Final Thoughts

Coming into this class, I don’t think I had many preconceived notions, but rather didn’t know very much about the cultures of Africa, Oceania, North America, and Mesoamerica, outside of the little experience I’ve had with movies, television, photographs, and general overviews in other classes. It’s difficult not to base an opinion on what information you do have, even if there is little of it. Its interesting to consider the ways in which one can misunderstand or judge things like those of other cultures, particularly those that are non-Western, by giving blanket statements about “primitiveness” or “uncivilized” aspects. But it is possible to go in the opposite direction, and value things that one doesn’t understand the significance of, or in a way that actually disrespects the people of those cultures, or that is meant more as a rejection of another culture, rather than for preference of another. That can happen in the case of the Hopi masks, that are sold as artwork, when they were not made as “art”. It is fine to value and find beautiful the cultures and their art and productions, just as it is okay to not find them appealing. But I think the key is to attempt and understand the context, as I feel I’ve begun to do in Art 1G.

During the semester, I have learned a lot about the tradition of the “art” objects- which were not made with the intention of being “art”-, and respect for those traditions, that allowed the methods and styles to continue unchanged; which is unique compared to the art of the Western world, that is often made specifically as art, and, at least in the modern era, seems to consistently evolve. The objects, like African masks, Pacific Northwest totem poles, and other material things, were made with specific purposes, related to culture, religion, and customs, that were central to the cultures’ lives and continuation, rather than as first as decorative objects meant to be visually pleasing. The distinctness of the architecture, sculptures, masks, divination objects, self-decoration, and other features was surprisingly visible between the tribes of similar regions, as well as across continents. That sense of regionalism is so refreshing to see, and reminds me of the value of that regionalism in things like art, architecture, clothing, and food, that also existed among the Catholic countries of Europe and other places in the world for some time, and that I hope continues. That distinctness and variety is necessary in many aspects of life, I believe, and while the world can be connected and have things in common, to lose that variety in our own time would be a loss. 

It has been a pleasure to see so many examples of African, Oceanic, and American art, and I’m happy to have taken Art 1G. 

Time Travel

The various sites of Mesoamerica offer much to appreciate and study. It is difficult to single out a specific site over the others, but I think the Zapotec civilization’s Monte Alban would be especially interesting to visit. Unlike other sites, the architecture is built in unison with the land, according to its geographical layout and features, rather than according to the North, South, East and West, making this site distinct. Another appealing feature worth seeing are the elaborate frescos of the tombs. Other elements that make Monte Alban unique include the construction of the pyramids, namely the complex, decorative tableros, and the very wide balustrades lining the relatively more narrow staircases. These are just a few of the features, that along with the beautiful photographs, and the lovely natural setting, that makes visiting Monte Alban a very appealing thought.

Two Views of Meso-American Architecture

The architecture of Meso-America across periods offers much to study and appreciate, as well as interesting contrasts of sites between periods and individual cultures. 

The early Mexican site of Mitla was built by the Mixtec civilization in Southern Mexico, with buildings organized in five groupings: Western group; Arroyo group; Southern group; group of the Five Columns; and Church group. Mitla can be best described as an irregularly-placed series of cloistered courtyards, like a suburb, with the buildings lacking relationships with each other; yet they’re connected by the high level of individuality. Offering some contrast in layout, is Palenque, a Maya site, situated on the edge of the Mexican rainforest, which was a place of ceremony. It contains the Palace, the Temple of the Sun, and the Temple of Inscriptions. The Palace has a labyrinth, leading to a four-story tower. The temples were centered around a plaza, and built on top of stepped pyramids. Overall, it seems much more centralized in layout, with more direct relationships between the buildings in both placement and design.

The major architectural decorations of both the Mayan and early Mexican sites are (mostly) relief-based: Mitla’s is the geometrically-patterned fretwork panels, in a step and fret repetition, and suggests the god Quetzalcoatle; and Palenque’s Temple of Inscriptions features the longest Mayan series of hieroglyphs at 620, dealing with Mayan history and that of the kings, bahlum or jaguar, and is a major unique decorative feature. Mitla also features later slab-sculptured marriage reliefs and murals; however, Palenque features relief-carved sarcophagus, and jade death mask and pieces in the tomb of Pacal in the Temple of Inscriptions, as well as hieroglyphic-decorated slabs in each room of the temples. 

Palenque and Mitla features columns and roofs, as seen in the Mayan mansard roofs of the tops of the stepped pyramids, and on the Temple of Inscriptions, four supporting columns, each with life-size stucco figures holding babies or children; and the Mitla Hall of Columns near the entrance of the sanctuary supported by six large volcanic-stone columns that supported it. There is also a ‘Pillar of Death’ in the Patio of Tombs at Mitla. 

At first, it was difficult to see the similarities between early-Mexican Mitla and classic Mayan Palenque, from different cultures, areas, and styles. But the use of columns, roofs, and carved-reliefs, connect these two sites; while at the same time, these and other features make each distinct. 

VW Bead-le

This post shows a VW bug covered in beautiful, colorful patterns, by Huichol artists. To me, it represents the indigenous Mexican and South American aesthetic of intricate patterns and high-level of detail that can be seen in murals, terra cotta figures, and fretwork relief sculptures. This is a very contemporary use of a traditional art practice, and it is so striking and fun.

patti haskins

I saw these photos on both boingboing and Artdaily. You know how much I love Huichol art. This is cooler than cool. I wish I could see it in person. Amazing. Once again the Huichol amaze me with their talent and patience.

The text accompanying the photo on both sites is: PUEBLA.- People look at a 1990s Volkswagen Beetle named Vochol during an exhibition on Huichol culture at the Museum of Puebla, near Mexico City August 10, 2011. The name Vochol, was conceived from a combination of Vochoa popular term for Volkswagen Beetles in Mexico and Huichol, a Mexican indigenous group. The car was decorated by indigenous craftmen from the Huichol community living in the states of Nayarit and Jalisco, using traditional beads and fabric. According to local media, the work will be auctioned after its exhibition in Paris and Berlin next year, with proceeds going to the…

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Midway Reflections

At the beginning of this class, I wasn’t entirely sure about studying the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, in what I would see and how the process would be. The arts have been interesting, with many things that I didn’t expect to see. I have enjoyed some things, and others, while I can appreciate them, I don’t necessarily like from a personal and aesthetic perspective. I think I was equally interested in all of the areas we have seen thus far, and found and learned unexpected things about them and the cultures, especially since I didn’t know to much about them to begin with. I have, however, studied Native North American art somewhat in a past class,  with more of that coming up in the coming weeks. I was surprised to see the very naturalistic terra cotta Oni heads of the Ife in Nigeria, and the various canoes of Oceania, which I had never studied before and found very beautiful and unique.

The blogging experience has been fun, since it was something I had never thought I could or would do, and it is very different than what I have done in other classes. It seems helpful in finding things that I likely wouldn’t otherwise from the blogs of other people, and it seems like a unique opportunity that fits well with these societies’ art histories.  I can’t believe it’s already the middle of the semester, and I’m excited to see the art of the Pacific Northwest, in particular, because it seems very unique to the other regions of the Americas. I think I have been able to be objective in my study, and be appreciative and respectful of the arts and cultures when it is due, while maintaining my personal beliefs and tastes. In the past,  I think I felt like I had to “like” or agree with everything I saw, especially those things outside of western culture, in order to not feel or be seen as judgmental or intolerant.

I think there is a balance to be found between being objective and maintaining personal beliefs and tastes, with being open and receptive; recognizing both my own limited experiences and knowledge (on art and many other subjects), while acknowledging the validity of my opinions and point of view.  I think the ability to be more balanced, thoughtful, and objective, when studying and viewing art, and really anything else, is a very valuable skill to have, and one that I can credit to Art 1G.

Somewhere Saturday- Newspaper Rock

This post shows a lovely example of Native American petroglyphs in Moab, Utah. The photograph is striking, and I bet it is even more impressive in person. It is interesting to see these in comparison to the Great Lakes petroglyphs, and what we will see in the coming weeks of Native American arts.

For the Love of Wanderlust

The first time I was in Moab, my dad and I made the hour long drive just to see this incredible work of art. Being an anthropology major, this was something I was desperate to see! Newspaper Rock is a huge rock with petroglyphs carved into it, the oldest are believed to be around 2,000 years old! Incredible! If you’re in the area and interested in archaeology or Native American culture, go!

‘Somewhere Saturday’s’ are short and simple posts: just a picture from a place I’ve been with a very brief explanation, but there is a link to the longer post above.

For more posts and travel articles I find interesting ‘like’ the For the Love of Wanderlust page on Facebook. Simply click HERE.

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10/6/13- From Bush Grass to Ocean Waves: Images of Oceania

The act of viewing and comparing the art of Oceania quickly reveals  the diversity of cultural societies that developed distinctly from one another in this part of the world. You can also see the influence of environment when comparing art objects from two different regions that make up Oceania: Aboriginal Australia and island Melanesia and Polynesia.

In the first example, a modern bark painting from Australia (image credit), reflects the Oenpelli tradition of x-ray rock painting, as well as bark-painting.  While the outline of the kangaroo figure is curvilinear, the majority of line and decoration is straight, with cross-hatching patterns.

Contrasting with that, is the more curved, circular, and flowing lines seen in the island regions, Melanesia and Polynesia. There is a general influence of ocean in this region’s decoration and objects, including in the Maori war canoe bow-piece (image credit). There are very few straight lines, and the overall impression is one of flowing, soft curves.

The sense of straightness and angles of the bark painting contrasts with the curvilinear, circular design of the canoe piece. One could easily relate the bark painting’s use of straight lines to the environmental influence of grass, and this type of straight patterning is seen in other Aboriginal Australia art as a common motif and style, including Yirrkala wooden figures, shell necklaces, and other 2-dimensional depictions. The scroll-like, curvilinear design of the canoe, on the other hand, is reminiscent of water and waves, and those curves are seen in the style of island art, throughout the diverse cultures. There is an distinctness to these examples and their use of straight or curving lines, that while somewhat opposing, makes them appealing as a pair, as well as illustrative to the diversity of Oceanic art.

Aboriginal art

This post deals mainly with the market surrounding Aboriginal art of Australia, but is interesting to see examples of it, and the uniqueness of the art to the the cultures. The continuation of traditions in the the modern day is an fascinating topic, and brings to my mind process of maintaining, or adapting, those art traditions.

holsterdesign

Well what a week. With my first photo shoot of my furniture, new website http://www.holsterdesign.co.uk

And now there is a new string to my bow. Aboriginal art! How did this come to be?
Long story short, my father who’s business I grew up in, that being antiques, second hand furniture and a bit of art sales in the mix, has been a great buyer to many a supplier. Be that French furniture, reproductions and anyone who wants to trade something in for one of eclectic pieces. He’s always on the look out for the next big thing.

In his travels he meets some real characters and some really genuine people. The access to the aboriginal art that I now have rights to sell here in the UK is through one of these genuine people.
I’ve picked up bits and pieces of this story and didn’t think to much of it…

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Three Faces of African Art

The art of Africa throughout the regions and tribes are both similar and diverse, with a wide range that make it interesting to compare them.

The first image that our class has discussed is this Benin ivory mask of queen mother from Nigeria. The style is naturalism, clearly representing a human face, with accurately rendered facial features and scarification marks. I’d like to note that the degree of naturalism varies within African art, with some objects showing a high degree of representationalism, while others can be described as a combination of stylization and naturalism, and yet they are considered the same style. The theme is kingship, interesting in particular to Benin because of the high degree of focus on kingship in the art, even including depictions of queens.

The second example, the royal stool of the Bamum/Cameroon, also deals with the theme of kingship, but in a different way. It is stylized, because although there is a figure of an animal, the focus is not to make something purely realistic; I couldn’t have guessed simply by observation that the animal is a leopard. The leopard is supporting the seat, and decorated with geometric patterns in black, white, and red, all relating to kings and their power. It is interesting to compare this example of kingship with the Benin mask,  in style and type of object (naturalistic vs. stylized, face vs. throne), because while they have the same theme they display the variation that can be observed in the art of Africa between regions and tribes.

The last piece is a Kanaga mask of the Dogon tribe in West Africa. It is used for divination, specifically funeral rites, with the arms stretching up and down, symbolizing the need of deceased ancestors to connect to the people on earth. The earth tone colors and patterns have a certain beauty that I stood out to me when studying West African art. It is dramatic grotesque because of the use of the mask in dramatic rites, and the lack of representationalism, with a focus on patterns rather than human or animal anatomy. There is a part of me that wants to describe it as stylized versus “grotesque”, because of comparison to other dramatic grotesque masks that are much more frightening or distorted.

While not necessarily showing the three different themes (family, divination, kingship), these example represent the three common styles of African art, naturalism, stylization, and dramatic grotesque; and the two kingship examples show just how broad the categories can be, and the different ways the cultures and regions use art to describe a theme and purpose.  I think these examples serve the purpose of showcasing the variety, culture, as well as aesthetics, of African art we have studied thus far, with a surprising level of both cohesiveness and contrast among the visual variety and purposes.

African Hair as an art

This post talks about traditional African hairstyles, and includes beautiful pictures of them, including in a contemporary context. It also talks about the connections of hair to status, religion, and authority. I found it especially interesting since our Art 1G’s class book mentions the art of Africa, Oceania and the Americas include body art as a very important part of culture, and that would include temporary decoration like these intricate hairstyles.

African Cool Hunter

I love hair, natural hair in particular, and it might not come as a surprise for those who personally know me, to be posting about the dynamics of African hair. There is so much that can be done with African hair and a lot of it is unappreciated. There has been a recent fascination about African textured hair and there appears to be a growing appreciation for it. For some Africans a choice of hairstyle can be deemed as a political statement, perhaps a form of self-expression and identity.  For me personally I chose to maintain natural hair because I think it’s beautiful, unique and versatile. I just personally think there is so much love about African hair. It’s an art in itself.

This post is inspired by a book called Hair in African Art and Culture. It explores artwork ranging from combs, hairpins, beads, headrests to some contemporary…

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