Wonder of Rock Art: Lascaux Cave, Johannesburg
I did feel dejected missing the Lascaux experience. One of the many first year courses I did at Wits University in the 1970's was 'History of Art 1', which started with prehistoric art and specifically with the paintings of Lascaux. I can still recall the slides our lecturer used and I was enthralled by the vivid images from the Hall of Bulls, specifically the Great Black Bull.
So Martie, Katie and I headed off early this morning to the fascinating interactive exhibition at Sci-Bono to learn about Lascaux, a collaboration with the French Embassy.
We were completely taken in by the discovery and story of the caves. The finely crafted replicas and exhibits certainly helped recreate the magnificence of this 20000 year old cave art! Wow, is all I could say...
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| A sewing needle used by Cro Magnon man/woman, not changed in design or shape! |
Quote: Norbert Aujoulat (1946-2011) who spent 25 years recording the images and symbols at Lascaux.
"Lascaux gets its suggestive power from the permanent presence of the image: wherever you are, an animal is looking at you, questioning you. Throughout the cave's omnipresent wild oxen, horses, deer, bison and ibexes, we see the dominating imprint of man."
