Pomegranates

Type of Work: Sculpture
Fall 2014

How do humans experience foreign cultures? When surrounded by a language you do not know, you can hear, but not truly listen. When surrounded by customs you do not practice, you can learn about and witness them, but chances are you will not suddenly adopt them as your own. Humans are divided by their differing cultures, but in small ways, we can find common links among us.

For many cultures spanning thousands of years, one commonality is the pomegranate. After researching the use of the pomegranate across time and culture, I selected nine cultures that revered, rebuked, or reveled in the small red fruit to depict side by side, united in one display:

• Ancient Egyptians:
  believed eating the pomegranate could heal all ills

• Ancient Persians:
  thought finding a golden pomegranate granted immortality

• Ancient Greeks:
  believed eating the pomegranate bound one to the underworld

• Medieval Israeli Jews:
  thought the pomegranate to be a symbol of temptation

• Medieval European Christians:
  believed the pomegranate symbolized the Resurrection

• Medieval Middle Eastern Muslims:
  thought the pomegranate symbolized both paradise and forbidden pleasure

• Modern Indians:
  liken the pomegranate to be “as bitter as a woman’s mind”

• Modern Armenians:
  believe that when smashed against a wall, a pomegranate promises to bring marital bliss

• Modern Chinese:
  when consumed at a wedding, a pomegranate promises to bring fertility and prosperity