LINDA ROBINSON SOKOLOWSKI
The Great Hypostyle Hall IIIThe Great Hypostyle Hall IIThe Great Hypostyle Hall IV
Pyramid IVPyramid VI monotype
Pyramid VIIIPyramid IX
Pyramid IIIPyramid II,monotype
Pyramid XPyramid XI, at night variation

Up close the monumental Great Pyramid at Giza forces us to lose our preconceptions, no matter how lofty they may have been. Primarily, we're not prepared for its extraordinary message for humanity, a product of men (we continually remind ourselves),not nature, though the latter has worked its magic. The ancient elegant form draws us nearer, even though we fight to hold it at a distance where our peripheral vision could absorb its overly-photographed structure in a single frame. The camera can't find it, not truthfully. It's an insult to think so, I say to myself while futilely shuffling to record it on its thirteen-acre base.

It takes time to really see Khufu's Pyramid. While standing perfectly still, wanting to hear exclamations from no one, I gave this proud leviathan my all so that its incomprehensible mass might translate into a conceivable scale. As I stepped closer, the more the imaginary climb became the truth. Each block, now long revealed by the elemental wearing of 4000 years, is approximately one half the height of humans who are camouflaged in the comparison. I would bring the image home with me promising myself to carry the site in my memory, just as I had vowed each time before the Grand Canyon not to forget the power of apparent infinity.

The Great Hypostyle HallGreat Hypostyle Hall of KarankGreat Hypostyle Hall of KarnakGreat Hypostyle Hall of KarnaK
From a series of twenty-four monotypes of Karnak, "The Great Hypostyle Hall". Each image is 18"X13"
Great Hypostyle Hall  of KarnakGreat Hypostyle Hall  of KarnakGreat Hypostyle Hall of KarnakGreat Hypostyle Hall of Karnak
 
David Roberts was an accomplished illustrator who journeyed for eleven months in Egypt in 1838 and who is well known for his documentary of the state of the monuments in Karnak. He, however, constantly felt he had failed in capturing its scale. With intense respect for his efforts, having worked on five foot formats for Karnak, I too felt humbled, yet wholly inspired by its demands. My series of two dozen small monotypes (18"X13") are my attempts to again walk myself through the most massive hall of columns (The Great Hypostyle Hall) I shall ever see.
Cathedrals Cathedrals click on image to enlarge