Religion As Belief And Religion As Fact - Research Paper Example

Religion As Belief And Religion As Fact My reflections on the experience of visiting the museum In a famous peanuts cartoon, Linus says that people believe in Santa Claus, while he believes in the great pumpkin. Well, they are all right but According to the visit I made to a metropolitan museum of art in Africa it does not matter what one believes and what one does not believe as long the believer is sincere. I thought the museum has artifacts that do not really make sense but my experience was enormous. I also thought misconceptions that museums make artifacts to depict certain characters and things in different cultures. This definitely has a thing to with belief and well I had some misconceptions about the in subject, which happens to be a metropolitan museum of art. Well I previously thought that these artifacts are a result of ignorance and ridiculous superstition until I visited the museum as an analyst. By this, I mean that I should not use hatred and antagonism to define. My prior understanding about this museum in subject altered during my encounter in that I realized that religion and culture is merely devotion in greater being or thing and in something beyond us in such a way that we cannot explain or control. These artifacts from Middle East, Africa and West Virginia under analysis are not fictions but facts and I must have been very wrong about the particular museum I visited. I do not believe misconceptions about other people’s religion or culture are common because they are not assertions only that they sometimes go unnoticed by students and those talking about them and who see artifact collection as dupe that is fantastic and propagated by individuals who depict wicked liars and in the urge of tricking people out their money. I can recommend a step that people could take to minimize misconceptions people have about religions and cultures not their own by visiting metropolitan museum for artifact or the preferred regions analysis. Introduction In this paper, there is a presentation of preliminary results of artifact analysis at a metropolitan museum of art from three different regions mainly Africa, Middle East and West Virginia. There is a similarity between three artifacts from these regions where the three artifacts are similar ad bear the same name “The bust of Lucius Verus” which reveals an intricately carved piece of marble representing Lucius Verus, one of the renowned em e perors of ancient Rome despite being second in command. The reason this artifact is similar in these regions is that the regions practice similar religion and almost share the same religion cultural belief. He served as a deputy emperor in between 161 and 169 AD. History of the artifacts reveals that Lucius was arguably hesitant to pose for portraits including official ones in different regions and places. Many people with the knowledge of this emperor say that he was a shy emperor. The likeness of these wonderful pieces of art in different materials depending on the region has proven to be particularly vital to researchers studying this mysterious ruler safe for the complex family sagas (Harrsch 1). The bust of Lucius Verus in Middle East represents a freestanding sculpture whose purpose is to commemorate heroism therefore making a remarkably strong individual sense depending on culture. The burst of Lucius Verus in Africa on the other hand has incised irises and pupils as opposed to revealing them using paint, as it is the case in West Virginia the artifact belonging to the West Virginia region individualizes the burst of Lucius Verus with small plump lips and a hooked nose. He also has almond-shaped eyes and relatively straight eyebrows, in addition to a flamboyant m ustache. Looking at the artifact from the African region, his beard appears luxurious in the sense that it is mid-length with neat and parallel rows of curls (Thompson 64). All the three sculptors regardless of using different materials have managed to portray the psychological state of the emperor through features that are classic such as the turn of the head, the gaze of the eyes and the set of the mouth among other attributes of expression that I might not have noticed. With regards space, it is in three dimensional with visible height, depth and width. Its closed status is traceable by the continuous mass from the head to the end of the base. The line is free flowing from one end to another. This is evident by the curvy or wavy lines running through the drapery. The neat and curly hair indicates continuous flow of lines around the bust’s face. The piece has a clear edge and outline indicating that emphasizing lines were used. The overlapping wrinkles and folds of the drapery depict distance and depth. th The busts from all these religions have a smooth texture except for the head and beard, which depict rough finish depending on the culture and beliefs such as respect for people with long beards and mustaches. Otherwise, the fine and well-polished look of marbles bring out a soft-warm look. The sculptures have organic shapes. There is an exhibition of these shapes within the boundaries of such aspects as line, texture, and color among others. The pieces have natural looks, in addition to flowing and curving impressions. The pieces look soft, calming and peaceful. The relaxed postures indicate the co-emperor’s sense of confidence. Looking at the artifact from the Middle East region, the drapery diminishes the volume it covers thus it is nondependent of the bust’s body. It draws significant attention to the head as the specific focus point. The drapery enhances the completeness of the bust by covering up the enclosed spaces. The wrinkles flowing across the bust’s torso indicate motion on the artifact from the African region. They assist to integrate the artistic work into the front elevation of the sculpture. There are indications of the artifacts by repetition of elements such as the curly hair and beard, and the toga’s gentle folds as illustrated on figure one. figure one (appendix 1). The idea behind features, such as the drapery reveals a flowing movement from one end of the shoulder to another. This organized movement works to enhance the feeling of action, in addition to guiding the viewer’s eye through the piece. The larger features on the piece seem more salient than the smaller ones. This relationship has been used to achieve proportion. The piece from West Virginia is made up of marble and in this case, the material helps to portray the sculpture as an object that is recognizable in its natural form. The piece qualifies to be an example of realism since it represents what was is there in real life (Thompson 65). The use of this material suggests the emperor’s nobility, great wealth and belonging to the classical world in all these regions which happens to be very interesting indeed. The grass piece from the Middle East, which mostly appears in the books of history, has a pale and earthy coloration. This color enables the piece to stand out. The sculpture has a strong contrast making it easy to distinguish between the various elements including the curly hair, smooth face and the torso covered in the toga. In other words, a textural contrast is seen on the curly beards and hair relative to the sculptures’ smooth skin. The sculpture depicts the extensive and careful use of the drill to develop his beard and hair alike. The locks of hair are deeply textured to reveal an intricate contrast in line with smoothness of skillfully carved flesh. The sculpture’s dressing, in addition to the neat grooming of the curly hair and beard, depict a high status. Moreover, the smooth face highly individualizes Lucius Verus, the emperor. Generally, the piece is asymmetrical on the basis that it is twisted at an angle. All the three busts appear to turn its head towards the southwest. The asymmetrical orientation has been used to create stability in the sculpture thus achieving balance. Harmony has been achieved by maintaining the same color throughout the pieces. Another aspect of harmony is the repeated curly hair including the beards. The careful placement of the curly hair and beard (repeated elements) on the piece of art enhances a visual beat thus rhythm. Harmony has also been achieved through the use of three different materials mainly marble, silver and glass. This ensures no uniformity thus the sculptures uncomplicated look, which could have been the case if all the sculptors tried copying from one another regardless of depicting and representing one thing. Figure two helps illustrate that, as it is short and made of marble from the West Virginia region. Figure two (appendix 2). The sculptures achieve unity and order through the fact that all the above-mentioned features are well organized into different pieces and that each of them appears in the right position. The pieces are orderly due the organized arrangement of the various elements. The bases are not part of the pieces and they are in different materials but mostly molds that hold them firm standing. It is only an end to the sculpture’s support column joined to a flat plate. Lastly, the piece has an exciting, complete and unique effect thus achieving unity as illustrated in figure three. figure three (appendix 3). In conclusion, the bust of Lucius Verus represents meticulous work of art in memory of the co-emperor. This wonderful piece of art reflects the hard work of sculptors in order to develop the intricate features associated with it. The astonishing look of the sculpture depicts the realistic consideration of the formal elements of its development. Finally, the artistic principles that are used ensure that the sculpture had a vivid sense of expression. References Harrsch, M. (2012). “Statue of Lucius Verus recovered in Rome”. New York: Reports of the National Center for Science Education. Thompson, Nancy L. (2007). “Roman Art: A Resource for Educators”. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dutch, S. (2002). (in press); Religion as Belief Versus Religion as Fact. Jerusalem: Journal of Geosciences Education, 21(09), pp. 12-24. Galanopoulos, G. (2000). The truth behind the legend. New York: Bobbs-Merrill. Appendices Figure one Figure two Figure three Read More