The art in Mt. Weather is something that linked to the story in season 2, and in part of season 3. I’ve seen people talk about the paintings mostly, but not the sculptures so much. I’m only going to talk about one sculpture in particular, however, and that’s the one that Jasper knocks over when he’s frustrated that he can’t find Maya’s favorite painting.
I had to do a little bit of digging, but I’m from what I can see of the statue in the episode, I believe it’s supposed to be the Discobolus, or at least a replica of it.
the above are pictures from the show and below is an image from the British museum website
It’s an image that’s pretty recognizable, as it’s a pretty iconic image of the Olympics. The original was created by Myron in ancient Greece, who was pretty known for his sculptures of athletes. It isn’t the statue itself that I think means something in the scene in 3x02, but rather the things that have been said about it from a design and artistic viewpoint.
What seems to be the thing that most experts agree on is that there’s a fluidity to the movement, accompanied by the calm expression on the discus throwers face. As if Myron had sculpted him in such a way that he is in a perfect state of control of mind and body, and perhaps even soul. It’s this here that makes it interesting that this is the statue they decided on having Jasper knock over.
The statue is an embodiment of someone in a state of control, of sound body, mind and soul. This is the complete opposite of where Jasper is in this scene, and for much of season 3. The way in which Jasper knocks it off its stand, it lands so that the head shatters first, and then the torso, leaving the base and legs in tact. Now, it already makes sense that the head would shatter first given the way in which he shoves it, but we can also look at it in another way. A way that parallels Jasper’s PTSD.
The head of the statue is the first thing that hits the ground.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a disorder that effects the brain, which often leads to a subset of mental disorders, mood disorders (such as depression and anxiety) *for more specifics on how/which parts of the brain are effected read here *
The body breaks after the head
PTSD can often lead a drinking or drug problem, which we know that Jasper was already prone to do that stuff, but the PTSD only increased it by a lot. The mental illness (the head shattering first) can lead to poor care of the body (the body of the statue breaking second)
The base of the statue stays in tact.
Another word for base is foundation, and even though someone might suffer from PTSD or another mental illness does not mean they have entirely changed as people. The foundation of who Jasper is is still there. We start to see it more and more as season 3 goes on. In this moment it’s hard to see that the foundation is still in tact because we’re so focused on all the debris.
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