Representation of Different Figures in Art and Science - Assignment Example

Coetzee Annabella Coetzee Instructor’s Name Course: Journalism, Mass Media and Communication April 2012 Compare Different Figures in Art and Science that Lived during the 17-19th Century vs the Artist Gallen-Kallela(1865-1931) with Relation to their Fundamental Role in the Development of a Nation 1. Background Waldemar Gallen (1865-1931) was born from Swedish parents in Pori, Finland and became a famous and genial Finnish painter. He later changed his name to Akseli Gallen-Kallela in order to promote his Finnish affinity. He became best known for the important work he did to promote Finland’s national identity. Finland acknowledged and identified with his art where-in his reform ideals were embedded. Gallen-Kallela studied art at the Finnish Art Society (1881-1904), studied privately as well as at the Academie Julian in Paris (1884) where he became a friend of the Finnish painter Albert Edelfelt while experiencing the Norwegian influence of Adam Dornberger and Swedish writer August Strindberg. His political affinity with Finland was echoed in his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. His paintings made it possible for him to develop his own political and national style and he painted with the purpose to acquire the respect and understanding of the Finnish nation. In1890, on his honeymoon to East Karelia, he started to collect material for his Kalevala painting period. The Aino Triptych, a landscape, is a product of his Kalevala age. 2 Gallen-Kallela’s works are at present (2012) exposed at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Other prestigious Finnish institutions also manifest his brilliant career pieces. Private collections constitute his manifestos of art which are too often reduced to the expression of national liberty. Gallen’s works are associated with the painting styles influenced by Romantic Nationalism, Realism and Symbolism. Romantic Nationalism in Europe was strongly inspired by Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), a philosopher representing the Romanticism of French expression. Rousseau worked to find a way to inspire people to preserve freedom in the world. His teachings taught to appreciate the wonders of nature and the expression of feelings through communication. His studies on the origins of equality and self-preservation inspired the evolution of humanity, the condemnation of oppression and the promotion of natural, moral and civil freedom and authority. Johan Gottlieb Herder (1784) who maintained that Geography formed the natural economy of people and that their customs and society would develop along the lines that the basic environment favoured. From its beginnings in the late 18th Century, Romantic Nationalism relied upon the existence of a historical ethnic culture which meets the romantic ideal and folklore as a national romantic concept. The Grimm brothers were inspired by Herder’s writings to create an idealized collection of German tales which they labelled as authentically German. The concept of an inherited cultural patrimony from a common origin, rapidly became central to the divisive question whether romantic nationalism specifically unified because it comes from the same genetic source, or is it because of race, or is the participation in the organic nature of the folklore culture, self-fulfilling? 2. The Kalevala The revolutionary action of Finland was a call to the establishment of an independent state for the ethnic under-class. The Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, was inspired by the 3 movement of independence of Finland from Russia. It is a 19th Century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lonnrot (1802-1884) comprising Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology. Significant works of Finnish literature were instrumental in the development of Finland’s national identity, the intensification of the language strife, and the growing sense of nationality that ultimately led to Finland’s independence from Russia in 1917. Lonnrot was a physician, botanist, linguist and biographer and promoted with his compilation of the Kalevala, the enjoyment of an organic and dynamic participation in songs and ancient folklore poems. With his systematic collection and archiving relating to the Karelia, he developed an orientation toward National Romanticism. It is not clear how much of the work was his own product. The work was later translated into 49 other languages. The fourth full translation of the Kalevala in English saw the light in 1989. The Sampo of Gallen-Kallela represents a pivotal element in his work for national inspiration. The Sampo describes a magical talisman or device that brings its possessor great fortune and prosperity. There are similar forms of characters with magic spells in other cultures’ folklore and mythology with the arrival of Christianity to end paganism in Finland and Europe. In everyday life in Finland to this day, the Kalevala influences place and brand names. It harbours the major part of the Finnish culture and history and impacts on Finland’s art as well as on other cultures in the world. The Kalevala emphasised that the Finnish are wholly Finnish and the impact now operates internationally. The cultural identity is now passed on by naming products and activities derived from the Kalevala. Kalevala Day is celebrated on the 28th February to match the first issue of the Kalevala (1835). Several artists were inspired by the Kalevala in modern day. J R R Tolken used the Kalevala as a source for his book, Silmarillion. Cartoonists and fictional writers, poets, and play-rights worked around some mythological characters to produce modern adaptations for 4 children. Composers delved into the epic to create musical adaptations for folk poetry songs and style inspired by the Kalevala. Rock bands in Finland and around the world, adhered to the Finnish folk music adapting verses from songs with Kalevala lyrics. The National Museum in Helsinki preserves premier publications, artworks, artefacts and cultural heritage. A 1959 film of Sampo was inspired by the Kalevala. The famous composer of classical music, Sibelius composed 12 of his best known works based on the Kalevala. The value of the Kalevala is that it attracted many scholars and enthusiasts to interpret its content for national impetus, liberty, beauty and the mysterious. It reflects the Finnish settlement of East Karelia, from where most of the stories were derived and were documented. Politician and linguist Emil Nestor Setala (1864-1935) rejected the idea that the heroes of the Kalevala were historical and suggested it as a personification of natural phenomena. The story of Sampo for him was an imaginary journey with the heroes riding a mythological boat or magical steed to the heavens. Elias Lonnrot created the required tension that made the Kalevala dramatically successful and thus fit for a national epic of the time. 3. The Growth of Nationalism Artists and scientists use their creative and intellectual powers to add to some work nobody else had done before. Gallen-Kallela became a storehouse of natural and spiritual knowledge, rich with multi-national historical and creative experience and became the Finnish Neo-romantic painter of his time. He moved to Berlin in 1894 and held a joint exhibition with the Norwegian painter, Edvard Munch. There he became acquainted with Symbolism. His daughter died in 1894 of diphtheria and his previously romantic works changed to depict his loss and aggression. To persuade his people, he kept standards high and provided depth, which was not previously been matched. He might also have hoped for immortality, but his works did impact on the beliefs of his nation to improve or solve the existing problems in their society. Nationalism gains impetus from the public and politicians and artists and scientists are pressurized to further their practical knowledge and skills to communicate with the nation. 5 Gallen-Kallela was shaped to employ the painting styles known as Naturalism, Neo-romanticism, Symbolism and Expressionism which were intermingled in his work. In Europe, before the development of Nationalism, people were loyal to a city or leader, rather than a nation. Rousseau’s teachings impacted on Hegel with regard to his master-slave dialectic and recognition of the free spirit. The term Nationalism was coined by J Gottfried Herder (late 1770’s) and developed referring to a modern state pushing for sovereign power, like the French and American Revolution in the late 18th Century and culminated with the ethnical and national revolutions in Europe. Nationalism is a sign of social focus in history and was a major influence of World War I and II. Fascism is a form of authoritarian nationalism and stresses absolute loyalty and obedience to serve the state and the purpose is to serve the interest of the nation alone. Nationalism is a political ideology that involves strong identification of a group of individuals with a particular entity defined in national terms i.e. a nation. The adoption of a national identity in terms of its historical development is the result of a response of a group who are unsatisfied with traditional identities due to inconsistency between their defined social order and experience. Resentment towards other communities, especially foreign powers of control, protects an ethnic and national culture, combined with a negative view of the other cultures. Resentment can also be felt towards an imagined community which is not expressed in a language, race or religion, but socially constructed by individuals belonging to a given nation. Nationalism is sometimes a reactionary desire to return to a national past and expulsion of foreigners. Romantic Nationalism formed the key philosophy of Hegel, and stands that there was a spirit of the age, or Zeitgeist that inhabited a particular people at a particular time when that people became the active determinant of history. It was simply because their culture and political moment had come. Change in a nation takes place when there is a spirit of renewal and national consciousness to engage in a struggle to unify for a common purpose of liberation. The counter- revolutionary forces against Napoleon to fight his trans-national imperialistic policy, was a 6 means to achieve self-determination by continental Europe. Communication is the vehicle to bring the ideals to a nation. The first original and truly natural boundaries of states are beyond doubt their internal boundaries, those who speak their same language are joined to either by a multitude of invisible bonds by nature itself, long before any human or art begins. They understand each other and have the power to continue understanding each other, more and more clearly. They belong together and are by nature one inseparable whole. Only when each group is left to itself, it develops and forms itself in accordance with its own particular quality. Arts have related concepts such as creativity, expression, impression and interpretation explored in a branch of Philosophy called Aethetics. Thus, from a scientific point of view, art is the study of creative skills, audiences, aesthetic sensibilities or the drawing of audiences towards considering the finer things. Creative art disciplines produce art work compelled by a personal drive to convey a message, mood or symbolism for the viewer to interpret. Art is something that stimulates an individual’s thoughts, emotions, beliefs, ideas and senses and can be explicitly made for the purpose or interpreted on the basis of images and objects. In controversial art of the 1820’s social commentary on current events was unprecedented at the time. Nude paintings like Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur L’erbe (1863) depicted a scandalous nude woman seated next to men fully dressed in clothing. Art in an outrageous form is directed towards society or a political system for social enquiry. It simply criticizes certain aspects of society like anarchy and subversion. 4. The Goal and Purpose of Art The value of a work of art is qualified by its capacity to transcend the limits of its chosen medium to strike some universal chord by the rarity of the skill of the artist or its accurate reflection what is termed Zeitgeist. Art is intended to appeal and connect with the human 7 emotion and arouse aesthetic or moral feelings and can be understood as a way of communicating these feelings. Artists express something so that their audience is aroused to some extend, but they do not do it so consciously. Art may be an exploration of the human condition of what it is to be human. The basic human instinct for beauty, harmony, balance, rhythm and art is not an action but an internal recognition of balance and harmony in nature and beyond utility. Experiencing the mysterious provides a way to experience oneself in relation to the universe. Art is a means of expression of imagination in non-grammatical ways that are not tied to the formality of the spoken or written language. Unlike words that come in sequences and each defines meaning, art provides a range of forms, symbols, ideas, meanings that are malleable. Fine Art often could have goals beyond creativity and self-expression. The purpose may to communicate ideas such as politically, spiritually or philosophically motivated art to create a sense of beauty, to explore its nature of perception, for pleasure or to generate strong emotions such as the need for national liberty. 5. Symbolic Function of Art The value of Gallen-Kallela’s work for the promotion of national unity may be judged in part by the number of new and specific questions it raised, such as questions as to provide images for national sentiment and coherence. His creations bring forth their purpose and result in any form of communication which formulates the basis for ensuing communication and thought-provoking actions. His works thus form a valuable knowledge platform for future artists, historians, writers, composers. His works bonds people of one nation and publish ideas and find use by communicating ideals and ideologies of many kinds. According to Kant “Jupiter’s Eagle” is not an example of a logical (aesthetic) attribute of an object or majestic creation, but rather something that gives imagination and incentive to 8 spread its flight over a host of kindred representation that provoke more thought than expressing a concept that is determined by words. The work animates ‘the mind by opening out of prospect into a field stretching beyond its ken.’ (books.google.co.za/Kant+Jupiter’s Eagle.) 6. Communication Techniques and the Maintenance and Transfer of National Heritage for Nation-building The following forms of communication are listed for communication in art and science practitioners, to support the understanding of art as a medium of transfer, of visual and interactive (audio-visual) media and to build national ideals and beliefs to form a whole unified entity for future generations: 6.1 The conservation and exposition of paintings, sculptures, film, photography and literature of importance in national art, science and historical museums, national archives and exhibition halls. For natural historical value emphasis can be placed on the theme of natural phenomena like landscapes, and natural elements like plants, animals, geological and anthropological elements of value. Furthermore, material culture in the form of skills, traditional motives, architectural design, clothing fashion, tools and machinery are preserved in cultural-historical museums. 6.2 The preservation and maintenance of historical publications and national libraries. Verbal arts and expressive literature find their place in the state libraries and great writers of literary and historical value are honoured by the presentation of decorations and prizes. 6.3 The preservation and maintenance of national art collections, history of art, exhibition albums, catalogues, short biographies and newsletters for public interaction and education. 6.4 The maintenance of photo-galleries for a series of photos or prints and collections which 9 are put together of outstanding works to commemorate national achievements in art, science, history and sport in honour of a national hero. Booklets of introductory essays on the collections are made with short entries for each photo or image. 6.5 The management and presentation of symposiums, courses, lectures and cultural tours as exchange programmes by national educational and cultural institutions. 6.6 The maintenance and promotion of national performing arts in the form of music, theatre and dance to communicate emotions, moods and feelings as well as to relax and entertain the viewer with motion pictures and audio-visual products in the art industry. The main appeal would be to reflect the aspirations, hopes, spontaneity and gaiety to people with a common background in a form that appeals to their physical, mental and spiritual needs. With performances or celebration of rites and rituals or participating in festivities, they associate with traditional custom, values and celebrations. 6.7 The management of national broadcasting corporations, television studios, film studios and film archives for the dissemination of values, beliefs and cultural attitudes while upholding the national spoken language. 6.8 The provision of national frameworks for interconnectivity via the World Wide Web (www.) to facilitate transfer and exchange of information via virtual forms and virtual galleries. 6.9 The promotion and preservation of national place names and historical buildings and architectural structures like a national square to honour a historical figure for nation-building and to bestow glory which has been confirmed by universal opinion. 6.10 The preservation of illustrative and graphic art such as scientific illustrations and images preserved in natural history and cultural museums for the maintenance of scientific publications. 10 6.11 The preservation and development of maps and the content for geographical documentation and exploration. 6.12 The creation of flags and heraldry for national identity, documentation and preservation of a historical and national heritage. 6.13 The collection of artefacts and the preservation of images with symbolic meaning as means of spiritual and national communication for nation and identity-building. 6.14 The usage of commercial art which addresses personal psychology to illustrate a discipline or product. Traditional shops and E-bay on-line shops simply sell a product of or for national importance, by consciously manipulating the viewer or mass media for commercialism or propaganda. It is used subtly to influence popular concepts or mood. Art tries to sell a product, influences mood, emotion and psychological response towards an idea or object. 6.15 The analysis of Graffiti which is a comment on a particular aspect of society to communicate a special emotional message to provoke hostility. Street art in the form of spray-paint graffiti and images in spray-paint or stencilled on public viewing walls, buildings, busses, trains, bridges are usually without permission and are illegal forms of thought- provoking art. 6.16 The establishment of contemporary art museums is largely due to a concerted effort by artists and their families. Their efforts to canvas donations from collectors, friends, patrons and critics to gain entry into national collections, are of value. An artist’s reputation depends on the opinion of his critics and the choices made by art dealers. The generosity of the private donor remains one of the main sources of enrichment of collections of fresh pictures for more complete and consolidated national collections that reflect the whole history. 11 7. Conclusion Art is, in its simplest form, a form of communication. It has a motivated function and intent or a goal directed towards an individual or in the case of this discussion, a motivating purpose to unite and liberate a nation. These conscious actions may bring about political change when an artist like Gallen-Kallela comments on an aspect of society to convey a particular emotion or ideology. One of the defining functions of the 20th century was to use visual material to bring about political change. Art movements like Romantic Nationalism had their goals. The style of an artwork, artist or movement is the distinctive method and form followed by respective artists. Often a style is linked with a particular historical period, set of ideas and a particular artistic movement. Tolstoy, a Russian novelist, identified art as ‘the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.” For him art is not a craft but a direct form of communicating (Web. www.notable-quotes.com/tolstoy). For an idealist, art essentially exists in the mind of the creator and his ideal of style is founded in insight in the innermost character of things. Gallen-Kallela’s art overlapped in style, form and purpose and was not mutually exclusive. His purpose was to communicate ideas in politically, spiritually or philosophically motivated art to create a sense of beauty, to explore its nature of perception, and most of all, to generate strong emotions for national identity and liberation. Art often depicts terrible images and horrific imagery, which demonstrates a keen sense of composition and executes and produces fitting social and political outrage to mobilize a thought-provoking debate and revolutionary action to change the dormant structures of a state regarding governmental policies. Many cultures use art in rituals, performances and dances as a decoration or symbol with no specific utilitarian purpose, where it though serves a purpose on a level of meaning in a particular culture to result in future changes in the culture of generations to come. To create growing public enthusiasm and participation (bequests) by the public in order to strengthen the economic advancement and historical ties with one’s nation, exhibitions and everything that flow from them, create platforms where a nation can encourage and build a national spirit of coherence. The growth of collections and new works entering the art arena, give 12 rise to new museums, cultural exchange and richer and more balanced collections that depict a sufficiently full picture of the complexities of a historical period with reference to their future national focus. To keep the growth of a national heritage alive, the art world composed of painters, collectors, patrons and critics are in continual discussion to formulate on-going policy- change for reorganisation so that the world’s trends in historical, spiritual and philosophical growth, are incorporated into the building of a national identity. The goal is to improve a social order like building new national museums to preserve collections. Prosperity is created by working towards the strengthening of national pride and cohesion and well as socio-economic growth and national independence. __________ 13 Works Cited Web. www.mussee-orsay.fr. Web accessed on 10 April 2012. Web.akkigaleria.blogspot.com Web accessed on 10 April 2012. Web.www.silkhspectrum.com. C J Sreekuman, “Folk Arts as Mass Communication Media”. Web accessed on 12 April 2012. Web. www.metalfromfinland.com/finland/kalevala.Web accessed on 12 April 2012. Web. www.Plato.stanford.edu/entries/Rousseau. Web access on 14 April 2012. Web. www.Stan Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Web accessed on 14 April 2012. Web. www.Books.google.co.za/books/about/Kalevala. Web accessed on 14 April 2012. Web. The Rise of Finnish Nation/countriestudies.us/finland. Web accessed on 14 April 2012. Web. www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/08/ Web accessed on 14 April 2012. Web. wwwzeingeistmovement.com. Web accessed on 14 April 2012. Read More