The Sumerian and Egyptian Creation Stories

The Enuma Elish speaks of the creation of the world, which was a struggle between chaos and cosmic order.  It speaks of the cycle of seasons, wherein two primitive gods, Apsu and Tiamat, creates other gods, such as Ea and his brothers, all responsible for the creation of light, firmament, dry land, luminaries, and man.  On the other hand, the Egyptian creation story speaks also of the cosmic order and the magnitude of the Nile river, which was said to exist when nothing, save water (called Nu) and light, have ever existed.  Out of Nu, everything began when floods recede and then emerges the land Nu swallows the sun, creating darkness as well as the stars plants emerge from Geb, the earth god, and Atum who wept tears of joy, creating men and the rest of the world.

Despite the fact that both believed the primitive earth to contain only water and light, the differences between these two myths lies on the fact that Enuma Elish believed earth to be a giant continent that remains in the sea, while the Egyptian epic believes earth to be the creation of Nu or the swirling watery chaos (Deurer 2008).  Also, there is the divine speech in Enuma Elish, containing the power to create the earth and the world but the Egyptian myth indicates that the power resides in water or Nu, and Atum, the sun god responsible for the creation of the land, plants, animals, and men.  Enuma Elish centers more on chaos, while Egyptian centers more on the Nile water where the primitive earth was said to take place.

The Enuma Elish contains similarities with Genesis of the Hebrew, which also describes cosmic order and the divine speech of one powerful god.  The Egyptian myth is similar to the Indian myth where there was chaos, death, and hunger in the primitive earth.

Catholic and Protestant Baroque Art

Baroque art today is regarded with wonder and respect for the talented artists that produced such pieces. The term baroque though was once derogatory and in fact means odd or irregularly shaped. It was used in the eighteenth century to describe the styles departure from the Italian Renaissance. Surviving pieces of Baroque art today have common elements, although they also have many differences. While Baroque art was initially practiced by Catholic artists, the style was later widely adopted even by Protestants. Thus, Catholic Baroque art shares many similarities with Protestant Baroque art but the disagreements between these two religious beliefs also reflect on their art pieces.
   
The Catholic resurgence known as the Counter-Reformation occurred during the Thirty Years War, which ended in 1648. The Counter-Reformation pushed forward all the practices and beliefs the Protestant Reformation went up against. While Protestants were iconoclasts who were repulsed by religious sculptures and paintings in churches, Catholics glorified and created more images as they reaffirmed the communion of saints. In the seventeenth century, the Catholic Church was the largest source of artistic commissions and it aimed to forward its beliefs through art pieces made in the Baroque style (Nici 312).
   
At the end of the sixteenth century, Baroque art started to flourish to express the mentality and ideas of the Counter-Reformation. Dominant motifs in Baroque art include mystery, drama, passion and grandeur. Generally, as can be seen in the Jesuit church of Gesu in Rome, Baroque attempts to integrate all art forms to achieve a unified religious experience. Massive emotionally sculpted statues of saints and other religious figures were created to evoke the peoples faith in Catholic heroes and heroines. Wall murals richly decorated and colored with Biblical events emphasize the power and grace of God. Two of the most famous Catholic artists were Giovanni Bernini and Peter Paul Rubens who produced spectacular pieces still revered today (McGonigle 27).

As for Protestant Baroque art, Dutch masters Rembrandt and Vermeer stand out among others with their fabulous art pieces. While Rembrandt was careful not to be a dogmatist, he did believe in basic Protestant beliefs. One of the most common features of paintings by Protestant Dutch masters is fluctuating light that gives off an expressive and mysterious atmosphere. Rembrandt utilized chiaroscuro in his pictorial representations along with a bold impasto to create pieces loaded with visual and spiritual meaning. He also emphasized a Protestant belief through the use of light  that spirituality is not separate from real life, and that these two compose one unified existence (Barber 277). Thus, the sacred and the secular exist at the same time in the lives of people.
   
Catholic Baroque architecture is very similar to its painting counterpart. Baroque architects highlighted movement and contrast to increase the visual impact of their works. Churches and other buildings designed in this style had numerous twisted columns, swags, volutes, and an overwhelming amount of detail to capture peoples attention and proclaim the beauty and power of God. The unwritten rule was to create everything in such away that nothing is simple, rigid or restrained (White 27). The overall effect of these architectural pieces was a spectacular display of movement, exuberance and vitality seemingly to differentiate itself from its commonplace earthly surroundings.
   
As the Baroque style spread to the north, Protestants absorbed and changed it to serve different purposes. For example, in Holland, the Mauritshuis in the Hague was designed in the Baroque style, thus the grandeur shared by Catholic Baroque buildings. However, the Mauritshuis noticeably has less detail than its Catholic counterparts. The main principle in Protestant Baroque architecture seems to be controlled movement, power and elegance.
   
When it comes to Baroque literature, the poet Richard Crashaw epitomizes the sensibilities of Catholic Baroque writers. Like Baroque churches that cant be contained by the usual boundaries of architecture, Baroque poetry cant be controlled by the usual limits of meter, conventional metaphors, and other literary traditions. Crashaw along with other writers tried to come up with grand metaphors to describe their overwhelming religious feelings (Summitt 87). Their metaphors were so expressive that they sometimes verged on grotesque. For example, Crashaws Hymn to Saint Teresa vividly illustrates the religious ecstasy of Saint Teresa, describing her experience as similar to being pierced with a spear. He even mentioned delicious wounds to project Saint Teresas suffering (Hopkins and Steggle 96).
   
Protestant Baroque literature also showed characteristics of grandeur and passion though it pushed for a different set of beliefs. One of the most significant Protestant literary works in Baroque style is John Miltons Paradise Lost, which tried to join Christian beliefs with the principles of Renaissance humanism (Reich and Cunningham 196). Milton, who had diverse religious beliefs but was generally a Protestant, expressed heightened spirituality, drama and psychological insight in this classic literary piece.
   
Catholic and Protestant Baroque both illustrate the powerful passion of the people in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who wanted change. While Catholic Baroque of the Counter-Reformation strived to emphasize the value and beauty of religion, Protestant Baroque maintained the importance of the secular in spiritually connecting with God.  Both types of Baroque show that specific feelings can be evoked through the use of different techniques in various art forms. In painting, architecture and literature, both are also useful models for todays artists who want to learn how to express powerful movement and emotion through their work. Thus, Catholic and Protestant Baroque art pieces must be preserved.

Garde Manger

Garde Manger is a phrase which remains inevitably attached to food industry around the globe. Garde Manger is actually a French term for the cool, well-ventilated pantry area (usually in hotels and large restaurants) where cold buffet dishes are prepared and other foods are stored in refrigerated units (Food Dictionary Garde Manger). Often the term itself can refer to one who keeps such a pantry area. Well-built restaurants and cafes give a more extended labour range for Garde Manger including supplementary responsibilities like producing ornamental essentials of buffet arrangement, counter positioning and eatable centrepieces completed from supplies such as ice, cheese, butter, saline bread and tallow.

Generally, in contemporary kitchens, they are identical with restaurant chefs and are given the responsibilities of handling salads, soups, desserts, stuffing and other cold dishes. It can be seen as an initial stage of the cooking process. A simple definition of Garde Manger will not be able to cover the entire extent of the words context, because the stretched area in food industry as well as the chef and the item itself, all come under the scope of this term. The statement a Garde manger works at the Garde manger preparing Garde manger will itself vouch for this fact. (Garde Manger What is Garde Manger). This paper attempts to eliminate the perplexity in the aforesaid quotation with the completion of the analysis that follows.

Medieval period in history had aristocracy in their lap and so had their splendid lifestyles. As a part of these, their hideouts had elaborate areas for culinary purposes. Cooks were forced to develop their own methods of preparing various dishes and preserving them for long periods. Household employees, known as garde mangers or stewards, were responsible for maintaining the Garde manger area and prepared, stocked, and distributed all of the food that was stored there (Garde Manger What is Garde Manger).

(Garde Manger What is Garde Manger).
Wealthy mansions had an array of resources of food in store which had to be preserved by some or other means chosen by those grade mangers. Hunts and domestication created much significance for conservation of food stuffs in such houses for storing it properly for future use. During those times, cold storage techniques like refrigeration were not available. The garde mangers were made in underground rooms to get cooling effect and safety advantages for stuffs stored. The workers developed their own methods as well as combined it with traditional ways to perform their duties. With the passage of time, they acquired skills to prepare sauces, pates etc., leading to an advanced stage of grade manger than before. Later, these were considered by the owners who utilized these as a business gaining much profit. But governmental curiosity regarding the quality and cleanliness of those stuffs often put constraints on this business. Later on, as trade became intense, workers were compelled to modify existing techniques for better, cheaper and efficient models. Enhancements in garde manger business, paved the way for specialization and professionalism in this field as well.

This, in turn, turned out to be the realistic foundation for the present status of garde manger. It was the French Revolution that gave opportunities for household garde mangers to leave their jobs to seek better positions in various restaurants. The revolution also compelled nobles to leave their dwellings, giving freedom for their employees. At restaurants, garde manger became a specifically important position helping its owners in deriving more revenues. Thus arose the wide spread demand for these skilled workers in eateries and this job soon got elevated to the status of an elite profession. From this point of shift, there has been a tremendous development in the garde manger area of food industry, forging a clear distinction between classical and modern. As evident, a real gap has been created between both, due to various innovations of science and technology and several additions and modifications that this concept underwent.
Garde manger is categorized as classical and modern based on the difference in techniques and outlook.

Classical Garde Manger relies upon traditional methods of preparations and storage. Modern Garde Mangers have the support of technologies like refrigeration and various artificial preservative techniques. The role of the modern chef Garde manger, or larder chef, has evolved in response to changes in dining trends and in technology in the kitchen. (Hunter, Tinton and Carey). Initially, curing and brining were the main techniques used for preservation which was supported at a later stage by sauces and spices. The invention of refrigeration and the successful results brought in by a wide range of chemicals as preservatives have created the era of modernism in garde manger. Recently, a trend of ornamentation and arrangements in an elaborate manner has become common.

(Modern Garde Manger 1e).
The actual duties of garde manger cannot be confined toa few stipulated processes as its scope stretches far beyond that concept. The labor of the chefs who perform these duties often extends much beyond the tables they serve. The preparation procedures are executed from which various dishes are served and garnished to reach the final table of consumption. They have to observe even the slightest cut made and minute curving accomplished. The success of garde manger lies in their dedication and involvements in performing an assigned job.  There is a necessity for the professional garde manger to acquire varied sets of skills for functioning efficiently in a modern kitchen. Cookery is a rapidly evolving area where innovations give a new tinge to the concept of taste. Besides, knowledge about foundation of existing systems is very much essential in evolving better strategies to achieve success. Every culinary professional should understand this. There is no substitute for education and experience. (Garde Manger). Proper information and training on most modern techniques compared and contrasted against classical methods will have higher level utility.
The image below shows a representation of modern Garde Manger.

(Garde Manger Garde Manger in the Modern World).
Every aspects of garde manger cannot be identified and stated, but it is true to a great extent that modern grade manger professionals have more responsibilities than classical, ranging from starter dish preparation to party presentations.
Following is an interview conducted with Mr. Williams Peck who has experience of 10 years as a garde manger chef at Food Court.

Q. What is your opinion about your work

A. When I speak about it, of course, I should mention how much I enjoy when Im into it. This job gives me an opportunity to facilitate the satisfactions of numerous people in food industry, both customers and employers. In fact it gives me great contentment.

Q. Could you describe a day at work

A. Im working in a place where there are 15 workers for whom Im the leader and supervisor. The day starts and ends with my breath. When I reach my work place, the first thing I do is to get the entire place arranged in order to begin my job Then the plan I prepared at the dawn of previous days work, comprising of entire labor and requisites for the day is divided among different individuals. Assigned sections are evaluated by them and they list out the needed raw materials that are presently not available. Those are bought and we carry on with our work. I will go through the entire sections of our garde manger to see whether everything is moving in the proper way. I also have to check the preparation of the mix and the ingredient flavor for all items. However, serving is not done instantly, but only on the basis of orders, with the final touch up and garnishing as well as ornamentation.  This is the usual routine apart from which there will be extra work of hall arrangements for buffet parties at times. My day ends up with the same job I did at the start.

Q. In your 10 years of experience, can you quote any day which you cherish the most

A. Yes, of course I had the chance to arrange a lot of parties. The one arranged about 3 years ago for the marriage function of my brother was really the most memorable one in my career. It turned out to be a milestone in the name of our Food Court itself.

Q. What about debate on classical vs. modern

A. In my opinion, classical remains purely the same as it was years ago while modem is not something apart from classical. We use almost all techniques employed by classical garde mangers along with the utilization of certain contributions from technology. Refrigeration, of course, has created a real shift in our industry and it has traversed through various stages of development in the course of its evolution. Again, microwave technology is another significant benchmark in this development. Anyways, modern is somewhat application of technologies as compared to classical procedures which were purely based on traditional methods without the use of technology.

Q. What specific traits about garde manger inspire people to take up this career

A. People who know about it see it as a unique profession. Since the present day garde manger in most cases is a fusion o f both classic and modern it gives the job a definitive identity. Actually, it is the art of cooking and serving which cannot be studied but can be developed by practice.

Q. What advice would you give to an up-and-coming garde manger professional

A. Realistic approach in this field will mold a professional garde manger. My advice is that people who choose this job should attain the skills of culinary exquisiteness to achieve what is called satisfaction through numerous satisfied people.

Q. What changes, if any, you see happening in foodservice right now related to garde manger

A. The chief and prominent variation in trend is regarding the arrangements and decorations for dishes and tables. Earlier, there was no such widespread requisite for these, but it remained limited to taste, flavor and number of dishes. Now the scenario has changed giving more importance to creativity.

Q. How have your garde manger skills helped you in other areas of cooking

A. Ability to adapt is the first and foremost trait a good garde manger should have. This will help him to traverse through the varied paths that he will be compelled to, in the culinary world.

Q. What about the influence of your job in your personal life

A. Frankly speaking, my friends and relatives tease me about my arrangements and decorations maintained at home especially in my kitchen. In fact, my job made me much ordered and self managed.

A garde manger professional should essentially have creativity, patience, innovativeness and interest for novelties. Charged taste buds are his targets which he attempts to achieve with real time adaptation to circumstances and techniques. Always, such a professional should have dedication and concern for his assigned job.

Haute-couture  or high fashion  is the fashions hallmark of artistry. Made specifically for the wearer meticulously by hand, haute-couture is one of the most expensive articles of clothing anyone can own. A piece can cost from 16,000 to more than 60,000 and the prices are rising. With about hundreds of hours dedicated into creating one of these pieces, the high price range seems justifiable to those who take the value of wearing a piece of art to heart. This fashion clothing is usually exclusive and pieces are made after setting appointments with the designers and are entertained with a personal touch by their vendeuse, giving the couture a more high end feel.

Haute-couture fabrics are also different from ordinary fabrics. They usually include luxurious and novelty fabrics including silk, fine wool, cashmere, cotton, linen, leather, suede, and other skins and furs. Some of these fabrics may even be reserved specifically for a couture house, especially those with big names. Among the fashion couture houses, these are some of the most prominent include Cardin, Yves St. Laurent, Guy Laroche, Nina Ricci, Givenchy, Christian Dior, Louis Feraud, and Chanel. Given this list, it is evident that the French are leading in the haute couture industry and are also the prime players when it comes to fashion weeks in the fashion capitals of the world (New York, Paris, London and Japan).

The haute couture fashion display in the Paris Fashion Week for SpringSummer 2010 has a prevalent theme relaxed, expressive elegance. Most of the embellishments, frills and striking colors of the past year were gone. Also, many of the top fashion houses are showing a nostalgic feel with their collections that resemble fashion from the 1960s or somewhere near that time period, while some even went further back in time. Others achieved a dream-like effect for their lines, such as Elie Saab. Blacks, whites, metallic and earth tones seem to prevail among the haute couture lines this time around.

Woven from Sumatra, Bali, India Also contemporary shapes are in style with cuffed shorts, slim pants, kimono-jackets, shell-tops, sashed jackets, vests and pinafores.

St. George and the Dragon

One of the stories in the book,  Golden Legend  presents the life of St. George as he came into Silene, a city in the province of Libya. In the said city, there exists a dragon that feeds on sheep and children as ordained by the law made by the king. When the time came that the Kings daughter is asked to be fed to the dragon, S. George passed by and wounded the dragon. He later on killed the dragon on the condition that the people submit their selves for baptism.
   
In the National Gallery of Art, there are a handful of art pieces that create an image of S. George as he slays the dragon. One of the most interesting pieces is a figure sculpted from alabaster and finished with paint. The sculptor of the said piece is unknown but it is said to belong to an artists in the 14th and 15th century English (National Gallery of Art, 2010). The fact that it withstood the attacks from the Protestant Reformation makes it a significant part of history. However, it is noted that some parts of the sculpture is missing, such as the head of the princess and the lance used to kill the dragon.
   
The texture of the painting is mainly smooth and the other details are left to be emphasized through painting. There are four elements present in the sculpture that clearly shows the idea that the dragon has been killed by S. George while riding his horse and has the purpose of saving the princess. These four characters, S. George, the horse, the dragon, and the princess, all played a significant role during the time when the dragon was killed. In the sculpture, it is also noticeable that the dragon is painted with a different color from the rest of the figure. The dragon was wrapped around at the bottom with red and black colors to accentuate the ferocious character of the red dragon.

Art and Culture from the 13th to 15th Century

Indian art and culture forms have since long inspired thousands of other art forms. India is considered a land of kings, monarchs, with rich culture and deep traditions. Indias culture dates back to 1300 A.D when the greatest of art forms developed and flourished over the next 3 centuries until the 1600s A.D where in artifacts and structures such as the Taj Mahal, Lal Qila were built in and around the capital of India. Right since the start, many religions and sects such as Parsi, Hinduism, Islam contributed their share towards the development of a beautiful system of art where in there was complete harmony and peace among the artists.

Speaking of the religious system in India, there were mainly Islamic rulers during the 13th Century in India, who had their masses as followers of Islam in majority, except for some of the subjects who followed their respective religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism etc. Talking about the Islamic rulers, since they captured the capital of India, i.e. Delhi, it was known as the Sultanate of Delhi, which meant that the Islamic rulers had captured the area of Delhi. It is largely suggested in History that the 13th century was a period of Indian Cultural Renaissance where in Hindu-Muslim relations fostered and paved way for many artistic forms to take concrete form such as poetry, literature, music, clothing and many others. It is also said that the language of Urdu was born as a result of the fusion between Sanskrit and Persian languages spoken by the scholars during the times of

Babur, Humayun and Akbar. Urdu language continues to inspire poetries from the East till date and poetry in ghazals and sufi songs remains a novelty even in todays times. The Mughal dynasty was not the only empire ruling India during the 13th, 14th, and the 15th century. The Vijaynagar empire was also famous far and wide, and known especially for it wonderful architecture and frescoes on the walls of the palace and temples which often included those of Hindu deities. Till date, we see that those famous frescoes on the walls are replicated in some form or the other and sold in western countries where theyre hugely popular among the people of Indian origin living there, who are citizens of the western countries. During the 14th century, Vasco Da Gama found an Indo-European trade link, which proved to be a big success for Indian art to spread worldwide, and tell the whole world what a powerhouse of customs, traditions, skilled artisans and technicians. But by that time, Indian handicraft industry started suffering, since colonial rule bought about the new policies where in just raw materials from India were sent to Europe for processing in factories, and which were later returned as highly priced polished articles back to India. Thus, people purchased handicrafts from those imported goods and small scale art production houses died out.

During the 15th Century, Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar became the ruler of Delhi. His palace was famous for the Nav-ratans. Till date, we see that people speak about Birbal and Tansen, and kids from all over the world read their stories. As we move on to something yet more modern at mind but yet so old at heart, we can say that during the 1500s, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born.

So Indian dance forms and customs have something which is classical in nature, and has its roots in and around the 13th century, yet are still famous in western cultures. On a final note about the Hindu arts and customs, I think that due to the rising popularity of the Buddhist culture and art forms, which originated in and around China, for a small period of time, Hinduism lost focus, and many started following Buddhism. It is believed that after the phase of Gautam Buddha, the art started picking up.

Talking about the Jain aspect of it, Jains are said to be the most harmless human beings, since they avoid even walking on the grass for the fear of facing the wrath of their God for hurting the life in the grass. Many high class and excellent Jain sculptures have been found at various places where in there are rock cut caves and stupas too. Such places in India include MP, Bundelkhand, and cave temples in Orissa. These provide a source of entertainment, tourism and a method of appreciating art by the westerners who visit India. Now leaving aside the artistic and cultural influence which Hindus, Jains and Buddhists have on the west, let us consider the influence of the whole Indian art from a broader point of view. Art is a multi-faceted term, and is found on every facet and every nook and corner in India. The Indian art and culture thus tends to influence people by the following

Bollywood movies We project all our holy customs, traditions and art forms of dance, acting and drama on screen through our movies and plays. Hence, this catches the attention of the west.

Tourism Various tourism since the time of the rulers has shown that India is beautiful both aesthetically as well as artistic and culturally. This helps Indians spread all kinds of their Jain, Hindu and Buddhist culture to the west.

Through seminars and conferences The conferences and seminars of art and art pieces held by Indian art maestros in foreign land have an impact on them.
With the addition of Islam, and the recent activities by Islamic fundamentalists in the name of religion have to a large extent spoiled the name of their religion. People now fear Islamic people wherever they see them, for the very fact that they assume all Islam followers to be extremists. Though regular seminars and conferences the world over say that the meaning of Islam is Peace, the western countries have a changed attitude towards all the Gulf countries and basically, the Islamic populated region, and theyre often treated with hostility and suspicion. The religion Islam in itself has many art forms to offer, such as palmistry (which falls under the category of mystical art), classical music, classical dances, poetry etc. With over 100s of languages being spoken in the country of India, and so the addition of Islam, the language system has become more diverse and cultures have become difficult to comprehend, accept and understand. Thus, there are increased forms too. If there is a way of promoting the artistic works and cultural interests of Islamic group, it must be ensured that all of them are literate enough, so that there is no crime or rating in this field of art work.

Young artist, know that art is the first and last thing you will ever affine yourself with when emotions bring you down and when you heart beats steadily to be heard by the world. 

As an artist I value the opportunity and the privilege to be able to express myself in a means not all people have the privilege of possessing.  In my art I do not seek the recognition of many or the material gain that could come with my art over and above these things, I seek meaning in my art so that it should represent my innermost emotions as well as the beauty that is beyond the superficiality of man.  As an artist I aim to be able to convey advocacies and internal ideals and principles through my art.  I envision being able to share of myself, my experiences, my culture, and my beliefs through my art.  I find comfort in my art, and if there is one thing that needs to be changed in my chosen field it would perhaps be the faulty perception of other people of art being elitist and isolating. 

I love my art, and in as much as I want to share it with other people, I also want to be able to touch hearts, influence lives, and uplift emotions through the beauty that is art.  In a world where every artist has to strive to be heard or to be seen, I envision a future where each artist speaks with a language of hisher own, a language that although not universal, is understood not on the level of verbal communication but on the level of enlightenment. 

I want my art to reach as much people as it can, not because I seek fame and fortune, but because art belongs to the people, and in fact, not to the artist.  Once a piece is created, it ceases to be of the artist and begins to become part of a universal and more encompassing consciousness that is responsible for all creative expression in the universe.  Art for me should include and not exclude it should breed understanding and never ignorance.