Download Art Outside the Western Tradition

Art Outside the Western
Tradition
Review
Hinduism:
The Hindu Perspective
Origins: 2000 BCE
Brahma: The Creator
Vishnu: The Preserver
Siva: The Destroyer
Here there is a belief that all religions are different
acceptable paths to the same god….
Buddhism grows out of Hinduism but after the 13th
century-Buddhism has primarily moved from India to
other parts of Asia.
Indian/Southeast Asian Art
Angkor Wat: Know the
Details of this one…
A great one for religious
Belief/power/authority/
Sacred space…
Buddhism
Origins: 500 BCE as a Hindu reform movement
Founded by Buddha who preached charity…equality…moderation
Buddha means: I AM AWAKE.
Steps to the path:
1.
Everything is pain
2.
The origin of pain is desire
3.
Extinction of desire is nirvana
4.
Following the path ends all pain.
When it spread to China and Japan, it became Mahayana Buddhism and
Bodhisattvas emerged as enlightened ones who stayed to help the
mortals….
Ancient India
Figure 6-4 Lion capital of
column erected by Ashoka
at Sarnath, India,
ca. 250 BCE. Polished
sandstone, approx. 7’ high.
Archaeological Museum,
Sarnath.
Ashoka was a king who spread the word of Buddha…he erected columns inscribed
With laws that went deep into the ground. They were said to connect the earth and
Sky forming an “Axis of the Universe”. These were installed along pilgrimage routes
At sites that were important in the life of Buddha….
Remains of the pillar the lion capital topped
(the original “Axis of the Universe”)
still standing in India.
Persian miniatures from the 1500s
-great for narrative!
Taj Mahal
1600s: power/status
The judgement day?
CONTEMPORARY…..
1972…
Meera Mukherjee
Ashoka at Kalinga
Rejecting violence…
Emerald Buddha 1400s
Symbolism of power
Six Canons of Chinese Painting
• Bone method with the brush
• Depict the forms of things as you respond to
them
• Describe appearances with color
• Divide, plan, position, arrange
• Copy earlier models
• Engender a life-like spirit in the work
Confucianism
Origins: Confucius in the 6th century
But wasn’t until 2nd century BCE in the Han dynasty that the
Emperor established it as the official doctrine…
Beliefs include: reason functions with the emotions and balance is
needed to correct social ills…tradition through social
structure….moral ideas should exist in all commodities so they
could become habits….
Ancient China
Figure 7-4 Bi (disk), from
Jincun(?), China, Eastern Zhou
dynasty, fourth to third century
BCE. Nephrite, 6 1/2”
in diameter. Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art, Kansas City.
Jade was sacred in Ancient China, it was believed jade possessed magical qualities
That could protect the dead. The tough, hard heavy qualities became associated
With fortitude and moral perfection in the most respected people. The dragons were
Believed to be good fortune as they flew between Heaven and Earth-and they symbolized
The ruler’s power to mediate between Heaven and Earth.
Ancient China
A Rubbing from the Wu family shrine: original is a stone relief…
147-168 CE Han Dynasty
This is a Han Dynasty pictorial narrative –that demonstrates the private patrons
Who commissioned art with political overtones: the subject matter is mythologicalBut involves political events-the formal qualities are highly regimented and orderlyAnd the content of the stories relate to homage and loyalty….
In 210 BCE, Emperor Qin, the first Emperor of China was buried
with more than 6,000 life-size terra-cotta figures
The warriors were cast in molds of clay and then
hand sculpted-so that no two are exactly alike!
They are accompanied by horses and chariots, and they were
placed outside the tomb to protect the Emperor for eternity….
They all demonstrate standard ceremonial costume and
hairstyle of a Qin Dynasty cavalry-man, archer, lancer and
hand-to-hand fighter…
They were originally painted by hand by some of the 700,000
laborers who worked on them. They may have looked
something like this:
Purpose of the Tomb and the Warriors:
• To accompany and protect the Emperor in the
Afterlife…
• To designate a sacred space that also carried
the Emperor’s power into the afterlife…
• To further the sense of societal order and
organization that was a hallmark of his reign…
Chinese Art
Particularly study the Song Dynasty from this era
Daoism
Origins: Religious version emerged from ancient folk beliefs and
adapted much of Buddhist ritual
Philisophical version came from Laozi and Zhuangzi in the 4th
century BCE….
Submission to the Dao (or path) is key here…Retreat from society
and personal development is emphasized…
The Dao is the:
1. Ultimate Reality
2. Way of the universe and cannot be exhausted
3. The way of human life…
The beliefs include the idea that nature should be befriended, not
conquered…the individual should not struggle to compete in
society….humans are at their best when in harmony with
their environment…man’s part in the vastness is
small…simple is better-as civilization is artificial.
Japanese Art
Study this chapter’s
Architecture especially
The Americas
Study the Maya
Here-and Chichen Itza
especially
And North America…
As well as the Aztecs…and
contemporary artists…
Machu Picchu
(view from adjacent peak)
Inka, Peru, 15th century.
Coatlicue (She of the Serpent Skirt),
Aztec, from Tenochtitlán, Mexico City,
ca. 1487–1520.
Pueblo Pottery
Africa: Study the Ife-Ife and the ideal
human form
Also study early art from other
African cultures/AND some
Images not here from the later
African chapter….
Study the Congo and Contemporary
African Art
Long Essay Question:
• Cultural attitudes about women are often
revealed in art.
• Select and fully identify two works of art that
depict one or more women. The works must
come from two different cultures, one of
which must be from beyond the European
tradition. Explain how each work reveals its
culture’s attitudes about women. (30 mins)