Delving Deeper into Visual Arts and Films Understanding - Assignment Example

Visual Arts and Films A great deal of what we know about our history is due to the fact that people have felt compelledto communicate their thoughts and ideas visually. We understand how societies functioned and what they found important through the imagery that has remained through time. We also are reminded of some very significant events and that humanity and certain traits (i.e. warfare) remain the same. The relief of two servants bearing food and drink alludes to a royal feast where servants were responsible for serving the guests. It shows a man in a court robe carrying a heavy wineskin on a tray and another armed man carrying a covered vessel. These two figures indicate that eating and drinking were common activities in ancient feasts, which is also common in modern parties and celebrations. Ancient rulers had several servants in their households and their feasts involved the consumption of wine and bread (MOMA, 1). The scenes of war on the Standard of Ur illustrate a king being presented with prisoners of war and soldiers driving chariots marching to war. The king is represented by a large size that explains the Sumerian perception that their kings were appointed by the gods and had a high social and leadership level. These scenes indicate that the Sumerians had a strong army and the king waged war to subdue the neighbors and enemies. Guernica is a painting created after Italian and German warplanes bombed Guernica, a village in Spain. The painting illustrates the suffering experienced by civilians, animals and destruction of property during war. The war destroyed the town and several people were killed, and this painting shows the disadvantages of political instability. Portraiture refers to the art of making portraits, which are in the form of paintings and photographs. They are usually artistic representations of people or an individual that are used to display personality, expression, and mood of the subject. It mainly shows the face of the subject, but some body parts and the background are also visible. The Qianlong Emperor’s tour is a Chinese scroll representing the lavish pageantry of the emperor on arrival in Suzhou. It displays the activities of the Chinese people in the eighteenth century including their residencies, temples, shops, and scenic gardens. It also shows the superiority of the emperor who rides on a white horse accompanied by bodyguards and is received by several officials and dignitaries. We as humans need to wrap our heads around certain concepts. Having a tangible image of an angel that an artist has created for example, helps us to understand and have a collective image to assign to an intangible idea. An angel did not model for an artist, nor do we see angels flying around, but we all know what one looks like because artists have given us something to picture in our heads when the idea is put out there. Think about aliens. We all think we know what aliens look like because we have been given images by our media. In reality, we have no idea what an organism from another planet looks like.  In the painting of death and life, the artist has used a grinning skull covered in a dark lobe with several crosses to represent death. Life is represented by several women, a man, and children lying on a beautiful flowerbed. The newborn babies signify new life and women are overrepresented to signify the source of life. The painting represents all life stages from the newborn baby to the old woman to signify the continuous life cycle. The birthday painting portrays a young couple celebrating the birthday of the female. The young man is bent over as a way of pleasing his mate on her special day. The woman is holding a banquette of flowers, and there is a cake on the table. Cakes and flowers have become important gifts during modern birthday parties. The Book of the Dead consists of different magic spells that were supposed to assist a dead person in their journey through the underworld into the afterlife. It shows the ancient belief that the afterlife was a real place and the magic spells would help the dead to get there. They believed part of the spirit, ka, remained in the tomb and parts of the spells would provide sustenance from offerings, incense, food, and water. Ancient Greeks believed that the spirit of a human being left the body as a puff of wind when the person died and travelled to the underworld. The body was then prepared for burial according to their customs, which included erecting monuments and sculptures near the tombs so that the deceased would never be forgotten. The omission of the burial was viewed as an insult to human dignity and the spirit would travel to the underworld where Hades and his wife ruled. The Sistine chapel shows the popes residence in the Vatican City, which contains decorations showing the creation of Adam, the hand of God, and several human figures. These images illustrate the source or pillar of the Catholic Church doctrine. The images display scenes from the time of Noah and the fate of humanity during the floods, prophets, and the creation process. The chapel contains illustrations of God, the lineage of ancestors, up to the times of Jesus Christ. How could we possibly explain the idea of love or anger? Having a tangible form given to us by an artist helps  The weeping woman shows the face of a crying woman to illustrate pain and suffering. The face has a sharp surface and the jagged black lines near her mouth and chin illustrate the effects of tears. She stuffs a handkerchief in her mouth and her eyes are black apertures. This painting shows the pain and suffering experienced during and after the Spanish civil war. The eternal spring sculpture contains a woman and a man who are the source and destiny of love and affection. It depicts the passionate desire, sexual unrestraint, and physical beauty that are used to signify love. Jack Pakenham paintings display the anger and pain caused by different forms of communal violence. The artist uses masked people to signify gunmen or hangmen and maimed people who are in pain. These scenes show the aftermath of violence, bombings, political hypocrisy, and hatred that causes anxiety, anger, distrust, maiming and pain on citizens. The images of art born of anger portray the annoying real life events that force an artist to create paintings to express his or her feelings. These paintings usually relate to an event that happened to the artist or that which an artist wants to use to express his feelings. Mary Cassatt made paintings that portray the social life of women and the bonds that exist between mothers and their children. These images indicate the love that mothers have for their children. Salvador Dali made paintings that were influenced by his love for luxury and most of them display desire, hope and love. The elephant is a common image that portrays naturalness and creates a phantom of reality. The egg is also a common image that symbolizes the prenatal and intrauterine stages of life signifying hope and love. It often takes an artists interpretation to remind us of the simple beauty in things. We forget how beautiful objects are around us because we see them all the time.  The ocean park references the beautiful beach landscape represented by luminous colors, sensuously worked surfaces and geometric division of space. This painting shows the beauty of the beach land in California. The cabbage leaf has been used by several artists in their paintings due to its beautifully aligned veins. Edward Weston used the cabbage leaf to illustrate lava flowing from a volcano creating a beautiful landscape that resembles a cabbage leaf. Andy Warhol popularly used pop art in his paintings where he used popular subjects as the center of his art. He used soup cans, celebrities, butterflies, cars, animals, and dollar paintings in his art to create magnificent paintings. His paintings have a combination of different colors that show the beauty of the simple familiar objects. Marcel Duchamp used ready-mades in his art, which are ordinary everyday objects that were altered slightly and signed by him. He used objects such as a bottle rack, a urinal, a snow shovel, and a bicycle wheel. Man Ray mainly photographs in his work, and he was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. His painting work includes Emak Bakia, Ridgefield landscape, promenade, rope dancer, and several other photographs. We often take the world and the environment around us for granted. We also become desensitized to the way we experience the world around us. Think about how a child responds to the world compared to us. Some artists remind us of that feeling of wonder and excitement we used to get as children.  The gates represent amusing pictures of vinyl rods and panels of saffron-colored nylon fabric. These gates were lined up in the central park and were considered to lighten up the winter landscape. Robert Rauschenberg made white, black, and red paintings by incorporating pieces of newspapers into the painting work. His paintings also incorporated wood, newsprint, nails, trash, and other objects. These combinations made his work a colorful series of a combination of art and sculpturing. Bill Viola has used human consciousness and experiences such as birth, death, love, and emotions to create his art work. He uses dualism, a combination of opposite entities such as light and dark, life and death, to produce his work. He uses electronic art to create magnificent images such as the twilight, fall into paradise, and purification (Getlein and Gilbert, 54). In earth art, artists utilize several natural materials such as stones, landscapes, leaves and, dirt to create artistic pictures. The landscape is used to create sculptures and beautiful paintings of beaches, deserts, forests, waterfalls etc. Andy Goldsworthy uses nature such as stones, leaves, rocks, snow, organic matter etc to create his artwork. He combines differently colored naturally occurring elements to create images and exhibitions. Artists also use signs to pass their own messages and not another person’s message. These signs are used during campaigns, advertisements, or rallies to pass certain messages to the people. Art As Idea As Art is an artistic approach where artists use art to produce meaning using language. Kosuth used dictionary words to illustrate how art can be used to produce a certain meaning using language. We as humans feel the need to have a common ground, a sense of community and shared thought. Especially in a time of upheaval and confusion, artists will roll up their sleeves and become the voice of a group of people. This voice gives a sense of connection and commonality. A feeling that we are not alone in our thoughts. Having a place to go to feel that sense is important.  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial contains names of soldiers who died during the Vietnam War. A bronze statue of three servicemen and statue of two women tending to an injured soldier represent the people who participated in the war. Families and friends of the soldiers visit the site to place flowers and medals in memory of the veterans. The world trade center contains the memorial site for people who perished during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This site contains the names of those who perished and families and friends of the deceased visit annually for their remembrance. Stonehenge contains a circular setting of large natural stones of the complex Neolithic and bronze age monuments. This site represents the ancient art of a monument created using primitive tools and symbolizes the ancient man (Getlein and Gilbert, 30). Discuss relationships of content, subject matter and meaning among the following artworks. Indicate how the style and form of the artwork contribute to our overall perception of the work. Through web sites and your text, investigate the culture in which each piece was created and/or artists intent. Discuss what insights into the artworks this research gives you.  Gold Marilyn Monroe was painted the year she committed suicide and the artist used iridescent gold and silkscreened the star’s face due to her celebrity status. He represents Monroe as a reproducible image that can be remembered for several years. This painting reflects the irony of pop art since the central image signifies a religious tradition of painting and obsession with celebrity (MOMA, 1). Kollwitz used the self portrait show the hatred and incitement that occurred in Germany before Hitler’s rule. These portraits could also serve as an encouragement to people to find a way of living together harmoniously. They help artists focus even on the dark side of life especially the negative things that happen within the society (MOMA, 1). The Bwami Figure is created to show the Congolese semisecret relationships between men and women. The teachings of Bwami provided guidance of the moral development of individuals and governed the relationship with others. The figure contains wood and ivory masks, which are utilized during the initiation process. The polished sculpture depicts the refined and perfect nature of the Bwami initiative among the Congolese. Works cited Getlein, Mark and Gilbert Rita. Gilberts Living with Art. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print. Museum of Modern Art. (MOMA). Gold Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol. 2012. Web. [Accessed 25, August, 2012]. Read More