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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.
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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.
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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.
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