Different Cultures in Art - Essay Example

Different Cultures in Art African Art I San Rock Art: Who are the San? San are indigenous inhabitants of southern Africa, they made rock paintings across the region between c. 25,000 to the 18th century. Pejoratively referred to as “Bushmen” by European settlers. The neighboring farmers have recognized the San as the original custodian of the land; hence, they turn to them for rain, particularly on the San shaman. It was the shaman who controlled the farmer’s economy as the farmers request Bushman rainmakers to perform rituals and gave them cattle in return. Because of this role, the shaman claimed a higher status in San society as the procurer of meat and with it, the power through the right to distribute the meat. What does their rock depicts? The rocks in the San Rock art of the Bushmen depicted the Antelope Men and Flying Bucks, touching on mysteries of the Bushmen’s spiritual life, bridging the outer and inner worlds with the help of the illustrations of animal-spirit powers. The eland is the most common image in the San rock art and its slow death by poisoned arrow is linguistically equated with the trancing shaman. For the San, the eland is the supreme animal that is invariably associated with curing dance and the youth transition rites. In addition, the act of men hunting eland is fundamental to San metaphors of gender relations. An interesting aspect in the rock art was the presence of lines streaming from the eland, flying figures and lion’s head. This is believed to be nosebleeds – the n/um – which wells out when a shaman is in a dance/trance state. The idea is that the shamans become the eland or another animal in trance states to draw upon the creature’s potency. Why do the San hold rituals? As with other tribes and communities, the San hold rituals for practical and religious purposes. Their major ritual, for instance, the trance dance, is performed in order to cure the sick by achieving a trance called !kia in !Kung wherein n/um is activated in the dancer’s body, enabling him to cure in various ways. Ife: According to Frank Willet (“Ife in Nigerian Art”) what is the connection between Nok, Ife and Benin art? In his work on Ife art, Willet has noted many general characteristics which Ife sculptures share with those of Nok and that these two could also provide a basis for a freely stylized interpretations of Benin. For instance, he identified the use of wax discs which for Willet indicates a cultural connection. Ife, Nok and Benin art are also connected in the sense that they produced the highest artistic bronzes and splendid terracotta and brass that is rivaled only by the Shang dynasty of China and the Italian Renaissance. According to Willet what is the function of the Ife heads? The function of the Ife effigies was used for state funerals. But generally, the heads functioned as individual portraits especially by the royal family. For example, the head was used for state ceremonies. It became a sort of double for the sovereign, when it wore the king’s regalia. Thus, for Willet, it served to symbolize the continuity of the monarchy. Willet told us that that “they must have presented a vivid appearance.” In addition, the Head is the seat of judgment and thought of the rulers that is why the heads of conquered chiefs were brought back as trophies. Then there’s the position that the well-being of a man and his family depended on his Head. Thus everyone must concern themselves with worshipping and paying homage to their heads. African Art II What is Sande and what is Poro ? According to Sylvia Boone (“Radiance from the Waters”) what does Sowo represents? What is the pratical function and symbolic meaning of the Sowo Wui? Sylvia Boone writes that Sande is a socially consolidating force and a religion with the power to make life good and to inspire the highest aspirations among its members. Sande are associations based on gender solidarity, it is a society of women. Poro on the other hand, is for men and that this society was mainly responsible for punishing such serious acts such as incest and homicide. Members of the highest rank in Poro formed councils to settle disputes and chiefs frequently relied on their Poro grade to support their power. Both the Sande and Poro have puberty rites that is aimed at impressing upon new members the sacredness of their duty to the society. To this end the youths underwent a travel, a series of terrifying dreams in which they are symbolically eaten by the Poro or Sande spirit – the devil – and were then reborn by the same spiritual force. The Sande and Poro societies spread in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Sowo, on the other hand, is a black mask, which means expert. This is worn by an elected female leader (Sowo Wui) tasked with supervising the education of initiates, perpetuating society traditions, and adjudicating marital disputes. The sowo is an articulation of the society’s ideals as its wearer holds the mastery of society practices. The sowo mask used in the rituals exhibits the import of the head and the neck area as the site of intelligence and morality with detailed coiffures, striated necks, and small and discreet eyes and mouth. The sowo is an articulation of the society’s ideals as its wearer holds the mastery of society practices. The wooden mask is also a symbol of the mystery of the woods and the spirits that inhabit them; worn into town by the leader of the society, the mask represents the taming and control of anarchic forest spirits. The iconography that represents this is the blackness of the mask. Islamic Art What is the Dome of Rock In addition to its religious function, what could have been its original political function Your answer should refer to Oleg Grabar’s article “ The Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.” The dome of the Rock is an Umayyad building. Oleg Grabar (2007) suggested that that this building was part of a larger urban plan including the rebuilding of the south and the southwestern walls of the Haram and the cutting of possibly the entire northern third of the Haram. It is unique from other Islamic architecture in design and function as appears to have been built in response to the Church of the Ascension on the nearby Mount of Olives. From this end, we can see the political significance of the Dome of the Rock both to Moslems and for Jerusalem. The inscriptions, the design, its form are rich with symbolisms that glorify the Islamic status as a religion. Specifically, the political function of the building is highlighted by the fact that it was here that the caliphs and governors addressed the Muslims, and it soon acquired judicial functions, as the setting for the court of Muslim judge and as a center of Muslim education. It is especially important, according to Grabar because it is the earliest remaining monument of Islam. The discussion of symbolism is related to the status of the building as a chronological successor to the Temple of Solomon. Pre- Columbian Art I (Mesoamerica) Choose only one in this category: The Templo Mayor How did the Templo Mayor function in Aztec society? Consider the temple’s religious and political roles. It is important to underscore that for Mesoamericans, including the Aztecs, the city was defined by its central temple. And the Templo Mayor functioned as such. It was used as the main ceremonial platform. It was built precisely in the place called axis mundi – the center of the universe. This spot is supposedly where two rocks arose above two caves filled with water. In the waters reside the father and the mother of the gods, the ancient god of fire and the lord of time. The Templo Mayor was peopled with numerous actors who performed a variety of functions within the precinct. These included priestly obligations such as censing or blowing of shell trumpets at different hours at night, bloodletting and human sacrifices performed by priests and kings. Then there were the ritual acts performed within the structure to legitimize political functions including the installation of rulers and the sumptuous banquets, exchange of gifts and distribution of luxury tributes. Why and to whom did the Aztec perform human sacrifice at the site? What mytho-historical event are they believed to have been recreating through the sacrificial performance? The Aztecs believed that human sacrifice was of the utmost importance to ensure the survival of the universe that is why they continue to practice it. Human sacrifices are dedicated to the regional gods like the sun god Huitzilopochtli, the rain god Tlaloc, among others in the belief that the gods were nourished by the sacrifice of human life. The myth of the birth of Huitzilopochtli was also reenacted in the temple. In the reenactment, an exalted image honoring Huitzilopochtli sat at the top of Templo Mayor, and at the base of this pyramid’s long majestic stairway rested a huge stone image of the dismemberment of Coyolxauhqui. What types of evidence have scholars used to reconstruct the Templo Mayor? The main features of the Templo Mayor were fairly known by 1978; they have been reconstructed with evidence from the ethnohistorical accounts, the scattered excavations around Mexico City, and the archaeological work at other Aztec sites. (Boone 1987, p. 59) What was the significance of the discovery of the Coyolxauhqui Stone? The discovery of Coyolxauhqui in 1978 was dramatic for two reasons: first, the divine songs about the battle between Huitzilopochtli and Coyolxauhqui had been known since the middle of sixteenth century but it was the first time that the actual stone carving of the goddess came to light (Nicholson 1985, p. 84); second, and equally important is the fact that its discovery led to the excavation of the Templo Mayor itself. Oceania What is meant by the term “mana”? Describe two Oceanic art traditions that represent mana. Consider how mana is infused into the art in terms of material, use, owner, patron, etc. Mana is an Oceanic term that connotes “spiritual power,” “magical power,” or “supernatural power or influence.” Throughout Oceania spiritual experiences are portrayed in artistic forms, carved in wood such as in the Bisj poles found in Indonesia and in stone such as in reliefs found in New Guinea. The Bisj poles are made for a ceremony, which is a pledge to avenge an ancestor’s death. The poles are thrown in the sago orchard where it decomposes. The spirit from the poles are released into the sago and that when it is eaten, the power of the dead ancestor is transported back into the person who consumes it. Manmade arts and crafts were integrated in form and function and, like all things, had a life spirit or mana. Art objects were regarded not as lifeless but as maintaining a vital inner force that could be strengthened through appropriate rituals or drained away by improper contacts. (Van 2002, p. 193) The materials could be wood, metal or stone and that mana is acquired and transferred through ceremonies, death and symbolic consumption of the relic. Read More