Zari Apodaca ’23 in Greece
The most rewarding experiences in my journey of knowledge at Providence College, is when I am able to utilize my academic knowledge in the real world and engage in interpersonal connections. In the Spring of 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 Pandemic, I remember becoming increasingly infatuated with Art History due to my Art History Survey course. A moment I look back to often and especially during this summer, is when Dr. Strasser introduced the class to the Kouros of Apollonas in Naxos, Greece. As with everything I encounter in Art History, I wanted to see the Kouros in person and lucky for me, my boyfriend’s family is from the small village of Engares in Naxos. In June, I traveled with his family to Athens and then Naxos on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
After eleven hours of traveling from Boston and a seven hour time difference, we arrived in Athens. Over the next few days, I was completely immersed in the rich culture and history of Greece. Before we saw the monumental Acropolis, I was tasked with finding some museums to visit in Athens as the resident art expert on the trip. One museum we visited was the National Contemporary Museum of Athens. The building itself was breathtaking, but the art never ceased to amaze me. I had never been to a museum that was solely dedicated to contemporary art, my favorite period of art. As I expected, everyone else was perplexed by the unconventional artworks but they began to find interest when I used my art history skill set to explain the concepts behind the pieces. The best part of this museum was that I was able to draw some inspiration for my forthcoming Senior Studio Art Thesis.
Before we moved onto the site of the Acropolis, everyone was very excited to visit the new Acropolis Museum. Here, the museum houses different archaeological findings from the Acropolis. My favorite part of this experience was the opportunity to see the Kritios Boy statue, another important work that I learned about from Dr. Strasser. My knowledge on this sparked an inside joke with everyone as I taught them what “contrapposto” meant. “Contrapposto” is a sculptural term coined by the ancient Greeks in which the figure is resting their weight on one leg which leaves the opposite leg more relaxed and bent at the knee. This technique by the ancient Greeks gave their work a more natural and realistic expression as opposed to past human structures standing uncharacteristically stiff and straight. Everytime we took pictures of each other, someone would say, “Now stand in contrapposto!” Finally, our day ended with the most exciting conclusion: walking up to the Acropolis. A hot day in Athens, it was certainly a struggle to get up there. However, it was all worth it. To see the Parthenon up close felt otherworldly. To know that this grandiose structure has been standing here for over 2,000 years was overwhelming and left me feeling incredibly small. Yet, it instilled in me the resiliency of mankind, to build a structure that is still standing centuries later requires strength not only of the body, but of the mind.
After arriving in Naxos, we drove to Apollonas to see the Kouros. Again, I was astonished by the size of the structure. Sitting on the side of the mountain, this human-like structure lies horizontally. If you get close enough, you can see the striations where the ancient people probably had worked to separate it from the rock it originates from. Even though it remains outside, it’s incredible how the features of the Kouros remain intact. It feels extremely gratifying to see something you learned about up close and share that experience with someone close to me. All the things I saw and the people I met contributed to making this trip the greatest experience of my life yet. I can only imagine where the knowledge that the Art and Art History Department has given me will take me next!
Posted by Zari Apodaca ’23
