theinvisiblestudio

[theinvisiblestudio]

Week 9

Gothic art, which was covered in chapter 13, became a popular style in the mid 11th century to the 16th century. This was still during the medieval period.  Gothic art has brighter colors, more realism, some developmental perspective and proportion, uses more shadows and light, naturalism, and symmetry. Gothic art was styled in sculptures, metal work, stained glass windows, panel paintings, manuscripts, and tapestries.

Cathedrals, in Greek, are called the seat of a bishop. Cathedrals belong to a city or town whichever it’s located in.  Rural churches, like in Sainte-Foy, where cathedrals are required in an urban surrounding. When I see pictures of the stained glass windows it reminds me of the Disney movie, Hunchback of Notre Dame where they show the windows while one of the characters is singing in the church. The construction of a cathedral was a large economic plan in the Gothic era. It helped others find jobs like masons, carpenters, sculptors, stonecutters, and different kinds of crafters. Cathedrals provided events or activities as long as it was a religious activity, which gave the towns folk much pride.  Cathedrals were more of a dome shape and have many arches to hold everything together.                                                 

Next is the development of the gothic style. The Chartres was the standard for other French cathedrals in the Gothic style. The cathedral in Reims was created in 1211 to 1290. It took seventy-nine years to build a cathedral but it gave plenty of people jobs. It was about one hundred twenty-five feet high. The west interior of the chapels are bigger and deeper than the Chartres. The arches in Reims are taller and thinner than the Chartres. The outside had more sculptures than the Chartres as well.

The German Gothic style was somewhat different to the other styles. The Cologne cathedral was the biggest cathedral of them all. The towers were 515 feet high and was completed in 1350.  The Cologne cathedral was the worlds tallest building, until 1890. It involves the largest reliquary in the West, called Shrine of the Tree Kings. When looking at the pictures in the book, each picture is more beautiful than the last. The cathedrals look like humongous castles with such fine detail. Making buildings must take so long to make. The patterns are very elegant and the windows look flawless.

I chose multiple stainless glass windows. They look like colorful snowflakes showing off their colors. Each one has a different style but are similar in shapes. Some look like flowers but each one has a different perspective where they are. Each single glass was specifically cut into a perfect shape. One looks like its in a church by the angles, most of them look like they are in a dark place so they can show off their brightness and symmetry. My favorite picture is the pink stain glass with the dark blue glass. The colors tie together and make it complete. It might be the darkest out of the nine pictures and looks like a snowflake but it is my favorite.

[theinvisiblestudio]

Describing art can be difficult because its hard to describe the words. I like how you flowed the paragraphs together like music belongs on a staff. 

Week 8

Art is very influential. It can make you feel, think, and believe in something just by looking at it, but the question this week’s reading brings up is; What influences art? Is it a religion? Is it the government or political organizations? Is it simply the artist’s values and beliefs? Or maybe there is a set of rules that forbid you from getting influenced by religion, politics, and/ or your values and beliefs to create art. According to Muhammad’s teachings and the Koran, it is forbidden to create a representation of Allah and his prophets. It is forbidden to be influenced by their own religion to create art, and that is the primary reason why Islamic art mostly consists of abstract geometric and floral patterns.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for abstract paintings and fields of flowers. Take the mosaic-filled Dome in front of mihrab in Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain. This Dome is part of The Great Mosque of Córdoba. For those of you who don’t know what a Mosque is, it is a building where Muslims come to pray; they kneel and face Mecca. The dome is filled with inspiration from Byzantine mosaics and backdropped by shining gold. It is a shame that King Charles I of Spain ordered to build a cathedral inside of it ultimately damaging it. Luckily most of the Mosque was saved and shining brightly in Spain, today.

When I continued to read Chapter Eleven I was pleasantly surprised when I came across Hiberno-Saxon Art which originated in Ireland. I just so happen to be 48% Irish and I absolutely love to learn new things about my heritage. We all know Saint Patrick was the one that ultimately spread Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, however, it was in Britain that Christian art spread drastically. This style was called Hiberno-Saxon Art and the word Hibernia is Latin which just so happens to means Ireland.

Christian art produces many thinks but what really catches my eye is the manuscripts that were created by monks in Irish and English monasteries. The Lion Symbol of Saint John, from the Book of Durrow, is extremely intricate with a number of swirls and dots that borders a warrior of a lion in the middle. This piece is very unique in the fact that they only use a max of three colors, red, yellow, and green, but their use of those three colors makes the piece burst with unseen color.

I am not one that openly shares her beliefs on religion and politics in general, but this class is kicking me in the butt and telling me to get over hiding your beliefs and just simply write about it. It is hard with the way today’s society is. It is hard to come out and say what you want to say without getting completely bashed and criticized for it. Sure, I am still a little shy to say what I want to say, but what I am starting to realize is that art is nothing but reflections of your beliefs, whether they be reflections on your religion or on politics. Art is art; I can’t believe I am just now realizing that.

Works Cited:

Picture: Lion Symbol of Saint John, from the Book of Durrow;  "Manuscripts.“ Art History Leaving Cert. N.p., 21 June 2014. Web. 03 July 2017.

Book: Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

[theinvisiblestudio]

Well said. I also agree that the Byzantine and Roman style are quite intact similar. Byzantine are somewhat changing their designs over time. Catacombs sound really interesting.

Early Christian and Byzantine Art

Reading about the early Christian and Byzantine art, it helps me connect to what I have grown up around and learned in the past and still to this day. It started out with the familiar “crucifixion” of Jesus Christ outside the city of Jerusalem and it went into detail on how Christianity differed from many different cults back then. For example, we know that Christians did not include animal or blood sacrifices, except in a symbolic form, which we know is bread (Christ’s body) and red wine (Christ’s blood). The other example on how they differ was the fact that they refused to worship the emperor like the Romans and Greeks did, this led to persecution by Rome. I find this first part of the chapter very interesting because so many people wanted to be different and didn’t want to be like the “norm” or everyone else. I also like that this religion brought in the lower class’s approval and that they could now be a part of something that they were proud of. The Edict of Milan produced by Constantine, by far, was the best thing to happen for Christianity because it granted the tolerance to ALL religions.

One thing that I found interesting was the idea of the “catacombs” (underground cemeteries) for Christian followers. The catacombs were established and were a supposedly safe place from Roman persecution because the Roman law states that they were “sacrosanct” or to important/valuable to be interfered with. So, these catacombs were safe places to perform funerary services and they are important in the fact that many of the earliest forms and examples of the Christian art can be found. For example, “Christ as the Good Shepherd” in the catacomb of Priscilla, is a fitting example of compassion in Jesus Christ. I also love that they pursued to build buildings that were for the worshipers rather than being a house simply for the statue of Gods or emperors.

The Basilica of San Vitale is a church in Ravenna, Italy and it states that it is one of the most important examples of the early Christian and Byzantine art/architecture in Europe. When reading about this building it seems to me that a lot of demanding work and engineering was put behind building this. The church has an octagonal plan. It also combines many Roman elements such as: the dome, the shape of doorways, and stepped towers. But, yet it also combines with the Byzantine elements such as: the apse, capitals, narrowing bricks, and flying buttresses. Most importantly this church is known for its mosaics. One example is the “Court of Justinian” where it is “intended to depict Justinian as Christ’s representative on Earth and to show him as a worthy successor to Constantine- to express his power as head of both church and state.”

What I loved about reading this chapter is the fact that the art and the architecture is enormous and extravagant but it is anonymous. Also, Byzantine art seems to be a slowly changing mood/designs rather than a list of single masterpieces. The art that these people from the Christian and Byzantine era created are a part of the buildings they are in, they cannot be erased from them without destroying it. I find that to be the most amazing part of this chapter, that the people creating this art made sure that no one would forget about it.

[theinvisiblestudio]

Week 8

Early middle ages and Romanesque

The medieval ages are my favorite timeline. The renaissance would be particularly my absolute favorite because it was simpler back then. During the early middle ages was the fall of Rome, being Roman was popular that people, who never been inside the old Roman Empire, they thought they were Romans. Romans were trying to save money so they hired Germany to be a part of Rome’s army. Eventually the German soldiers settled down to live in the Roman Empire. While that was happening England had a different ruler known as King Arthur who tried to keep out the Vikings, Angles, and the Saxons. They moved into the Roman Empire as well. The Roman emperor Justinian tried to diminish the invaders and rebuild the Roman Empire. His armies recaptured North Africa from the Vandals and other places.

During 542 A.D. the bubonic plague struck Constantinople and spread all over. Thus killing many people, more than a million people died from the plague. The bubonic plague spread from Europe to North Africa.  The bubonic plague started by animals, insect bites, or stings would spread to people. The plague infects lymph system which becomes inflamed. Some other symptoms include fever, headache, chills, weakness, and swollenness. Some fun facts I found on the history channel where during the Middle Ages the churches didn’t conduct with hunts. The churchmen gave no regard to magic and thought it was foolish nonsense that doesn’t work. Another fun fact people didn’t have to get married in a church. England was invaded a lot during the medieval times. Gargoyles were drains for churches. The churches thought of them as warding off evil spirits. But they were mostly used as water drains and the water would spew out of the gargoyle’s mouth. Churches are influential. They collected tax from people and held sums of wealth. Churches also helped in making the laws. They owed their allegiance to the Pope over the king. Art was considered bad unless it had God in it. Plus people could buy forgiveness. If they paid money, a monk would pray for that person and after the person died the monk ensured the person made it to heaven. Peasants had to work for the church as well. People would donate days of labor, free of charge and pay taxes in grain.

 The Romanesque era is around the 10th to 12th century. The architecture of Romanesque was founded by Edward the Confessor. It may have started in England and slowly crossed Europe to Italy. The architecture was more brightly colored. The buildings of the period were meant to be huge and more often in awe inspiring. The buildings weren’t just churches and monasteries there were also castles.

For the painting, I choose a Vikings picture. It’s the Vikings first voyage and it shows that they are talking to the villagers. It looks like they are trading or packing it. There are tusks, bowls, furs, and other things that I cannot describe. The chief villager looks like he is pointing out the ship. The painting looks like its full of color.

[theinvisiblestudio]

Week 7

Early Christian and Byzantine Art

Byzantine empire wasn’t called that until after the empire fell. They called themselves Romans, therefore they called themselves the Roman empire. It was the continuation of the original Roman empire and used the same laws.

Constantinople was built to serve the imperial capital. The emperor of Constantinople abandoned the city of Rome and moved away from the decaying city. The Byzantine was It was built in 324 b.c. for the emperor. The emperor strategically moved away the countries of Europe and Asia. Within a couple of years Constantinople was built from a small nothing to a big city. The emperor had ancient Roman monuments and some statues brought in a great status as a world capital. Constantine was very dedicated to the city in 330 as New Rome. But it changed to the name Constantinople after the creator of the city. 

Another fact, Byzantine emperors were known to blind and mutilate their rivals. Talk about scary. The politicians mostly avoided killing their rivals and instead would humiliate them and perform dreadful acts, some of mutilation. Many would be blinded or castrated or just deposed of. It would prevent them from leading troops or fathering children, some had their tongues, noses, or lips cut off. They had many torture devices for certain things. They would even use animals to torture the humans. The disfigured were barred from the imperial rule. But it didn’t work as it should have. The Emperor Justinian the second had his nose cut off when he was overthrown in 695 but was returned from exile and reclaimed the throne. He bought a golden nose.The capital was invaded during the Crusades. 

The Byzantine history started in the early 13th century, when the Christian warriors banded together in Venice after the third crusade. The Crusaders were supposed to sail to the Middle East to capture Jerusalem from the Muslim Turks. Although there were short of cash they persuaded to make a detour to Constantinople to restore the deposed emperor to the throne. After a deal was made with to fund the expedition to the Holy Lands on the year 1204.The crusaders would carry out sacks of bloody things of Constantinople, burnt the city and took all the treasure they could find, including art and other relics. They also carved up the rest of the Byzantine Empire and enforced a Latin ruler. The Byzantines later recaptured Constantinople in 1261 and the empire never regained its original glory. During the time of the Empire falling the invention of the cannon helped end the rein. In 1453, a Hungarian engineer designed a collection of cannons. The center of the arsenal was 27 foot gun and it was so heavy that at least 60 oxen had to carry it. After bombarding Constantinople’s defenses for the next several weeks. The Ottomans blasted a breach, allowing scores of Islamic soldiers to infiltrate the city and fought. While fighting they killed the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine Xl, who was stripped of their royalty.

[theinvisiblestudio]

I wasn’t really a big fan of the Roman culture so much but now that I read more about it and there is so much I didn’t know like how someone tried to be immune to poison because they were afraid to die from poison but when they got captured he couldn’t poison himself. Kind of ironic.

Week 6

Moving on from the Etruscans, the Romans were a mixture of many different cultures, and had many interpretations of these influences. For starters, the Romans had very different views on the afterlife than the Etruscans. The Romans were pragmatic about the afterlife, while the Etruscans thought differently.  Another thing the Romans adopted from other cultures is architecture styles, they pretty much took the best ideas and compiled them together to make it their own. Although cement had previously been invented and used in the ancient Near East, the Romans, perfected it and used it in complex ways for architecture. The Romans tended to use cement more often than other materials such as wattle-and-daub. When looking back at the architecture, I wondered how they made such complex curved architecture. Learning that they used voussoirs for this was intriguing because, these complex arches seem advanced for the time. The Romans didn’t just have different architectural developments, they had various types as well.

Domestic architecture is used greatly in Roman culture. Although the Romans didn’t invent the insulae (tenements), they did it in a different way just as they do in other aspects of their culture. It is astounding to think that they could get these buildings up to five stories and be a structurally sound. Although most of the Roman population lived in insulae, villas were invented as an escape from the city. My first thought about this is that, if they were an escape from the city, the person who built and owned these villas must be higher ranking in the culture and have money.  Although the book doesn’t say, I will assume this because later Hadrian’s villa is quite elaborate and extensive.

Public buildings, like the forum, began with a simple square open space structure, and overtime buildings were added on to make much larger forums. Looking back at the plans for these buildings, I don’t quite understand if this is like the size of the colosseum or if it is smaller, it is hard to understand from what is given. This also is my wonder with the public baths. Public baths also have a lot of different uses and rooms within it, and the way the book makes it seem is that it is a massive building with intricate details, nothing but the best. Overall, I enjoy the immense thought going into every aspect of public buildings to sort of show off.

Religious architecture is no different than any other aspect of Roman culture, it has been derived from another culture in some way. Like the Etruscans, the Romans also worshiped the Gods and Goddesses, and dedicated religious buildings to them. The Temple of Portunus is on a raised podium, seemed to be a metaphor for the emperor’s authority, I wonder if the raised podium had a double use as a way to level the structure as well, but is unclear. Overall the Romans had a fantastic way of combining cultures all into one, just as America does, and had a very elaborate way of life.

[theinvisiblestudio]

Ancient Rome

Rome is a unique place in mind. Gladiator fighting was not the most popular in ancient Rome. But when they did fight some wouldn’t fight to the death. Most fights are under strict rules so if the fights got boring to the crowd they could end the match, only if the match was too long. If the gladiators put on a show for the audience and entertained them then, by slight chance, they could be given honor and leave the arena. Not all Romans spoke Latin. Most people spoke Greek and Latin. Generals were more managers and did not fight in combat. Fun fact, an emperor became immune to poisons, his name was Mithridates VI of Pontus.  Emperors poisoned themselves everyday to strengthen their immune system. Some thought they found a cure for all poisons but it never worked. They would try until they found a cure for each poison. They were originally feared from being poisoned so they would administer small benign doses aiming for immunity. Poison was one of the reasons the Romans life expectancy only lasted from their 20 to 30 years. When they children reached a certain age they can fight in the army, which was what most children did. Romans also thought Christians were cannibals when Christians ate bread and drank wine. As symbolic representation of the blood of Christ.

Fashion was always on trend in Rome.  Since parties were long people would vomit, which was acceptable, to continue eating. There are rumors about vomit rooms called vomitums. It is still not clear if it was a vomit room or something else. People found it adequate for people with small stomachs. Once they empty their stomachs they would go and eat even more. It is like “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins where Katniss and Peeta were full and watched people throw up and continue eating. To me, that is wasting food but people stopped feeling full and there weren’t any stomach aches.  Like today, women wore lots of makeup only the make up was made differently. There are creams, lotions, and cosmetics that women and and wore everyday. They weren’t poor quality either, it was high quality makeup. Makeup was made from roots, clay, pigment, fat, starch, pastes, oils, chalk powder, lead, ashes, soot, foods, flowers, goose grease, vinegar, animal fat, and manure.  Unibrows were also popular, the darker they were the more attention in public, the good kind of attention. Romans didn’t use soap instead they would scrape off the dirt. Roman women dyed their hair red to be in the fashion trends and to flaunt their colors off.  Dentures were already invented by the Romans. Purple was for the rich. Only the most famous people were allowed to wear purple, which of course is a super rich color. This picture shows the Romans off into battle or on a ride to something. It looks like the are popping out of the picture in 3D form. Some of the horses look like they are ready for battle but the last one looks like it wants to run away from the battle. Maybe it was too close to the horse in front of it.

[theinvisiblestudio]

I also agree that the wolf sculpture was weird too until I read the mythology behind it. The story goes the boys, Romulus and Remus, were kicked out into the woods. The mother wolf took them in and acted like they were her cubs until they were found by shepherds and were rescued them. These stories are so fascinating. 

The Art of The Etruscans

I found this week’s reading to be very interesting and I enjoyed reading about the art of the Etruscans and their influences from the Greek. Before this reading, I had never heard of Etruria. The architecture of the Etruscans caught my attention with the temple of Apollo at Veii. To me, this temple resembles something you would see in like China and is just different than the traditional Italian architecture I am used to seeing. I also enjoyed reading about the pottery and sculptures of the Etruscans. Like the Greeks, the Etruscans had a high influence of bronze into their artworks and sculptures. The two examples in the book of the bronze sculptures are truly fascinating. The Capitoline Wolf first caught my eye with the human babies trying to feed off the she-wolf. I find this very strange and cannot help but ask why human babies and not wolf babies. I was also impressed with the with the detail the artist put into the bronze. I always find sculptures that use rock or metal of some sort to be extra fascinating because of the amount of detail and the level of skill it would take to reach the detail. One other thing about this piece that I find interesting is that the artist put the mother’s attention on her surroundings to show her protection over her cubs. The Wounded Chimera is also a fascinating piece of art that stands out to me. This piece truly shows the creativity the Etruscans had by putting a goat’s head onto the back of a lion with a serpent as its tail. With the hair on the lion’s back standing and the lion crouching it is suggested that the lion is in fear. With the Etruscans adapting many of the Greek ways, this makes them an ideal spot to find one of the only life-size statues of Apollo of Veii after being abandoned in Greece. The Etruscans used temples or cinerary urns for the burial of the dead. After cremation, the ashes would be dumped into the cinerary urn of choice, which would then be closed with a lid in the shape of a human head. Seeing the different shapes, they would make the urns into was interesting and it is crazy that they would make a sculpture as an urn for some people. The urns in the shape of buildings were fascinating because it allows us to have an understanding as to how the Etruscans made homes and buildings during their time. If I would have lived during this time and had the choice between the shapes of urns, I would want as a sculpture of me. I believe that this would make it easier for my family to connect more with the ability to be closer to in a sense. The last thing that really sparked my attention in this chapter were the sarcophagis. Sarcophagis were also made to hold the ashes of a cremated person. The sarcophagis from Cerveteri is very interesting how the artist created the married couple and just stops at the waist.

[theinvisiblestudio]

Week 5

The Etruscans civilization flourished around 1000 to 100 B.C. in Etruria by Italy. They survived mostly on nature. They used wood, mud, and tufa, which is a soft volcanic rock. These Greeks pottery and statues are intriguing. The Capitoline Wolf statue, caught my eye, it looks tense like she is defending her babies and she would do anything to protect them. The myth is the babies were thrown into the forests and the wolf finds them. She nurses them to health like her own cubs and protects them. Then they become hunters. Everything in their era was drawn and that is how stories were told. They would draw on anything and everything to tell a story. The women in Etruscan art had a big impact. They participated in public life unlike some cultures wouldn’t let their wives go outside. They were popular from the open displays of affection to men and women, shocking the ancient world. It was mostly unthinkable for men to love men.   Wives participated in banquets and wore jewelry as rankings more than fashion statements. The more they wear the higher the rank. There was even art about the goddesses breastfeeding.  The art was more inviting and opening with warmth than cold and despairing. They were also famous of the portraits of love making. Outside of Etruria, no one would think about painting love making portraits for at least two thousand years. The tomb paintings were unique to me. The Etruscans painted in service of the dead and were the most popular. The urns were is in incredible detail. Some were shaped with curves, others were more like boxes. Some were open and others were closed but what caught my eyes were the urns were shaped like huts and were homey looking. Like the spirits could be at peace. They would mostly paint banquets, sports, dances, and music making. They would use colors like yellow, white, black, red, blue, and brown but mostly skin tones. They believed that a painting, two leopards, would protect the tomb from evil influences; symbolically. I can believe that if people upset the spirits they would haunt their tombs. The Etruscans used their own language, culture, religion, and customs for a millennium. They even taught the Romans their language, religious beliefs, engineering, building, drainage system, etc. They literally taught the Romans everything they knew. They enhanced health to be cosmetically pleasing. The Etruscans was an already advanced civilization compared to other countries. They could foretell future events.  The Etruscans artwork are very historical and very memorable.

[theinvisiblestudio]

 Ch. 7 

Greece and Egypt are my favorite readings. First off, I love the Greek mythology. There are so many stories about the Greek Gods. The pottery is magnificent with creativity. They used orange clay and use red, white and mostly black paints. I love how it shows stories and the artistic frame. There were many shapes of vases like hydria, lekythos, krater, amphora, kylix, and oenochoe. Personally I like the oenochoe style because you can use it everyday. It also reminds me of the beginning of Hercules when the goddesses are jumping off the vases and start singing. Mythical creatures are my favorite. I like Zeus and Hades mostly. They are both similar in many ways. They both are full of themselves, they put themselves before others, they think highly of themselves, and both are feared by others. Everyone believes that Zeus is the best but I think Hades also deserves to have a fan.  Hades is shown as horrible but I think Zeus is a bit worse, by punishments. Hades does an easy punishment and then it's over for Zeus the punishments would kill the person. Zeus has many wives, children, and grandchildren. For Hades, he is devoted to one. But everyone has a different opinion. I also liked Athena, who was Zeus’s favorite daughter. Although he had many children he loved Athena the most because she was the goddess of war. He also gave birth to her, she literally was born out of Zeus’s skull. She popped out fully grown and in a full set of armour. The statues are similar to the statues in Egypt. The wax process is simply called the lost-wax method. First they put the clay on the mold the wax, add metal pins to stabilize the clay, add casing, then place heat and melts the wax. Once the wax drains out they pour molten bronze and add gets forced out. Then they break the clay from mold. Then the channels and the pins get removed and that is how they make statues. This process must take hours, maybe even days. Greek is more classical style of the arts. There are also Greek orders of architecture. There are many sculptures, theaters, styles, art, and painting. My favorite piece is the winged Nike. I love how the sculpture is about to fly and it looks like she is power itself. Her wings look like triumph and cannot be settled. Always ready for action. The dress sweeps around the sculpture ellegantly. The dress swirls around her leg and covers her feet. I can see Nike ontop of a hill or a ledge as the wind flies against her and she is about to run into the air and fly. I liked the podcast this week. There is so much beauty in art. The question in the podcast was “what is beauty?” Most people think that beauty means looking hot and being rich. In my eyes I don’t see that I see the paintings, sculptures, readings, nature, music, etc.

[theinvisiblestudio]

It’s always fascinating to find out more about the past like King Tut. I knew the process of the mummification but I didn’t know it took 72 days for the process. I do know that Tut was buried with his two stillborn daughters. 

I was excited to read the chapter on Ancient Egyptian art, as I am intrigued by the tomb of Tutankhamun and all of the artifacts found in his burial chambers and have been since I was a child.  The mask of Tutankhamun is perhaps one of the most best-known objects from ancient Egypt and most people would have no trouble identifying this monumental object of art.   Tutankhamun’s burial chamber was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 and opened 3 years later.  It would be another 2 years before the excavation team headed by archaeologist, Howard Carter, would be able to open the sarcophagus containing his mummy revealing the iconic golden mask.  The mask was inlaid with gold, blue glass and other colorful materials.  There were 3 coffins protecting the mummy.  There were also 4 canopic coffinettes that held Tut’s organs housed in another room of the tomb.  These coffinettes were also inlaid with enamel and semiprecious stones.   The mask represented the boy king and the same image was found in other places in the tomb in paintings and statues.  I think the thing that strikes me the most is the headdress topped with a cobra and his long beard, both iconic features.  I read an interesting article online about how in August 2014 the legendary beard fell off when the mask was removed from its display for cleaning.  The museum workers used an epoxy to reattach it and the damage went unnoticed until January 2015 where it was repaired with beeswax which was a natural material used by ancient Egyptians.  In January 2016, it was announced that the museum workers to stand trial for not using professional and scientific means of preserving the art and causing permanent damage to Tut’s mask—perhaps more victims of Tut’s curse! The actual architecture of the pyramids themselves is intriguing to me.  How did an ancient civilization engineer and build such massive structures?  Not only are the exteriors a work of art, but the interior chambers and passages are amazing to me.  The creators even built chambers connected by a maze of passages with dead ends to try to deter grave robbers but unfortunately these tactics failed as all of the Giza pyramids were looted and the art and artifacts lost for future generations.   Another thing that struck me in this chapter was reading about the process of mummification.  The Egyptians built these massive pyramids to bury their dead but also to store all of the art and material possessions they provided for the dead.  Embalming and mummifying was a 72-day process where they removed the internal organs which were then embalmed and placed in canopic jars, except the brain which they discarded feeling it was useless.  It is interesting that they believed that the brain was a useless organ even though we now know that the brain controls the entire body and its functions.  This was such an interesting chapter, it makes me want to go do some more research on the subject! Sources: Tutankhamun’s mask – Wikipedia- en.m.wikipedia.org A History of Western Art, Fifth Edition- Laurie Schneider Adams

[theinvisiblestudio]

Week 3

What I found intriguing while reading chapters 5 and 6 were the process of the mummification and how the bodies were stored. For ancient Egyptians they go through this process to ensure a plentiful afterlife. The coffins even preserved the bodies, preserving the soul to another bountiful life. I knew that the bodies were wrapped in clothes and the bodies were preserved for thousands of years because of the climate but I didn’t know that their organs were removed. I also didn’t know that they were preserved in sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. They also washed the bodies, treated in oils, then wrapped in many bandages. Removing the internal organs must have been tough and gross. I would not want to see brain or any other organ. There were also many religions for the Egyptians, a couple popular Egyptian Gods would be Ra and Anubis. They worshipped many gods, more than 17 gods.

It’s crazy that the people would make sculptures, tombs, and pyramids by using what items they found around them to make it work. It’s amazing how they worked on the tall statues and risked their lives over building the sculptures. Not to mention, building the pyramids. The blocks are like 2.5 tons and they had to carry/drag the blocks up to the top of the pyramid. Maybe they used a ramp or some sort. That is a lot of muscle power to carry 2.5 tons up a pyramid. They could have had lots of people dragging the blocks. That’s a lot of work. Learning more about ancient Egyptians are quite fascinating.  The paintings are so decorative. Plus, they painted so much on the walls, painting in code.  It’s amazing to depict a different language to help what they were talking about. What else I didn’t know was they were restricted to six colors that could not be mixed. I researched more about King Tut and found out that he died at age 18 and was buried with two children. But there were no recordings of him having children. Not only that, Tutankhamun’s wife/sister, Ankhesenamun, was missing and her body was not discovered. It turns out he had two stillborn daughters. It’s weird to marry a sibling or a family member but it was to keep the bloodline pure. Just to keep the royalty going and pharaohs did inbreed a lot.

 Reading more about the kings and queens is quite fascinating what they did in the past. The was a woman who was the first recorded king. Although it was disgusted by the Egyptians, Hatshepsut ruled for fifteen years as a pharaoh. It is awesome because she didn’t listen to what everyone else thought and still became a king. Once she died everyone forgot her due to other pharaohs would have been ignorant of her existence. It’s not certain how she died, maybe naturally dying or killed by someone. I found her intriguing since she was the first royal woman to become a king. On the statues, she was mainly drawn as a male instead of a female statue.

[theinvisiblestudio]

This art piece is amazingly vivid. There is so much color and in awe. I love how the girl shines in this picture and shows that she is going places. There are lots of warm and cold colors, the buildings are most likely warm and reflect in the rain for this painting.  Great piece!

Rain Princess- Leonid Afremov 

I love Afremov’s work mostly for the colors he chooses, but this one in particular I enjoy because of the anonymity of the girl which gives me a feeling of mystery and content in being independent.  

[theinvisiblestudio]

Hi Nicole, Stonehenge is intriguing and mysterious. I also believe that aliens had something to do with the stonehenges and placed them throughout the world. Some might have finished and others not but we don’t exactly know, still just a mystery. 

Week 2

“Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?”

Chapter Three started out with asking us these three questions. I read the questions multiple times, trying to understand the point or purpose in them. And then I read the next line, “Works of art help us to answer these questions.” I paused after I read that and the first thing that came to my mind was how absolutely true that is.

Chapter Three goes into depth on the prehistory of art, which is the time before the invention of writing, and the only way to truly answer the questions Who are we? and Where do we come from? is to get to know and understand the ones that came before us through their beautiful carvings in limestone, through their detailed stories on cave walls in bright red and black pigments, and through the mystery of huge rock architecture. Laurie Adams said it best, “The challenge lies in discovering how to read and interpret them [prehistoric works of art].

When the time came and writing was invented most assume those cave paintings and mysterious rock architectures dissolved, however, carvings, paintings, and certainly new and improved architectural structures thrived.

I can’t even imagine how intelligent the people in the Neolithic Era were. They built these incredible architectural structures; ziggurats, temples, and amazing rounded arches. And not only were they massive, they were decorated with beautiful carvings either using pictures to tell a story or newly invented words.

What people overlook, or I should say sometimes overlook, is that the Scripture or the writings are works of art themselves. Take the clay tablet on page 37 (fig. 4.7) for example, this tablet was made by pressing a rounded object into the clay and not only are there written words on the tablet but a form of a numerical system. To some, it may look like a bunch of scribbles, but it is truly a work of art.

Stonehenge is and, more than likely will always be an intriguing mystery. Since we are not privileged enough to know the true meaning and /or purpose of the Stonehenge, scholars theories will just have to do for now.

I have to say there were some crazy theories out there such as a giant helped built it, it was built with music in mind, it was used as a team-building exercise, and of course, anything to do with aliens.

After I read the “out of this world” crazy theories, pun intended, I came across some eye-opening theories such as a place of burial, a place of healing, even a soundscape. The soundscape theory is what makes the most sense to me. Steven Waller, a researcher in Archaeol Acoustics, came up with this theory. Waller explains, “if two pipers were to play their instruments in a field, a listener would notice a strange effect. In certain spots, the sound waves from the dual pipes would cancel each other out, creating quiet spots… the stones of Stonehenge replace the pipes in this example” (qtd. in Live Science). The music theory doesn’t sound so crazy now. After reading this all I can imagine is what prehistoric concerts looked like.

We may never know what the true meaning of Stonehenge is, but it sure is fun coming up with different theories to pass our time. 

Works Cited:

Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Pappas, Stephanie. “5 Strange Theories About Stonehenge.” LiveScience. Purch, 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 May 2017.

Picture: Stonehenge https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/robin-heath-stonehenge-the-marriage-of-the-sun-and-moon/  

[theinvisiblestudio]

I decided to pick a cave drawing, “Lion Panel”. Basically cavemen documented what they saw or experienced. There didn’t seem much creativity, time was spent to catch food and not get eaten by food such as bears and lions. To eat or not to be eaten, that is how they spent their time. They used black or red pigment, rocks, burnt sticks, charcoal, anything they could use to document on the walls. The Lion Panel shows many animals but this picture mostly shows bears, buffalo, rhino, lions, and maybe some dear. This painting was found in the Chauvet Cave and was found in 1994 in the Ardeche Valley in France. This painting was made around 30,000 B.C. Wow! That’s sounds like forever ago! Its fascinating that art is still kept persevered and wasn’t destroyed before the speleologists found the cave drawings.  

As for the Stonehenge theories, I believe the Stonehenge is a celestial observatory. It could have been constructed while it was sunny out and created it to be a time piece and aligned with the stars at night.  It measured time and was a calendar. Others believe it was more than that and there are more Stonehenges around the world. One believed to be located in lake Michigan. There are remnants that look like the Stonehenge on Mars, according to Ancient Astronaut theorists. If it isn’t a Stonehenge, in Lake Michigan, the stones have equal distance from each other. There are some carvings on the stones. One was a mastodon and the stone was made out of granite which is really hard to carve into. It would have been created before the last ice age and the lake was created which was over 12,000 years ago.  I wonder how the carvings were made. The stones seemed like they were machined to create a smooth surface. Its unusually smooth, stones should be irregular and unnatural fitting. Stonehenge's locations seemed part of something bigger. 

[theinvisiblestudio]

Week 1

This abstract artwork is my favorite piece. This piece was taken by my dad while we were in Hawaii. The roads were so busy that my dad’s camera flashed the cars on the road and the light in the picture is a car light. The picture was never edited which is pretty cool. The lights just flow together and seem like it’s twirling around like it’s dancing. Amazing what cameras can capture.