by Cyn Rene' Whitfield
The Rubenesque fighters enter their chambers routinely with one mission… to create a healthier, better self image. These David- and Gibson Girl-like seekers work hard at shedding their Baroque images in the name of fitness. They appear to expend a lot of energy getting nowhere in the same destination while fixated on a box delivering communication by imprisoned messengers about alternative means of transportation and the rising cost of energy. Their surrealist belief is that expending energy on treadmills to nowhere will attain the desired Vitruvian physical outcome of daVinci canon proportions.
The chambers relate back to their ancient Greek history where competitors gathered to train for public games. These gymnasiums are filled with challenging apparatus that lure Rubenesque fighters into believing that mere membership equates to healthiness. In addition to this pumping irony is the presence of reflective walls which create a sense of ego and envy for those that have succeeded yet a deteriorating reminder for those that have not. The participants are constant reminders of what was and what could be which is evident by variety of uniforms (or in some cases lack of as they appear to shed a second skin). It would appear the less one wears the more experienced the fighter.
Hydration seems to be the key necessity for these fighters. Rubenesque culture seems to fixate on moisture both captured in bottles and worn as honor. And not unlike da Vinci’s Last Supper some appear to be making real sacrifices in the name of nutrition. Time also seems to be a concern in the chambers. Each station appears to have specific area of interest they refer to as cardio, strength and weight loss.
Vitruvian geometrical construction of these fighters appear over time on this planet in various acceptances. Approximately six million view the Mona Lisa at the Louvre chambers each year yet none of these Rubenesque fighters see this Renaissance period body image as a goal. In this planets Elizabethan period Bianca Cappello would have been hard pressed to find a scale and torment over the numbers, yet she is famed for her great beauty. A beauty goddess called Marilyn Monroe from a more recent time was said to be a size 12 – 16 which is a starting point for observed Rubensque fighters. Artist Andy Warhol, from the caloric Pop Movement, mass produced Monroe’s beauty in silkscreen prints and are considered inspirational yet not a desirable goal for these Rubenesque fighters.
The more rationale and yet dishonest fighters appear to have found the best weapon to their goals in the recent technology called Photoshop. Body image transformation and imperfections can also be found in the art of professions called plastic surgeons which defy the use of these chambers. But, nonetheless the Rubenesque fighters carry on their routine in search of a van Gough image while sculpting their bodies to attain a surrealistic perfection.
This review of the assimilation between body image and art is difficult to understand on a planet that prides itself in “up sizing” and “biggie” portions of nourishment. Looking historically at a developed civilization that built pyramids, carved monuments and constructed a massive infrastructure it is difficult to justify these energy expending chambers of non production.
