Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Miranda- I think it’s really cool you tied the idea of ideal proportions with the Fibonacci sequence. I’ve always been fascinated with it, but I didn’t know it could be found in the human body as well! Thanks for sharing.
In the Classical period, the greeks were obsessed with the perfect physical form. In my drawing class, we were told that there was a large dispute between two different groups of people with different ideas of the perfect human proportions, and that it basically boiled down to one group thinking people were 7 heads tall, and one who thought they were 8. I think that really illustrates how much the greeks valued the idea of perfect proportions. The widespread use of the contrapposto pose in sculpture accentuated these ideal body proportions. This fascination with ideal proportion continued throughout the centuries, as we can see with Leonardo da Vinci’s obsession with depicting the human form, into modern times were photos of people are altered with programs like photoshop to fit our current ideal proportions.
Valene- I like that you brought up how some elders don’t think it’s right to display personal artifacts. I was pretty set in my opinion that the past should be accessible to everyone, but that is a very good point, and now I’m even less sure of what to do with artifacts than I was. Great point.
This is a difficult question. Personally, I don’t think anyone should “own” the past. I think these things should be accessible to everyone with no specific owner, because I feel like everyone benefits from being able to see these artifacts. However, I don’t really think it’s possible for no one to own these items, and I also think it’s important that they are preserved, which requires someone to preserve them. I understand every angle of this issue. I can understand the idea that the person who found it should own it, because we wouldn’t have the artifact if it hadn’t been found. But I also completely understand that the culture that made the item should own it, because it is directly tied to their history. As for being found on a person’s land, I understand that they would want to keep it, but I think, unless it’s a family heirloom or specifically related to that persons history, it shouldn’t really be theirs. I think everyone should have access to these items, and I think it’s important to have things from different cultures represented in all cultures, like the Kore in Berlin. I think having items from different cultures represented everywhere creates interest in cultures other than our own, And I think that’s very important.
Valene- I like that you pointed out the Greek’s obsession with perfect human bodies and athleticism and how that was seen as people achieving their human greatness. That’s really smart! That’s probably why they depicted so many nudes, so that every part of the perfect human form could be seen. It makes so much sense now. Thanks!
According to the American Humanist Association, Humanism is “a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism or other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good”.
Basically, humanists believe that even without divinity in the picture, humans are ethical and good. I think the value the Greeks placed on human beings is very evident in their artwork. For example, Exekias’s Ajax and Achilles Playing a Game depicts two people playing dice. Playing dice is a very human thing to do. Before the Greeks, people were usually only depicted in artwork doing something heroic, like fighting a tiger, going to war, or interacting with gods. In this piece, something very mundane and human is depicted in the same way a heroic scene would be, showing how the Greeks valued human nature.Laura- I think it’s smart how you tied in the short life of the Mycenaeans. It would make sense that their constant conflict lead to their demise. I didn’t think of that but it’s a really good point!
While the Minoans seem to have many vessels for holding wine and other drinks, as well as several artworks depicting some sort of festivities, and the Mycenaean’s artwork depict people going to war, fighting lions, and other displays of strength, I don’t think this necessarily has to mean the Minoans were peaceful and the Mycenaeans weren’t. I think it could be a representation of how the two cultures view conflict. The Mycenaeans celebrate conflict, while the Minoans celebrate times when there wasn’t conflict. I think their perspective artworks could have been a depiction of what they celebrated, not necessarily their realities.
Miranda-I think it’s an interesting idea that they made these claims because they were so excited they convinced themselves they were true, but I think it’s more likely they made these claims for fame and to increase the public’s interest in their findings. But that’s a really interesting point and no one will ever know for sure!
There are several examples of how Sir Arthur Evans’ and Heinrich Schliemann’s perceptions and claims of their discoveries have altered how we still view things today. I think their main goal with their discoveries seem to have been for fame, not preserving culture. Schliemann may have altered the Mask of Agamemnon to make it more appealing to 19th century tastes, so that people would be more impressed and interested with his findings. Arthur Evans claimed that the palace of Knossos was a palace because discovering a palace would have been much more impressive than a home for aristocrats. Evans claimed that the figurine of a woman holding a snake that he discovered was a goddess, once again to make it much more exciting and interesting to the general population than just a figurine of a woman.
Unfortunately, what these two had done just to make their discoveries more interesting the public is still affecting how we see these things today. The complex in Knossos is still widely known as the palace of Knossos (I’ve been there, and I never once heard as it referred to as anything but a palace), and the Snake Goddess is still referred to as the Snake Goddess, even though we have no idea what it was actually a depiction of.That’s a really good point, the environments of the two cultures was very different…I forgot about that. I wonder if that had anything to do with the significance of the afterlife in Egyptian culture and the lack there of in the Mesopotamian culture? I’m not sure how it would, but that would be something interesting to look into. Nice post.
A common thing between Egyptian and Mesopotamian art is the exaggeration of the rulers powers and relating them to the gods in some way. Another similar thing between the two is building large structures, like the pyramids and the Ziggurats, to both breach the distance to the gods and be a large physical monument of the ruler’s power. One of the main differences between Egyptian and Mesopotamian art is the obsession with the afterlife present in Egyptian artwork. Many of the large structures, like the pyramids and the Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut, were made either as tombs or to honor the afterlife, whereas the large Mesopotamian structures were made for worship and to show the king’s power.
I think you made a really good point about text. It would be hard for us to figure out what is going on in a lot of the art work if it wasn’t for the text that accompanies it. And text is its own kind of art, especially hieroglyphs, so it answered the question! Great points!
It’s very clear how important the gods were in Egyptian culture. One example that stood out to me was the sculpture of Amun located at the Temple of Amun at Karnak. This statue was washed and dressed in fresh clothes daily, and priests would leave food twice a day. This clearly illustrates just how important the gods were. Another example is how much work and art went into a persons passage into the afterlife. The books of the dead, the giant tombs, and funerary temples all took massive amounts of skill and time. As mentioned previously, the Egyptians viewed death as the time when they were able to meet the gods (which is clearly illustrated in the books of the dead) and the amount of art that was dedicated to this moment and what came after, shows how much they valued that idea.
I think the carved vessel from Uruk is a very good example of social hierarchy. At the bottom of the vase there are plants, on the next tier up there are animals, which shows that this vase depicts a sort of food chain. Then there are a line of men who could either just be working class people or slaves, and then at the very top there is the king and a goddess. The fact that the king and the goddess are on the same level implies that they are on the same level in the social hierarchy as well, illustrating the extent of the power the priest kings had.
