Art History- TEST 2

AAAAA How is food political

- certain foods can be tied to religion - food cost some rlly good food costs $$$$ - racial stereotype - Italian pizza pasta

AA Hindu Temple

-Early temples were cave temples carved into mountains, like opening the earth's womb -later temples were freestanding, thick walled cubes containing womb chamber that housed the cult image -Later hindu temples were more elaborate, but the same basic formula of womb-chamber and mountain remained -Temple is dwelling of deity

Sarcophagus with Reclining Couple -Estrucans were ancient people who buried their dead in earthened mounds furnished for the afterlife -The clay sarcophagus, with life size figures, was molded in four pieces. -The wife and husband shown at the same scale, reclining together at the a banquet, reflects the fact that Etruscan women had more rights than womenin other cultures. -Not a portrait because facial features are similar and standardized on both figures

Are these portraits? What do we know about the Etruscans? How? How would you describe these figures? What is the significance of their couple status? How was this sarcophagus made?

African Rock Painting -Had a ritual purpose linked to bounty in nature and food supply -Hunters, gatherers, and early farmers linked art and ritual to accomplishing tasks like bringing rain for crops

Does this painting show a narrative? What is the relationship between humans and animals? Are the lines gestural? How would you describe this composition?

Coca Pod Coffin. Kane Kwei. -Coffin crafted for a coca tree farmer, which memorialized the life's work of the diseased -from ancient times to present, the living have made tombs and commemorative art to serve various purposes -Bright colors and startling desing honor the deceased whose body would be placed in the long pod

How did this tradition begin? Does it still continue? What are some other examples that we looked at in class?

Seated Buddha -Represents a generalized holy being rather than a specific person. -Body seems weightless, face is perfect oval and torso and limbs are simplified into graceful lines and elegant shapes.

How do we know this is the Buddha? How would you describe him? Delicate? Detailed?

Innermost Coffin of Tutankhamen -This tomb was found undisturbed because while stealing treasures from a nearby tomb robbers heaped debris on the entrance of this tomb -We know this was a pharaoh because the coffin is a portrait of Tutankhamen -This tomb might have been hurriedly made because Tutankhamen died unexpectedly at the age of twenty

How do we know this was a pharaoh? Why was this tomb found undisturbed? Why might is have been so hurriedly made?

Untitled (Your Body is a Battle ground). Barbara Kruger. -Viewers become apart of the piece as the staring woman makes us either identify with her or see her as opposite to ourselves

How does the text interact with the image/viewer?

Female Fertility Figure, Found at Catal Huyuk. -Small figure found in a grain bin, suggesting her role in the success of her cultures fecundity -Depicts a large, powerful, enthroned woman attending lions

How large is this figure? Where was she found? Does it depict a young women?

Soldiers from Pit 1. Near the Tomb of Shi Hangdi -6,000 life-size clay soldiers guarding the afterlife palace complex -So many were made because certain features such as hands were mass produces in molds

How many? Why? How were so many made? Why so detailed and realistic?

Bison with Turned Head -Small size was necessary for nomadic people searching for food. -Naturalistic

How was this piece used? Is it naturalistic?

Dia de Muertos. Diego Rivera. -Rivera painted his figures in a simplified, rounded, monumental style -Dia de Los Muertos is the Day of the Dead -He recorded different individual's personalities, and captures the crush and excitement of the crowd and the spirit of the event

How would you describe Rivera's style? What is Dia de Los Muertos? Has Rivera included portraits in his mural? How would you describe the atmosphere depicted?

Draped Reclining Mother and Baby. Henry Moore. -This work references both modern and ancient art that visually expresses the power o human reproduction. -Abstracted, smooth, horizontal image. -Captures the close relationship between mother and child that has been universal from the beginning of time

How would you describe this image? Rough edged or smooth? Horizontal or vertical? Like a landscape?

Torso of a Young Man. Constantin Brancusi. -Abstracts forms of male sexuality -he created works that were intended to capture the essence and universality of pure form, working in related themes such as creation, birth, life, and death. -By incorporating geometric forms in this work the artist constructed a simplified torso that also represents a cylindrical phallus, the essence of male sexuality.

In what other ways could Brancusi's sculpture be interpreted? Why?

Warrior. From the Tomb of Shi Huangdi -Clay soldier made from a combination of standardized and handcrafted parts

Is this a portrait? What materials were used to make it? Why?

God Te Rongo and His Three Sons -Carved of wood standing more than 27 inches high -Balancing three small human figures on his belly -The work was carefully planned to include the small figure and to keep the head equal to one-fourth of the body height. The chest, a bit sunken in order to make room for the smaller figures, exaggerates the belly and penis, again suggesting reproduction. -This figurine of a male god depicts both his virility and divine lineage

Materials? Size? Father Figure?

Peanut Necklace -The peanut may have been a ceremonial food or a food of honor -The Moche used gold and silver symmetrically

Peanuts?

There Is No Escape. Sue Coe. -Water and Graphite -Coe emphasizes the carnage and sympathises with the pig's fear -Fed up with multimillion dollar pork industry -Ovterm-8erall, very dark with a few lurid glaring lights, Coe wants us to see it as a fact and tie it to the contemporary meat heavy western diet

Purpose? Style? How does Coe use light and contrast? How would you describe the pigs? The butchers?

Venus of Willendorf -The name"Venus" was given arbitrarily to female figurines by the archaeologists who found them -4 inches high, carved from a found, egg-shaped piece of limestone -The egg shape of the limestone, and the natural indentation of the navel may have been reason for carving, perhaps believing it already contained the power of fertility. -The bulbous forms were carved and painted giving repetition and pattern to the piece emphasizing female qualities in swelling forms -Hands resting on her breasts suggest stability

Was this figure originally called Venus? How large is it? Why might it have ben carved? What are some distinct features? Do you see her hands/arms?

Relief Carving from the Kandarya Mahadeva Temple -Full bodied figures are carved in relief depicting men and women in sexual union and masturbation. -This reflects the open celebration of the blend of human sexuality with spirituality in Hindu beliefs. -Hindu religion openly celebrates sexual love, as erotic coupling and self pleasuring reflect the divine union with the Unbounded.

What are some possible reasons such sculptures were carved on the temple?

Chartres Cathedral -Towers, arches, buttresses and arcades create vertical lines that continue from the ground to roof. -Tall vertical design emphasized by its spires symbolizes the Roman Catholic Church's role of linking heaven and earth -Large windows are filled with tracery, lacy stone framework that holds glass in place -Blank spaces are covered with figurative sculptures or decorative carvings -The plan is symmetrical while its shape is a cross, symbolizing Jesus' crucifixion

What are the main architectural components? What kind of interior space was desired? Why?

Banqueters and Musicians -This piece is an example of how Etruscan tomb art emphasizes pleasure -These pleasures included feasting, music and dancing.

What does this scene and the tomb tell us about the Etruscans belief in the after life?

Justin Bond. Catherine Opie. -Justin Bond meets the viewer's gaze with directness and confidence, challenging any attempt y the viewer to see his behavior as pathological. -Artists images expose the complexities of gender roles and sexuality

What is Justin Bond saying to the viewer?

Parthenon -an example of a standard Classical Greek temple -Optical tricks: corner columns are thicker and placed closer to neighboring columns to compensate for the glaring bright sky behind them that would make them seem thinner. Outer columns lean slightly toward the middle of the building to make it more visually cohesive. -Large sculptures of the of the gods stood in the pediment and near the roof

What is Parthenon? What optical tricks are employed? Why? In what image are the gods imagines? Why?

Royal Mosque -Portals became separate, large structures distinguished by elaborate decoration and pattern -Simple courtyard evolved into a two-story arcade -Covered prayer hall is physically and conceptually separate from the open courtyard -Mosques should face towards Mecca -acoustic design is an important characteristic of a mosque

What is a mosque? What are the basic components of a mosque? What are some important aspects of the space, for example is it open? Is sound important? Toward which direction must a mosque face?

Taj Mahal -Famous islamic shrine is a memorial to the wife of a great shah -The Taj Mahal symbolizes the throne of Allah -Sits at the north end of an expansive walled and gated garden, canals divide the graden into four equal squares, with a large reflecting pool in the center. The canals symbolize the four rivers of Paradise. -Walls are decorated lavishly

What is another major interpretation of this monument? What does it look like and how it is placed? How is it decorated?

The Water and Moon Guanyin Bodhisattva -Bodhisattvas are living beings who have attained buddhahood but have chosen to remain on earth to help others -This is the most powerful Bodhisattva with a great capacity for salvation

What is bodhisattva? Why is he dressed like royalty?

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo. -presents the origin of the universe, of human beings and of sin. -Pope Julius II proposed the design. -Illusionistic marble frames subdivide the broad expanse of the ceiling and stories were put into different panels. -Christ is depicted.

What is depicted here? Who proposed the design? How is architecture used? Is Christ depicted?

Newgrange -Contains 220,000 tons of loose stone with a white quartz rock facing on one side. Inside a long passageway leads to a cross-shaped interior chamber with 5 burials. -Passageways decorated with spirals and geometric patterns, perhaps indicating stars and planets -Oriented so that for 2 weeks near the winter solstice, morning sunlight radiates down the entire passage -Overtime, eroded and blended into the natural landscape

What is found here? How do researchers explain the continued building over time? What what material were the passageways created? What do some of the carved designs look like?

Madala of Samvara -A mandala is a radially balanced, geometric diagram augmented by images of deites, humans, and symbols of the universe. -Forms a map of the cosmos in accordance with Hindu or Buddhist beliefs. -By meditating on the mandala people can begin to grasp cosmic relations and understand their place within them

What is mandala? How is it used?

Heinz 57 Tomato Ketchup. Andy Warhol. -Silk screened wooden sculptures -Pop art uses bright colors, large type, simple graphics and organized layout

What is pop art?

Tribute in Light. -Two vertical beams, composed of eighty-eight search lights, are lit in memory of the 9/11 tragedy -As light, the beams referenced hope and aspiration, but because they are immaterial, they also recall the transitory nature and vulnerability of earthy things

What is the medium? How does it convey meaning?

Royal Mosque. Main Entrance. -intricate ornamentation of pattern and calligraphy meant to draw in and awe the viewer -Panels on either side of the doorway resemble Persian weavings and tapestries -There are no icons, statues, or images in Islamic worship

What is the significance of the decorations? Why are figural decorations not included? What do the floral designs suggest?

Gnaw. Janine Antoni. -Performance Piece -Made from 600 pound cubes of chocolate and lard -about the act of eating as a sculptural process -The lard she spat out was mixed with pigment and beeswax and cast into 130 lipsticks, newly made trays and lipsticks were then shown in display cabinets, seen in the background -Using materials and objects that are socially defined as female fetishes, Antoni recast them in an art historical frame to raise questions about the position of women in art.

What is the significance of the display in the back? What kind of art is this?

Viking Ship -this ship was probably the private vessel of a wealthy family, intended for use near the coast and on inland waterways -this ship burial was the tomb of a high-ranking woman

What is the significance of the location? Status of those buried?

Blind Man's Bluff. Louise Bourgeois. -The materials are signifiant because they were used to invite touch. -The combination of male and female sexual imager blurs genders as discrete categories in this work -The piece is fetish-like, suggesting a fixation on sexual body parts without necessarily any attachment to an individual as a whole. -multiple interpretations of the forms are often possible and always subjective. Bourgeois' work stands in contrast to male-based heterosexual imagery

What is the significance of the material? What does Bourgeois say about her own work?

AIDS Memorial Quilt. -The quilt is composed of thousands of panels, each the size of a twin-bed blanket that would cover the body of one person who died from AIDS -Friends or family make each panel and decorate it -It is displayed on the Mall in Washington DC, this proximity to the White House and government buildings means that the disease was recognized publicly as a crisis and tragedy by US government

What is the significance of the materials? The process? The location?

Rose Window, from Chartres Cathedral -Stained glass fills Gothic cathedrals with light -Illustrates the Christian concept that the Old Testiment culminated in the birth of Christ -Mary's central location indicates the raised status of women -Window is shaped like a blooming rose, a symbol of Mary.

What is the significance of this stained glass window? What kind of space/light did it create?

The Isenheim Altarpiece. Matthias Grunewald. -This piece shows human Jesus at crucifixion which for Christians is a moment of both annihilation and of redemption of sin. -Conceptual rather than realistic -The painting was a form of consolation for patients in a hospital, for they could see the suffering of Christ and relate it to their own suffering.

What is this altarpiece? Where was it originally placed? What was its purpose? How were people expected to view its images?

Great Stupa -Stupa is a symbol for Sakyamini (Buddha) and is a sign of his death and attainment of nirvana -Believed to contain the ashes or relics of buddha -solid, dome-shaped mound of earth enclosed in brick or stone. -The form of the mound represented the cosmos as the world mountain, the dwelling place of the ancient gods and a sacred womb of the universe.

What is this? Why is it circular? What is it believed to contain? For which religion? What do you do here?

Artichoke Halved. Edward Weston. -Shows off technical achievement of photography -Emphasis is more on structure and form than on reflections of morality and philosophy -reveals the complex design and grace of natural forms -Focus is on foods form, not food as sustenance or its symbolic potential

What made such a photo possible? Why was this view new?

Kandarya Mahadeva Temple -this temple is dedicated to Shiva and is seen as an artificial mountain that surmounts a small, dark, womb-like chamber -Visual unity in the temple is maintained in the basic mountain-like form and the simple umbrella shape (representing the Unbounded) topping the tallest tower -Basic shapes are symbols of male and female sexuality, representing sexual energy and the procreative urge -the exterior relief carvings contain images of deities and of smaller shrines, many erotic because the Hindu religion believes that carnal bliss reflects divine union with the Unbounded

What natural form does this temple resemble? Why? What is carved on it? How does one worship here? What are the beliefs associated with this structure?

Mannequin Dressed in Replicas of Objects Found in Tomb 1 -Moche society was stratified from rich to poor, which is reflected in their burials -The gold and silver metalwork made for elite burials help us identify royal figures

What other support do we have to identify these royal figures? What do these finds tell us about the culture?

Ashanti Akua'ba Doll -This figure shows the interpretation of beauty reduced to uncomplicated forms -This figure is ritual doll that is worn by women as an aid to conceive and to a ensure a healthy, happy bbay -They would carry it wrapped on her back as mothers traditionally cary their actual babies

What particular concepts of beauty does this figure incorporate? Why are these figures created? How were they carried or kept?

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut -Shows Egyptians beginning to hide tombs in hillsides, the funerary temples that formerly were appendages to pyramids were enlarged and emphasized. -Hatshepsut was a woman pharaoh in the Eighteenth Dynasty, and this temple was a monument to her greatness

What shift in mortuary practice does this temple show? Who was Hatshepsut?

Grey Line with Lavender and Yellow. Georgia O'Keefe. -Female based imagery that glorifies and beautifies female sexuality -painted natural objects that verged on abstraction, the structure of the flower imagery resembles female genetalia

What type of imagery is this?

New World Trade Center -Goal was to use symbolic attributes to recall the spirit of the United States, as well as memorialize the 9/11 attacks -two sunken reflecting pools mark the footprints of the old towers and feature inscriptions of the victims names

What was one of the main goals of designer Arad? How did they decide to arrange the names around the footprint of the lost towers?

Great Pyramids. Egypt. -These pyramids stand dramatically on the edge of the Sahara Desert -Oriented to the sun, the pyramids are the tombs of the pharaohs, who were believed to be sons of Re, the Sun God -Have interior chambers that are quite small and in modern times only contained empty stone crypts. The tombs may have contained provisions but they were robbed after they were sealed. -Originally in white stone

Where do these structures stand? In a complex? Were they originally this color? What is their function? What is inside? What belief(s) inspired such structures and statues of the pharaohs?

Self-Portrait with Model. Duane Hanson. -Presents meals as a site for companionship -Casual meals reveal social habits -Artists goal was not to fool viewers -Male in portrait is the artist

Where is the artist? Why the life-like sculptures? What art figures did Hanson cast?

Hall of Bulls -Found in caves -ritual use: went into deep caves for respect, wish granting, to record imagination -Naturalistic, focused on animal's energy and movements

Where were these paintings found? How might they have been used or why were they painted?

Dome of the Rock. -Sacred pilgrimage destination for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. -Built on a rock platform, it occupies the site believed to be the burial place of Adam, the altar on which Abraham's son Isaac was saved by the angel, the Hebrew Temple at Jerusalem destroyed by the Roman Emporer, and finally the stone from which Mohammed ascended to heaven. -Structure is a highly ornamented octagonal platform topped with a gilded dome -marks the site of the triumph of Islam in Jerusalem

Which architectural elements do you see here? Why is this site sacred? For whom?

Shiva as Nataraja or Lord of the Dance -Shiva is one of the primary avatars of Brahman, he is the source of good and evil, male and female. He is the unity in which all opposites meet. -Balanced pose contains the concept of eternal stillness, multiple arms tell of his power, divine wisdom is shown by third eye. -symbolism showing the unfolding and transformation of the universe and its destruction

Who is Shiva? What does an iconographical reading show? What main beliefs made this figure so important, that is, what do the Hindus believe about their sculptures and/or gods?

Basket. Pomo Tribe. -Well woven container made of natural materials to hold liquids -Mothers in California tribes made these special ceremonial gifts to mark significant moments in daughter's lives -Baskets were kept as heirlooms and then buried

Who made the baskets in this culture? How do we know whether a man or woman made this was? Was it also buried? Why?

Palm Wine Calabash -Gourd covered in beaded cloth, high quality of handwork and decorative motifs mark this an object for rulers use -basic container for liquids in African cultures, this one was for display, ritual and royal use

Who owned such vessels? Why? How is it decorated?

The Dinner Party. Judy Chicago. -an educational piece containing 39 place settings, each with a painted plate and runner containing symbols and texts that honor a woman in Western history -The "Heritage Floor" beneath the table is covered with triangular tiles inscribed with the name of 999 Significant women

Who sits here? What is the significance of the number of settings per side? How are these pieces made and with what important materials or process? Associated with women's work?

Grande Odalisque, Ingres -The women is alone because without a lover in the scene it makes the odalisque sexually available for the viewer -Intended term-24to be an erotic image for European men in the 19th century

Why is it significant that the women is alone? Who is the intended viewer?

Olympia, Manet -Scandalized the public because Olympia was not presented as a mythological or historical figure. -Pushes boundaries because unromantic expression makes clear that sex and money would be exchanged, also reveals social status accorded to different raced with AA women as mistress. -Used thick paint and flatter/brighter colors

Why/how did this painting scandalize the public during its time? How is Manet's painting pushing boundaries? Do you see the brushstrokes? Are the colors somewhat flattened?

AA Pilgramage

a journey to a shrine or sacred place for believers hoping to receive blessing or deepening of faith

AA pilgrimage journey

a shrine or sacred place for believers hoping to receive special blessings or deepening of faith Muslims journey to Mecca. Jews journey to Jerusalem. Catholics journey to Lourdes. Hindus journey to various shrines

AAA Four belief systems through which deities and holy beings are depicted in art work

animism, polytheism, pantheism, monotheism

AAAA Art and architecture have meaning through:

formal analysis - including elements of art and design, as well as materials or media, and style content analysis - subject matter, symbols, iconography, subtext context - historical, social, physical, political, etc. writings about art - modernist/postmodernist criticisms, visual culture•you, the viewer

AA Context

historical, social, political, etc

AA Formal Anlysis

includes elements of art and design, as well as materials/media

AA Content analysis

subject matter, symbols, iconography

AA polytheism

the belief in many gods with distinct and sometimes several functions

AA animism

the belief that all forces of nature are inhabited by spirits

AA pantheism

the belief that divine spirit pervades all things in the universe

AA monotheism

the belief that there is only one God

AAA Art has aided and pictured human fertility, reproduction, and sexuality with

-charm like figures -phallic symbols -fetishes -erotic images -paintings, images, and sculptures about sexuality

AAA TOMBS Humans make tombs and commemorative art to

-express cultural ideas and values about death -closely tie religion to cultural burials -promote political and social intentions -visually establish power -guarantee honor, fame, and/or glory

AAA Earliest fertility artifacts from the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods were small sculptures of females depicted as

-fleshy -with swollen bellies -with accentuated breasts and thighs

AAA Sexuality is complicated in modern Western art because:

-of power relationships between men and women -homosexuality and heterosexuality are also part of political debates -sexuality is used to sell products -abstract works on sexuality capture the energy but leave other specifics undefined

AAA Places of worship may

-shelter a congregation -house sacred objects -incorporate elements of nature -incorporate symbolic geometry -be sites of sacred ceremonies and pilgrimages

Saltcellar -Style reflects African and Portugese tastes, both cultures valued the warmth and luster of ivory and used it for diplomatic gifts -Made of ivory worked skillfully with intricate patterning -Salt is held in the orb that is topped by an execution scene

Afro-Portuguese? What material is used? What is it?

Silver Representation of a Maize -Made out of silver -reflects the religious, political, and agricultural traditions of the Incan Civilization of Peru -this piece is evidence of the key role that maize played in the Incan Culture

Celebration of food? Materials? Original context?

The Last Supper. Leonardo da Vinci. -Composition is formal and symmetrical -One point perspective -this is a ritual meal and religious ceremony where Jesus is the focus of the painting

Composition? Meaning? Where was this painted?

Madonna of the Meadow. Raphael Sanzio. -children's solemn composure and the cross they hold portends their roles of savior and prophet. -Blue, reds, ad greeds add to the sense of harmony -Mary and the two children fit into an implied triangle, a stable symmetrical shape recalling the trinity -The body of water in the background implies a harbor, and Mary was known as the Port of Salvation

Describe the form. Why was Raphael favored by the Pope of his time? Why doesn't Mary have a halo? What do the colors of her clothing signify? What about the children? What do their gestures mean? What is the significance of the setting?

Mother and Nursing Child. -Triangular shapes describe the pose, especially in the mother's broad shoulders and folded legs. -The simple, geometric form adds to the stability and calm of the figure. -effigy vessel represents a mother and her progeny in life and may have ensured her potential to bear children in the afterlife

Describe this form. Triangular? Instable? Safe? Peaceful? What is an effigy vessel?

Standing Female Figure -Used in elaborate rituals, this sculpture would aid women who have difficulties conceiving and childbearing -This figure has sharp, angular planes and geometric forms.

Describe. Purpose?

Three-Legged Ting with Cover -Bronze vessel for storing liquids -Used in rituals to receive blessings from deceased ancestors -delicately incised abstract lines complement overall form -balance and harmony are important, visually expressing ancient Chinese philosophy and values

Material? Use? Form?

Figure of a Deity: A'a Rurutu -Carved out of wood -Figure of a male deity depicting the abundance of his descendants, as seen clinging to his entire body -The small figures refer to the mythical creation of humankind or the creation of a specific ancestral line

Materials? Purpose?

AA male gaze

The male gaze describes a way of portraying and looking at women that empowers men while sexualizing and diminishing women