Nika Toulinova

Block 5 Art in Focus-Chapters 10, 11, 12

Reviewing the Facts
05/18/11

CHAPTER 10:

1. The long history of India is also the history of two great and enduring religions.
For centuries Hinduism and Buddhism have influenced all aspects of Indian life.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the art of India, the birthplace of both. At
times these two religions vied with one another, each produce its own unique art
style in architecture and sculpture. At other times the two have existed side by
side, resulting in artworks that are both Hindu and Buddhist in character.

2. The Hindu believe there are three primary process in life and in the universe:
creation, preservation, and destruction. The three main Hindu gods reflect this
belief. They are Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver; and Shiva, the
Destroyer. In addition to these great gods, Hindus recognize and worship a
multitude of other gods that include good and evil spirits, heavenly bodies such as
the sun, and birds and other animals.

3. As in all early Buddhist art, the Buddha is represented only by a symbol- here by
a wheel placed on an otherwise empty throne. To the faithful, the wheel had
several meanings. One of these meanings is that the wheel symbolizes the circle
of life, maturity, and death associated with each reincarnation, all leading to
nirvana.

4. Although Buddhism was for many centuries the leading religion in India,
Hinduism was never completely forgotten. Beginning around the fifth century
A.D., Hinduism experienced a revival that ended with its return to prominence in
the two centuries that followed. This revival may have been due to the fact that
Hinduism offered more varied avenues to spiritual perfection. These included the
simple performance of one’s daily duties.

5. The art of painting is mentioned in Chinese literature several centuries before the
birth of Christ and even names a woman named Lei as the first Chinese painted.
Unfortunately, no paintings have survived from these early periods of Chinese
history. Written reports, however tell us that paintings of great skill and beauty
were created and appreciated.

6. During the Rang dynasty, China reached a peak of power and influence. The
people enjoyed prosperity, military campaigns extended the boundaries of the
empire, foreign trade increased, and Buddhism grew in strength. Most of the
sculptures produced during the Tang period were religious. Believers in
Buddhism, looking forwards to a peaceful life in the next world, commissioned
 thousands of sculptures of Buddha.

7. During 960s, the rule of the Sung Dynasty proved to be a period of great stability
that produced a series of artists whose works were admired the world for
centuries. This dynasty flourished at the same time as the Roman Empire. During
the Sung period, the production of porcelain ware was carried to new heights.
Sung sculpture remained strongly tied to Buddhism, and this dynasty was also
noted for its great landscape artists.

8. Unlike Western paintings, Chinese art makes use of different vanishing points. In
perspective drawing, a vanishing point is the point at which receding parallel lines
seem to converge. Thus, as you unroll a hand scroll, you may find that the
perspective shifts. This makes you feel that you are indeed traveling through the
work. There is nothing to distract you from your quiet contemplation. Even
shadows are eliminated from the picture because they might interfere with your
efforts to experience and enjoy it.

9. Yamato-e is means a painting in Japanese manner. Paintings done in this style

were the first true examples of pure Japanese art. Artists using this style created
decorative wall paintings showing travelers on the road, nobles admiring cherry
blossoms or hunting, peasants working in the fields, and other scenes from
everyday life. These spirited scenes included clear referenced to particular
seasons of the year. Unfortunately, only a few works dating this period have
survived. This style of painting is obviously a more realistic one.

10. If ‘The Great Wave of Kanagawa’ had been a painting instead of a print,
Hokusai’s (the artist of this work) long adopted angles of vision to increase the
dramatic impact would not be present in the artwork. The “Great Wave of
Kanagawa” depicts Mount Fuji in the distance, beyond a huge wave threatening
to destroy the fishing boats that are almost lost in the violently churning sea.

11. Woodblock printing was an invention that helped satisfy the increased demand
for art among the middle class. This process involves transferring and cutting
pictures into wood blocks, inking the surface of these blocks, and printing. Using
this technique, an artist could produce many inexpensive prints as needed.

CHAPTER 11:

1. The images created by Inuit artists reveal the importance attached to the animals
they relied on for food such as seals, walrus, fish, whale, and caribou. Other
 animals like fox, wolf, and bear were represented in their art and the human figure
was depicted in the masks and dolls they created. The Inuit artists of the Artic
region were attached to those images because they respected the animals they
lived with and hunted.

2. After a Hamatsa ceremony, or to celebrate some other important event, members

of a tribe often celebrated with a potlatch, an elaborate ceremonial feast. This was
a clan event, enabling the members of one clan to honor those of another while
adding to their own prestige. At a potlatch, the host clan was able to exhibit its
wealth and confirm its status by offering enormous quantities of food and
valuable gifts to the members of the guest clan.

3. Artists of various clans in the Northwest created totem poles. They are tall posts
carved and painted with series of animal symbols associated with a particular
family or clan. These poles were erected in front of a dwelling as a means of
identification and a sign of prestige.

4. Primarily the Pueblo people lived in the region from northern area of Mexico to
the southern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, although others Native American
groups lived in this territory. The Pueblo people were especially skillful in
creating painted pottery. Each community developed its own distinctive shapes
and painted designs.

5. The Adena were one of the first of the mound-building peoples. These were
monuments constructed in the form of large earthworks. Some took the form of
high, narrow ridges of earth that encircled large fields. Smaller burial mounds,
some conical and others domed were placed within these large mounds.

6. The term pre-Columbian is used when referring to the various cultures and
civilizations found throughout North and South America before the arrival of
Christopher Columbus in 1492. Many of these civilizations created works of art
that give insights into their cultures and ways of life.

7. The Olmec are believed by many to have made the first Mexican sculptures. They
left the earliest remains of carved altars, pillars, sarcophagi, and statues in
Mexico. The Olmec’s most surprising works were gigantic heads carved in
volcanic rock.

8. Mayan relief sculptures were elaborate and complex because of the way they were
dressed and decorated. The contrasting colors helped the viewer distinguish
between the intricately carved figure and its elaborate background. The figures
were dressed in a rich costume and wore elaborate headdresses.

9. Mayan sculptures have many features in the head sculptures. The face is shown as
a profile and the forehead slants back. The large nose dominates and the chin
recedes. These features found in most Mayan heads are easily observed in a detail
 from the Mayan relief.

10. The Aztecs also used a system of picture writing. This writing was done on sheets
of parchment that were joined and accordion folded to form a book. This kind of
painted book, later called a codex by the Europeans, and was produced by the
most highly respected artists in Aztec society.

11. Inca buildings were so durable because they were made of stone on a large scale,
some of which survived to present day. The durability is due to the precision with
which each block of stone was fit into place. It is believed that each of these
blocks may have been placed in a sling and swung against those that were to be
placed below and beside it.

CHAPTER 12:

1. Art functions in the lives of African people in the past and the present. The visual
arts are will integrated with other art forms, including music, dance and drama.
Art is an important part of people’s lives, from birth, through adulthood, to death.
In death the spirit joins the ancestral realm if the individual has led an honorable,
productive life.

2. There are at least three dominant themes in African art. The first is birth and
death, then the role of men, women and children. And last coming of age. There
are others such as sickness and healing, the importance of food and water, and the
human relationship with nature.

3. The material used in the production of Benin relief sculptures is bronze. For
centuries in the West, European masters had reserved bronze for the most
important works. In Benin art the most political powerful person is represented as
the largest figure. This representation reflects the central organization of the
kingdom. Less powerful individuals are smaller.

4. Jewelry was made by the Asante with the gold they had. Asante necklaces,
bracelets, and anklets were crafted by stringing cast0gold beads with gold
nuggets, glass and stone beads and other items. An expensive piece like this
would be made for a queen mother or someone of high rank. Asante’s also used
their gold in the king’s court as gold ornaments and gold leaf-covered staffs and
swords.

5. The two most common use of African woodcarvings were sculptural figures and
masks. Innovative artists attempted to improve upon them. They continuously
revitalized the images and forms used in religious rituals.

6. There are many forms and functions of the types and figures African artists
 created. Figurative sculptures serve as pleasant resting places for ancestral spirits.
Guardigan figures were created to guard ancestral relics. Primordial couple
structures conveyed a sense of harmony and balance. Spirit Spouse figures
represented the complex relationship between man and woman.

7. Nails and other pieces of metal such as iron blades were driven into figures carved
by the Kongo people a part of a legal process that drew on Kongo ancestral
authority. The accumulation of metal blades inserted into these figures documents
that history of their divine intervention into human affairs.

8. The Mende of Sierra Leone are one of several Guinea Coast people with a
separate, exclusive women’s association responsible for educating and initiating
young women into adult society. At ceremonies marking the end of the initiation
process, prominent women in the society wear helmet masks. Individual masks
have personal names and like people, exhibit unique personalities.

9. While the neck rest was made, Luba aristocracy wore very elaborate hairdos as a
sign as social rank and marital status. To avoid crushing these elaborate hairdos,
neck rests elevated people’s heads as they slept. Finely carved neck rests made by
master carvers were highly prized objects of daily use. For this purpose, neck
rests were very useful to the people of Luba.