The Pyramids as Environmental Art

April 14, 2008

This past week I have been thinking about the pyramids.. and their fundamental irony finally struck me. As the grave for the deceased king, the pyramids are symbols of participation in the regenerative cycle of the sun. One line of thought on the pyramid is that it represents the emergence of order after the chaos of the inundation.. and it was thus an image of new life for the dead king. As a solar emblem (shape taken from sacred ben-ben stone in temple of Re) it also advertised its place in the cycle of rebirth.

Meanwhile the form of the pyramid is all about permanence in the landscape. The medieval Arabic poet al-Mutannabi wrote a catchy couplet about how the pyramids will outlast time itself. There is the irony: these are structures that were meant to last an eternity.. even as they represent a philosophy of regenerative impermanence.

But now that I am thinking more about it, maybe it is the impermanence of regeneration that requires the "house" of regeneration to be as long-lasting as possible. A philosophy that saw resurrection as a one time and permanent event would have an easier time constructing an impermanent home for the body. The rate of rebirth and the durability of the structure would thus be inversely related.. and a philosophy that one might think would lead to respect for impermanence actually brings about the great examples of architectural permanence.

The pyramid deserve some credit as environmental art since it relied on natural imagery and an acceptance of daily cycles of renewal. If we stripped away the need to preserve the corpse forever, then the expression of these ancient Egyptian ideas would likely look more like environmental art. Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson has a lot in common with the pyramids, at least in philosophy. A website connected to Smithson has the following to say about his philosophy of art:

Entropy, was a theme that consistently ran throughout Smithson's art and writings. He explored his ideas involving decay and renewal, chaos and order with what came to be known as his Nonsites and Earthworks.

That could also serve as a summary of ancient Egyptian conceptions of order and chaos. I wonder if ancient Egyptian art could ever be claimed by environmental artists?