A Mosaic of Mosaics
Danni Go Integrative Seminar 1: Shift November 29, 2017
Go 2 Shards of glass, scrap tiles, and broken teacups. As useless and unsightly as these may sound, simple manipulation can easily turn these materials into purposeful and beautiful. Mended together by the use grout, these fragments are some of the many possible components to comprise breathtaking mosaics. Mosaics date back to as early as the third millennium, or the Mesopotamian period.1 Since then, it has been adapted throughout history, specifically during the Renaissance period. According to Eric MacPhail’s “The Mosaic of Speech: A Classical Topos in Renaissance Aesthetics,” “The composite nature of mosaic appeals directly to the self-image of humanism as a painstaking recovery and rearrangement of the pieces of tradition.”2 This correlates to the main goal of the Renaissance period which was to embody humanism. Back then, it was expected for people to exhibit human conduct, and empiricism, the use of one’s experiences to gain knowledge about history or, in MacPhail’s case, “tradition.” The need for people to learn and preserve classical antiquity was met through mosaics’ narrative qualities. MacPhail’s idea of a mosaic allows for its process of piecing together fragments of material to create a masterpiece to be analogous to the piecing together of a more personal masterpiece, otherwise known as one’s “self-image”. This acknowledges the fact that each person is shaped by what they experience in life. Each piece symbolizes a newly gained piece of information being added as a component to make up one’s essence, as everything an individual encounters eventually becomes a part of he or she, or generally who they are as a person.
“Mosaic - Ancient History Encyclopedia,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, last modified April 28, 2011, https://www.ancient.eu/Mosaic/. 2 Eric MacPhail, “The Mosaic of Speech: A Classical Topos in Renaissance Aesthetics,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 66 (2003): 249-64. 1
Go 3 However, with all the information one can possibly be exposed to, it can be argued that not everything one acquires seems to be useful in relation to the other pieces of information already learned. One may think that certain things may not have any connection to another, when in reality, they possibly do. Human rights and civil liberties attorney Jameer Jaffer disputes the mosaic theory, in which “seemingly insignificant information may become significant when combined with other information.”3 Though bits of information may not seem like they make sense on their own, it does not mean they will continue to have no meaning when combined with other nonsense information. In other words, combined nonsense makes sense. Jaffer continues to explain how “innocuous information can be analyzed and fitted into place to reveal with startling clarity how the unseen whole must operate.”4 In a sense, it is like a puzzle. Just like a puzzle, a mosaic is made up of smaller pieces that are formed together to create a bigger picture. Each piece of the puzzle or the mosaic is “analyzed” in order to figure out its best placement for it to be “fitted into place” to reveal the magnum opus. At first, the pieces may not make any sense, but not until it is combined and interacted with other pieces. Then, it will start to flow together as a whole to unveil a bigger and deeper meaning. Ultimately, this theory serves as an argument to justify certain situations in order to arrive at an agreement that is not possible to be disproven.5 The Mosaic law can be said to work almost like the mosaic theory. According to American theologian Matthew Levering, the Mosaic law entails using Moses’ wisdom and teachings gives access to truly understanding the life of Christ.6 It can be thought of as Moses’
3
Jameel
Jaffer, "The Mosaic Theory." Social Research 77, no. 3 (2010): 873-82.
Ibid. Ibid. 6 Matthew Levering, "THE MOSAIC LAW." In Paul in the Summa Theologiae, 109-52. 4 5
Go 4 knowledge as the puzzle pieces to reveal Christ. This then models Jaffer’s idea of piecing together information to arrive at a more meaningful and substantial answer. Italian-Dominican priest Thomas Aquinas believes this Law allows for the Christian community to prepare for the various forms Christ chooses to reveal Himself. With this, people are then encouraged to act in the goodness of the Lord in order to start their path towards salvation, or in other words, Heaven. This is where dispute arises. Reformist Martin Luther reasons that the Mosaic law removes the sheer goodness of one’s actions.7 Instead of naturally and genuinely acting out of the kindness of their hearts, people are simply doing such acts because they are motivated and convinced that it will guarantee them a place in Heaven. To Luther, that should not be the case. People should be performing selfless, kind acts, regardless of the reward that comes with doing so. Luther was known to believe that achieving salvation was done independently and for personal sake, not to fulfill one’s desire to acquire salvation. Though he believes actions can be done towards one’s salvation, he believes in predestination, the idea that even before birth, our ultimate destiny is already predetermined. In short, whether or not one ends up in Heaven or Hell has already been decided. It is now just a matter of acting in the image and likeness of God. On the other hand, Levering claims the Mosaic law being “an imperfectly good law”.8 With the Mosaic law, “it does not overcome our concupiscence.”9 What this means is that the idea of using Moses’ teachings as a stepping stone does not completely overshadow an
Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2014. Ibid. Ibid. 9 Ibid. 7 8
Go 5 individual’s desire for salvation. To Levering, practicing the Mosaic law does not extract the goodness out of one’s actions, which is what Luther believes. Levering says, “God’s grace enables us to fulfill God’s law, and so the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is conferred by Christ Jesus, perfects and fulfills the Mosaic law.”10 As long as our actions are signaled by God’s blessings, then it is safe to say that they are acting with genuine intention, and not to simply gain salvation. These steps towards salvation goes hand-in-hand with “The Mosaic Theory of the Fourth Amendment”. Professor of law Orin S. Kerr talks about how the mosaic theory is used in accordance with the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment entails a person’s rights when it comes to ownership and privacy. The mosaic theory states that, “…searches can be analyzed as a collective sequence of steps rather than as individual steps… Identifying Fourth Amendment searches requires analyzing police actions over time as a collective ‘mosaic’ of surveillance”11 With this, searching a person’s property is done in a multitude of steps rather than single steps. This allows for the searches to be more productive, as it “[requires] courts to answer an extensive list of difficult and novel questions.”12 A sequence of steps is also taken when creating mosaic gold. By melting together tin, mercury, sal ammoniac, and sulphur, then baking the mixture with increasing heat, mosaic gold is created once golden sparkles appear.13 Mosaic gold was its own entity. It was “priced as a
Ibid. Orin S. Kerr, "THE MOSAIC THEORY OF THE FOURTH AMENDMENT." Michigan Law Review 111, no. 3 (2012): 311-54. 12 Ibid. 13 Janet L. Ross, "A Note on the Use of Mosaic Gold." Studies in Conservation 18, no. 4 (1973) 10 11
Go 6 pigment for its own inherent properties.”14 Its purpose was not to replace gold itself or to imitate it, but to be distinguished individually for its own facets. Mosaic gold was also used in reference to technical literature, which “[reflects] an enthusiasm for technological development rather than the belief that an inexpensive substitute for gold had been discovered.”15
Ibid. Ibid.
14 15
Go 7 Annotated Bibliography Carinemahy. "Mosaic." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 28, 2011. https://www.ancient.eu/Mosaic/. This source simply talks about the origins of a mosaic. It briefly mentions how mosaics are usually made with glass or stone. Mosaics were originally found during the 3rd millennium, specifically the Mesopotamian period, at a temple in Ubaid, Mesopotamia. They consisted of ivory, colored stones, and shells. Mosaics continued to be used during the Macedonian period, Hellenistic period, and for Roman flooring. However, the most famous mosaics happen to be from Africa and Syria. Friendly, Michael. "A Brief History of the Mosaic Display." Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics 11, no. 1 (2002): 89-107. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1391129. From being used as narratives in Roman and Greek art to aestheticized architecture, mosaics have served multiple purposes beyond its beauty. Mosaics did not begin as a means of achieving a certain aesthetic. Rather, they were used for data visualization. With the use of rectangles, mosaics were used to present different types of information. It was almost used like today’s table graphs, where its rows and its columns are used to sort categorical data accordingly. This source can be useful is showing the functionality of mosaics besides their distractingly stunning appearances. Jaffer, Jameel. "The Mosaic Theory." Social Research 77, no. 3 (2010): 873-82. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40972296. The mosaic theory is the idea of what seemed like unimportant information becomes important when combined with other unimportant information. Just like a mosaic, the mosaic
Go 8 theory embodies the idea of piecing tiny bits of information together to create a bigger, more structured concept. The theory is mistaken for a description, when it is really an argument. It is used in justifying certain situations. It is used to come to a consensus, as the theory is designed to make disproving it impossible. This source shows the role of a “mosaic” in the argumentative aspect. Kerr, Orin S. "THE MOSAIC THEORY OF THE FOURTH AMENDMENT." Michigan Law Review 111, no. 3 (2012): 311-54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41703445. In regards to the Fourth Amendment, which focuses on a person’s right to privacy and ownership, the mosaic theory proposes that searches can be observed as a collective of steps instead of individual steps. In this source, a mosaic is used as a way to carefully study and understand the Fourth Amendment and what it entails for a citizen. Levering, Matthew. "THE MOSAIC LAW." In Paul in the Summa Theologiae, 109-52. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2014. doi:10.2307/j.ctt7zswbz.8. In the religious aspect, the Mosaic law takes into account Moses’ knowledge and lessons as a means to truly understand the life of Jesus Christ. Italian-Dominican priest Thomas Aquinas believes this Law is for God’s people to prepare for His presence in the various forms He reveals Himself in. Besides Aquinas, other significant figures such as Martin Luther from the period of Reformation disputes that the Mosaic law extracts the goodness of one’s actions, as they are simply motivated by their goal of achieving salvation. With this, “mosaic” meets religion and where the line is drawn when it comes to understanding Christ’s life for the true desire to, or for the desire of making it to Heaven.
Go 9 MacPhail, Eric. "The Mosaic of Speech: A Classical Topos in Renaissance Aesthetics." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 66 (2003): 249-64. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40026317. During the Renaissance period, mosaics had the purpose of retelling stories of classical antiquity. Back then, the goal was to achieve and practice humanism, so the idea of rearranging history resembles that of the physical process of creating a mosaic. On the other hand, mosaics themselves had a voice. The images they displayed allowed them to speak to its viewers. This source touches on the role of mosaics as an interactive and informative tool in the form of speech rather than visual material. Ross, Janet L. "A Note on the Use of Mosaic Gold." Studies in Conservation 18, no. 4 (1973): 174-76. doi:10.2307/1505713. By taking different substances (being tin, mercury, sal ammoniac, and sulphur), mosaic gold is formed, after being mixed together in a jar and baked with increasing heat. The result is a sparkling gold pigment. Mosaic gold was not seen as a substitute for gold itself, but was seen simply for its beautiful facets. Besides its physicality, mosaic gold plays a role in literature as well. In literature, mosaic gold reflected the eagerness for development instead of being mistaken as a deception, or a “substitute”. This source shares the different uses of mosaic gold, in the physical sense and in the world of literature.