Egypt and Greek cultures in Malaysia

Tugu Pahlawan

The national monument (Tugu Pahlawan) is the largest monument in Malaysia. It is located in Kuala Lumpur. This monument is built for the purpose to commemorate people who struggle for freedom and  died during World War II. The sculptures of human being are commonly seen in Greek. Moreover, the seven soldiers that are four times bigger than normal size of human are made up of bronze which are also similar with Greek sculptures. 

http://www.malaysiacentral.com/information-directory/attractions-places-to-visit/shopping-and-sightseeing-places-in-kuala-lumpur/tugu-negara-tugu-pahlawan-national-monument-of-malaysia-in-kuala-lumpur/

Muzium Telekom

This is a old building named Muzium Telekom which located in Malaysia. It serves as a telecommunications museum Malaysia's premier. The ionic columns are similar with Greek's buildings. Furthermore, the arches around the building also seen in ancient Roman.

http://www.timeoutkl.com/aroundtown/venues/Telekom-Museum

The Cenotaph

This is another national monument in Malaysia named The Cenotaph (Tugu Negara). It was constructed in 1996. Similar to Tugu Pahlawan, it is a tomb or a monument that is erected as memorials to the War dead during World War I. The word "Cenotaph" is derives from Greek(κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion). It was a common tradition in ancient world because there are some cenotaphs built in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece.

http://www.malaysiacentral.com/information-directory/attractions-places-to-visit/shopping-and-sightseeing-places-in-kuala-lumpur/tugu-negara-tugu-pahlawan-national-monument-of-malaysia-in-kuala-lumpur/

Petronas Twin Tower

Petronas Twin Tower is located at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The design of Petronas Twin Tower (KLCC) in Malaysia used columns with doric order.  The doric order is one of the three main organizational order in ancient Greek. 

As you can see from this picture, the person is using a horn from Egypt culture. The cobra is very common in Egypt too. Ancient Egyptians believe that all animals and objects have spirit within them. Therefore, some Egytians will communicate with the animals.

My thoughts...

I hope my drawing skill will improve in the future after I joined this course.

My ambition was to be a teacher when I was young. But after I grow up, I found that is not easy to be a teacher or even lecturer, need to mark a lot of exercises and assignments, quite a tiring work. After that I switched my ambition to be a lawyer because I speak very well when arguing with people in Mandarin, haha. But lawyer not just need to talk and have to understand law very well. I hate those things that need to memorise, that's why I hate Sejarah during secondary school although I got an A+ for it, it's sound funny right? I forced myself to remember all the facts the week before exam, that's how I get an A. Slowly when I graduated, I found that I prefer design. I do not really like drawing but I interested in typography design. My mind keep on changing, I do not know what I really want. I hope I can discover it before I complete my degree course.

Actually, my knowledge about history is very poor, therefore I hope can gain more knowledge from this course and get to know some of the memorable history of art and design. Erm.. I know is a must to study the history of art and design but it is really a boring stuff for me, maybe because I hate history? I don't know. I agreed that it is necessary in order to help me to develop my larger goals, I will try to like it. ^^

Compare Mayan Pyramids & Egyptian Pyramids

The Mayan pyramid is truncated so that a temple can be built on the top.The staircases lead from ground level to the temple. The number of staircases that the pyramids had varied, but there were typically two or four.  Many times there would be a platform connecting the steps somewhere near the middle of the pyramid so that the priest-king could stop and do a part of his ritual before continuing to the top.
    
Besides from having religious functions, Mayan pyramids also served other purposes. The pyramids were built so high that their tops could be seen protruding out of the jungle.  Because of this, the Mayan people were able to use them as landmarks. That was not the only significance of building them so high though. They also served as a reminder that the gods were ever present.


Some pyramids even house burial chambers for high ranking officials.  Housed inside these mammoth structures were small burial rooms.  There were narrow corridors that led to these chambers.  These burial chambers often contained treasures such as jade.

*~Mayan Pyramid~*

The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt. This pyramid and its surrounding complex were designed by the architect Imhotep, and are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry. The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape of a pyramid is thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance. 

*~Egyptian Pyramid~*

In the conclusion, the Mayan pyramids were combined temples and tombs, while the Egyptian pyramids were tombs with temples attached. Both had square bases and four sides, but they look very different. The true Egyptian pyramids are much larger than the Mayan pyramids, and have smooth sides and pointed tips. Originally, they were covered in white limestone and their tips were covered in gold so that they shone in Egypt's strong sunlight. The Maya pyramids are much later in date. They are stepped or tiered, with stairways to allow access to the flat top, which housed ceremonial buildings.

BBC：艾未未专题纪录片（Ai Weiwei, Without Fear or Favor）