Traditional Way of Life in Ancient Mexican Art - Essay Example

VISUAL ARTS AND FILM STUDIES Art signifies a wide range of human activities as well as the result of those activities. There are various forms of artistic expressions; one of them been visual arts. Visual arts includes the representation of human life through the creation of images by photography, sculptures, paintings, printmaking and collection of various ceramics that have been used by man since the world began. Visual arts have been used over the years to capture man’s way of life, representing both the traditional and contemporary way of life in various ways (Maria et. al 35). The above painting, New Mexican Pueblo, was done by Frank P.

Sauerwein. The painting is a representation of an Indian lifestyle setting where the old would seat with the young and educate them on life issues. I selected this painting for inclusion in MyartLabs History 6th Edition since it signifies a very important cultural practice among the Indians. The Indians are today marked as one ethnic group that has retained its culture and whose people still value the importance of morality especially among the young people (Maria et al 134). With such a painting in this edition, both the young and the old will be reminded on the importance of upholding their culture and the role that the old have on educating the young people as they grow up.

The painting will serve as an educational and cultural tool in the MyartLabs History. The 2nd thing that I would want included in this section is the San Juan Pueblo clay pitcher. The pitcher is white in color with black designs to show the traditional beliefs of the Mexican people. The reason for this inclusion is that the jar will serve to remind us how our ancestors preserved their water. This is in comparison of today’s readily available bottled water which is believed to contain minerals.

This ceramic is an indication of how much man has changed his lifestyle to cope with the changing technological advancements of the 21st century. . Thomas Worthington Whittredge is well known for his “In the Rockies” sculpture. This sculpture captures the vast plains along the Platte River. This sculpture serves to remind us how the world was before civilization occurs. It captures the real beauty of the world; with a soldier holding a gun possibly getting ready for hunting. It would best fit into the historical context of the edition as a constant reminder of the adverse changes that modernization has caused to our environment.

In the cultural context, the sculpture serves to remind us of the simple lives that our ancestors once lived. The drawing below captures a traditional setting of a Mexican village. It shows two children walking with a woman as they head out to carry out their daily duties. Inclusion of this drawing into MyartLabs will remind the young people of their responsibility to help their parents. The village setting is also closely knitted unlike today where each person lives in their own enclosed space.

This drawing is most suited under the historical section so as to remind us of how closely knitted people were in the past. Conclusion As earlier mentioned, art is a representation of people’s way of life. The visual arts captured above all reflect on the traditional age when people lived simple lives in unity and live. They capture the lack of technology yet existence of a coherent and moderate lifestyle led by our ancestors. Inclusion of these visual arts in today’s artistic websites will in general serve to remind us of where we have come from; not only in Mexico but in the whole world at large.

Work cited Xanthoudaki, Maria, Les Tickle, and Veronica Sekules. Researching Visual Arts Education in Museums and Galleries: An International Reader. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2003. Print.