[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.61,0:00:08.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we think of classic works of art,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.54,0:00:12.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the most common setting we imagine them in is a museum.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.36,0:00:14.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what we often forget is that much of this art
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.82,0:00:17.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was not produced with a museum setting in mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.53,0:00:19.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What happens to an artwork
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.22,0:00:22.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it's taken out of its originally intended context?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.81,0:00:26.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take the example of Michelangelo's Statue of David,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.30,0:00:29.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,depicting the boy hero who slew the giant philistine, Goliath,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.93,0:00:33.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,armed with only his courage and his slingshot.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.05,0:00:37.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When Michelangelo began carving a block of pure white marble
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.29,0:00:39.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to communicate this famous Biblical story,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.56,0:00:42.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the city of Florence intended to place the finished product
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.35,0:00:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,atop their grand cathedral.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.62,0:00:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not only would the 17 foot tall statue
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.88,0:00:48.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,be easily visible at this height,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.100,0:00:51.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but its placement alongside 11 other statues
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.90,0:00:55.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Old Testament heroes towering over onlookers
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.06,0:00:57.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would have a powerful religious significance,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.66,0:01:01.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forcing the viewer to stare in awe towards the heavens.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.72,0:01:05.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But by the time Michelangelo had finished the work, in 1504,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.26,0:01:08.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the plans for the other statues had fallen through,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.38,0:01:11.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the city realized that lifting such a large sculpture to the roof
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.73,0:01:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would be more difficult than they had thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.20,0:01:17.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Furthermore, the statue was so detailed and lifelike,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.43,0:01:19.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,down to the bulging veins in David's arm
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.69,0:01:22.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the determination on his face,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.01,0:01:26.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it seemed a shame to hide it so far from the viewer.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.09,0:01:28.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A council of politicians and artists
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.06,0:01:31.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,convened to decide on a new location for the statue.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.44,0:01:34.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ultimately voting to place it in front of the Palazzo della Signoria,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.93,0:01:38.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the town hall and home of the new Republican government.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.56,0:01:41.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This new location transformed the statue's meaning.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.44,0:01:44.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Medici family, who for generations had ruled the city
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.66,0:01:48.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through their control of banking, had recently been exiled,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.39,0:01:50.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Florence now saw itself as a free city,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.75,0:01:54.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,threatened on all sides by wealthy and powerful rivals.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.03,0:01:58.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,David, now the symbol of heroic resistance against overwhelming odds,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.20,0:02:00.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was placed with his intense stare,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.29,0:02:04.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,now a look of stern warning, focused directly towards Rome,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.13,0:02:06.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the home of Cardinal Giovanni de Medici.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.82,0:02:09.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Though the statue itself had not been altered,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.40,0:02:12.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,its placement changed nearly every aspect of it
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.27,0:02:15.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a religious to a political significance.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.11,0:02:18.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Though a replica of David still appears at the Palazzo,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.52,0:02:21.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the original statue was moved in 1873
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.42,0:02:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where it remains today.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.68,0:02:28.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the orderly, quiet environment of the museum,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.66,0:02:31.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,alongside numerous half-finished Michelangelo sculptures,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.83,0:02:35.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,overt religious and political interpretations fall away,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.20,0:02:38.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,giving way to detached contemplation of Michelangelo's
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.22,0:02:40.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,artistic and technical skill.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.45,0:02:43.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But even here, the astute viewer may notice
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.12,0:02:46.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that David's head and hand appear disproportionately large,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.56,0:02:49.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a reminder that they were made to be viewed from below.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.56,0:02:52.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, not only does context change the meaning
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.100,0:02:55.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and interpretation of an artwork throughout its history,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.68,0:02:59.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sometimes it can make that history resurface
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.14,0:03:01.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the most unexpected ways.