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Art EssayThe tree trunk has been used 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 get up power and glory, and atomic number 18 used to intimidate. However contemporary artists use the body as a symbol which conveys a whole range of different kinds of shape meaning, although the simple symbol of power has not been lost over the centuries.Ancient Greek sculptures of the body are a medium between 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, entirely being virtually the same in outline. Their general names emphasised the need for the statues to remain unidentified and the lack 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 superordinate 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...