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Art EssayThe tree trunk has been apply as a sign or symbol in art for centuries. The body was used to symbolize perfection in ancient Greece, and in Egypt, to give a precise image for the God of the After-life. Not to mention their colossal monuments which pull ahead power and glory, and are used to intimidate. However contemporary artists use the body as a symbol which lends a whole range of contrasting kinds of layered meaning, although the simple symbol of power has not been lost all over the centuries.Ancient Greek sculptures of the body are a medium amid man and the gods, they are an ideal of physical perfection. The female figure of c.650-625 B.C. (fig. 123) and a nude male youth of c.600 B.C. (fig. 124) are perfect examples of the use of symbols to convey meaning. These statues, Kore (maiden) and Kouros (youth) were produced in large numbers, all being virtually the same in outline. Their general names emphasised the need for the statues to remain unidentified and the omit of personal character. Some were placed on graves only to be viewed as representations of the deceased in the broadest sense (completely impersonal). And some were used as offerings, for example for a favoured person like the victor in an athletic competition.The strange lack of differentiation seems to be part of the character of these figures. They are neither gods nor men, but rather somewhere in between, a symbol...