8/2/13

Unit #1, Lecture #2: Pre-Historic Art, Art Before History

LECTURE OUTLINE

BIG IDEAS, CONCEPTS AND TOPICS DISCUSSED

Paleolithic Art 30,000 - 9,000 BCE Art predates the invention of writing by tens of
thousand of year. As a result we cannot understand the artwork within the context of
historical events or cultural beliefs and practices that may have shaped the content,
visual qualities, meaning and purpose of the artworks. These artworks are a
testament to mans ability to not just recognize the world but to edit and represent it
according to their needs / vantage point. The female form and animal motifs
dominate the subject matter of carved sculptures and cave paintings that varied in
size. The Paleolithic artist was primarily concerned with the depiction of animals and
women as basic representations or rather pictorial concepts. Thus, sculptures of
women focused on the form of the body rather than facial details that would have
otherwise personalized the sculpture; and animals are seen in profile - including
head, body, tail, and all four legs, as this is the information needed to clearly
recognize the image or concept of the animal

Neolithic Art 8,000 - 2,3000 BCE spread throughout Mesopotamia, Anatolia and
Western Europe after the ice receded. During this period man developed agriculture
and became herders rather than hunters and gatherers. Nomadic lifestyles
diminished and settlements developed. Towns included shrines, and sculptural
artifacts were found that indicate that early settlement life included complex
funerary rituals. Monumental sculpture and structures were erected, indicating rapid
technological and intellectual developments. Themes such as ritual, the spiritual
world and sacred spaces, as well as coherent narratives become identifiable in art
and architecture. However, the exact context and meaning/purpose of the artwork
and monumental structures of this time period is still largely unknown due to the
lack of recorded history,

VOCABULARY
monumental, representation, enigma, relief sculpture, bulbous, findspot, motifs,
pigments, twisted perspective, Megalith, henge, post and lintel, heel stone, trilithons,
concentric circles

FLASHCARD ARTWORKS
Venus of Willendorf
Woman holding bison horn
Human with feline head
Hall of Bulls, Lascaux Cave Paintings
Rhinocerous, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, Lascaux Cave Painting
Human skull with restored features
Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan
Deer Hunt, Catal Hoyuk
Stone Tower, Jericho
StoneHenge

HOMEWORK. DUE MONDAY, August 5TH

Required Reading: Chapter 1: Art before History

Related Activity: Use the handout guide to create flashcard for the
listed artworks (the artworks underlined above were not included in
the lecture but are in the reading)
Create vocabulary flashcards - use the textbook glossary, powerpoint,
class notes