Hanscom - Lion's Gate Statue

        When we had class outside at Lion's Gate, we had a good discussion about the statue at the top of the hill. The statue commemorated a man who was responsible for making the space around it a place for the public to visit and enjoy. The statue was a very tall, geometric design of a man taming a horse with a bit in the horse's mouth on top. At the bottom of the sculpture, there are four sculptures of men holding different objects representing things we really value in American culture. One of the figures was holding a painter's palette with brushes to represent art, another figure was holding a compass with some paper to represent math/science, the third figure was holding an anvil to represent the trades that use this object for metalwork, and the fourth figure was holding a book by Homer to represent literature/storytelling. These four things represented the most important aspects of American culture at the time this sculpture was made. 

         The man taming the horse at the top represented man's control and authority over the wild. The horse was being tamed with a bit in his mouth, which may seem a bit aggressive and unnecessary to those from an oral culture like the Native Americans. It was interesting to think about the way someone from an oral culture may view this sculpture, and how their culture would depict this sculpture differently. We all agreed that the Native Americans would treat the horses with less force and more respect. One of the Native American myths that we read in class explained how the Indians would let a horse go if they believed it was too spirited or strong to be tamed. They would not try to break a horse if it was meant to go out into the wild. I thought this was a better way to treat an animal, and I'm sure there a many white people that would agree. The statue reveals the attitude of those who came before us when they conquered this land; they sought to dominate and control the wild instead of learning to peaceful exist with their environment. 



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