Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
THE ARTS ANTHROPOLOGY: CHAPTER 22 CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY: CHAPTER 14 PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY: NOT PRESENT CHAPTER OBJECTIVES 1. Understand the relationship between art and religion. 2. Be able to discuss the nature of art and the individual and authorship. 3. Understand the nature of an artistic career and how the arts are passed between generations and between groups. 4. Be able to discuss the dynamic nature of artistic expression and the factors that influence changing perceptions of the arts. CHAPTER OUTLINE I. What Is Art? A. Art is very difficult to define, but it generally refers to the manifestations of human creativity through which people express themselves in dance, music, song, painting, sculpture, pottery, cloth, storytelling, verse, prose, drama, and comedy. B. Art and Religion 1. Definitions of both art and religion focus on the more than ordinary aspects of each with regard to how they are different from the ordinary and profane/secular. 2. A lot of Western and non-Western art has been done in association with religion, but it is important to remember that not all non-Western art has ritual or religious importance. 3. Art and religion both have formal (museums and churches, temples) and informal (parks, homes, and regular gathering places) venues of expression. a. State-level societies have permanent structures for religion and art. b. Non-state-level societies lack permanent structures for religion and art. C. Locating Art 1. In states, art is housed in special buildings like museums, concert halls, and theaters. 2. In nonstates, artistic expression takes place in public spaces that have been set aside for art. 3. In states, critics, judges, and experts determine what is art and what is not. 4. The Kalabari example demonstrates that not all sculpture is art because wooden carvings are manufactured exclusively for religious reasons. D. Art and Individuality 1. Some anthropologists have criticized that the study of non-Western art ignores the individual and focuses too much on the group. 2. However, in many non-Western societies, there is more collective production of art than in Western cultures. 3. Bohannan argued that among the Tiv, the emphasis should be on the critics rather than the artists because the Tiv do not recognize the same connection between artists and their art. 4. The degree to which artists can be separated from their work varies cross-culturally. IM-135 E. The Work of Art 1. In all societies art is work. a. In nonstate societies, artists cannot work on their art all of the time as they still must hunt, gather, fish, herd, or farm to eat. b. In states, artists are full-time specialists whose career is their work. 2. Artistic completeness or mastery is determined and maintained by both formal and informal standards. II. Art, Society, and Culture A. Art is usually a public phenomenon that is exhibited, performed, evaluated, and appreciated in society. 1. Ethnomusicology is the comparative study of the musics of the world and of music as an aspect of culture and society. 2. Folk art, music, and lore refer to the expressive culture of ordinary people. 3. Art is a form of social communication. B. The Cultural Transmission of the Arts 1. Art is a part of culture, and as a result, appreciation for the arts is internalized during enculturation. 2. The appreciation of different art forms varies cross-culturally. 3. In nonindustrialized societies, artistic traditions are generally transmitted through families and kin groups. 4. The art of storytelling plays a critical role in the transmission, preservation, and expression of cultural traditions. C. Interesting Issues: I’ll Get You, My Pretty, and Your Little R2 1. Myths are hallowed stories that express fundamental cultural values. 2. Kottak argues that the Wizard of Oz and the original Star Wars are modern American cultural myths. 3. He performs a structural analysis of the two films to demonstrate that Star Wars is a systematic transformation of Wizard of Oz. D. The Artistic Career 1. In many non-Western societies children born into certain lineages are destined for a particular artistic career (e.g., leather working, wood carving, and making pottery). 2. Full craft specialists find support through their kin ties in non-Western societies or through patrons in Western societies. 3. The arts rely on individual talent that is shaped through socially approved directions. E. Continuity and Change 1. The arts are always changing. 2. The arts incorporate a wide variety of media. F. Beyond the Classroom: Capoeira: The Afro-Brazilian Art of Unity and Survival 1. Anne Haggerson studied how capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art, helped people overcome the forces of poverty, unemployment, racism, and failing schools. 2. She argues that capoeira is more than a pastime; it is a survival strategy and educational tool for the urban poor in Salvador, Brazil. IM-136 LECTURE TOPICS 1. Discuss how the modern world system is influencing the arts in both core and peripheral nations. 2. Discuss the problems with displaying ethnographic and archaeological “works of art” in art museums. Collectors remove objects that have significance not only in being a work of art, but more importantly as a powerful cultural symbol and place them in sterile museums where the cultural context is lost. 3. Discuss how the arts are being debated in contemporary politics. What is the status of the National Endowment of the Arts? Who supports it and who opposes it? Why? What should be the role of the state in terms of funding and patronizing the arts? SUGGESTED FILMS Whose Paintings? 1995 45 minutes This film explores the nature of ownership and use of art. It follows an encounter between a wealthy American collector of Rajput miniature paintings and a Rajput anthropologist and their debate surrounding the collection, display, and ownership of cultural artifacts. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA. Weaving the Future 1997 24 minutes This film examines a community of Otavalo Indians living in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. The film explores how the Otavalo are adapting their traditional weaving to the global market. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA. Earl’s Canoe 1999 27 minutes This film follows Earl Nyholm, a member of the Ojibwe Nation, as he constructs a traditional Ojibwe canoe. The entire process is included from the selection of the trees to be used to finishing touches. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA. Copper[Au: OK?] Working in Santa Clara del Cobre: A Changing Craft 1994 54 minutes This film examines the history of copper working in Santa Clara del Cobre, a small town in the state of Michoacan, Mexico. The techniques and products are depicted as well as the connections the town has with the global marketplace. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA. USING THE ATLAS Use the Chapter 22 map, Megaliths, Petroglyphs, and Cave Paintings, to discuss the Eurocentric bias that pervades any discussion related to art. According to this map, the densest concentration of megaliths, petroglyphs, and cave paintings is found in Western Europe. This concentration is due in part to the long history of research in the region when compared to other regions. However, the following definitions should be noted: that a megalith is a cultural feature made with large stones; that a petroglyph is a carving or an inscription on a rock; and that a cave painting is just that, paintings found on the interior walls of a cave. These kinds of artwork are found in dense concentrations all over the world, not just Europe. In central and southern Mexico, for example, it is difficult to find a region without painted caves, petroglyphs, or large constructions made with earth and stone. Yet according to this map, Mexico is barren of these features. Why is this the case? Discuss ethnocentrism and the monopoly Western society has over the arts. IM-137 IM-138