Author: Michael Cefalo

Final Essay (Second Topic Chosen)

Michael Cefalo
ARTD 1010 – 9:30 AM
Professor Shaw
Final Essay

Is Everything Connected?

                 Throughout the monumental span of history that our world has traversed through, we along with every other inhabitant have evolved a great deal. However not only have we undergone massive changes, but so has the art and sculptures produced during our ever-changing timeline. Looking back on what we have not only learned during the course of our semester but to the pieces that the Met Museum holds home to, we can begin to notice a similar trend in both the statues and art pieces. One might just play the thought off as a simple coincidence, a mere inspiration related incident that drove many pieces to follow the same trend. But if delved into deeper we can truly begin to see morsels of something greater that could be at play, something that in turn can tie everything we’ve seen throughout the last few months, and everything’s that’s been created during the last millennium, together.
Starting us off the beaten path are the sculptures I had seen at the Met. The statue of Eirene, the marble statue of the lion, and the bronze horse. At first read, these three pieces may seem as though they are leagues apart as if they have nothing to do with each other and were just made for the sake of it. And yes, that could very well be the case and they may not at all tie together, but with the information gathered about them, the times they were created, the place they originate from, and the backstories that spin their tales, we are able to weave together some loose points, giving us a pretty clear comparison. To start off, we have the piece known as the Bronze Horse. The Bronze Horse was the epitome of elegance, as it portrayed the Greeks use of Geometric art to create a wonderfully stylized piece. From this, the Greeks had begun to grow their art of creation and began to advance what they already could do. Transferring over to the piece known as the Marble Lion, we can see a clear-cut comparison. This statue usually sat guard at tombs of people with great importance, supposedly protecting them in both the mortal world and afterlife. It took the base model of the Bronze Horse and expanded on it, creating a full torso of a very realistic looking lion in a motion pose. Moving forward to the last statue I had observed from the Met, we have the Statue of Eirene. She, just as the lion, was created from a marble base (but had originally been created with a bronze base just as the Bronze Horse). Portrayed to be a goddess (daughter of Zeus and Themis), she was one of three maidens and was most closely associated with the fertility of the earth and the nurturing of children. Already closely relating to the previous two statues from the exhibit in terms of their surreal natures, they also relate in the fact that all three of them originate from Greece, and can be connected by either the product used to create them or through the form they take once completed. Though this is just the start of how each of them truly forms together. Although the may have proved to be base models for each other, they also turned out to be base models for the start of an artistic uprise in the early Roman empire. Each of these pieces were front-runners in inspiration for artists in Rome, as they had gathered pointers from each of these statues to create art in their fashion.
Upon gathering information from these three works of art and how they connect to create a much bigger picture, it is clear to see that many distinct art styles as well as sculptures tend to follow a certain “guideline” per say, or gather information from each other to create and evolve over a span of time. We have seen this many times over throughout the semester, and by doing so, I was able to incorporate that knowledge along with newfound information gathered from the Met and websites to fully conclude the ever so lingering question of if everything was truly connected. Although this may seem like a vague explanation of something that may have seemed bigger, it is, in fact, the key to unlocking a whole world of new views and methods of answering this question. It provides the baseline systemic method to follow whilst walking down this road of ever lingering questions, and the ways to solve them. Overall this was a very intriguing question to follow as a last hoorah to the wonderful semester and was made much clearer with the help of every topic gone over throughout the course.

 

Works Cited

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247173.

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248140.

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/251050.

David, Ariel. “Linking the Past and the Present Through Art.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/arts/08iht-rartisrael.html.

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/blogs/teen-blog/renaissance- portrait/blog/studying-art-from-the-past.

Final Essay Annotated Bibliography (Second Topic)

Final Essay Annotated Bibliography

Topic –

           Tying pieces we have gone over throughout the semester, as well as statues and works of art that I have come across from the met museum together to come to a conclusion for the overall question of if everything being produced by different artists and sculptors is in some way all related and trying to point to a larger picture.

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247173.

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248140.

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/251050.

              These citations bring you to a more in-depth description of the photos that I gathered from going to the Met Museum. They include the statue of Eirene, the marble statue of the lion, and the bronze horse. Although at first glance these three pictures may seem to have no correlation to each other, when inserted into the grand scheme of things that will be unveiled in the entirety of my final, all will begin to come together in an eye-opening revelation of sorts

David, Ariel. “Linking the Past and the Present Through Art.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2010,      www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/arts/08iht-rartisrael.html.

           This source is used to give backstory on the question I have presented. It delves into the ways that art ties in with history, and how it continues to do so. It also goes on to give examples of how many things throughout different eras are in turn connected to one another, and how they symbolize different things.

By. “The 14 Most Unintentionally Terrifying Statues in the World.” Cracked.com,  www.cracked.com/article_19155_the-14-most-unintentionally-terrifying-statues-in- world.html.

           Lastly, we have this source that adds a bit of flair to the already conspiracy driven essay. It goes on to explain many terrifying works of art that populate the world, and how in turn they may be related to events that have already happened, or that are in the midst of happening. Most seem to be just myth driven pieces, but others could definitely be the nail that drives every point together.

Final Thesis Statement and Images (Second Topic Chosen)

Michael Cefalo

Final Thesis Statement & images

Thesis Statement- After not only going through several time periods in history throughout the span of the semester but by also going through the exhibits in the met museum, is everything somehow connected in the means to create something bigger?

The end goal of this final paper is to get to the bottom of the ever so lingering question of “if everything we learned about is in some way connected to each other”. Providing not only pictures I’ve taken but pictures we have discussed over the course of the year, we will begin the journey down this conspiracy-driven question and once and for all come to a concrete conclusion to art that spans through a multitude of eras. 

 

Bronze Horse

8th century B.C.

Greek

 

Marble Statue of a lion

ca. 400–390 B.C.

Greek

 

Marble statue of Eirene (the personification of peace)

ca. A.D. 14–68

Early Imperial, Julio-Claudian

 

 

 

 

Unit 1 Summary

Throughout the entirety of Unit 1 in our Art History class, we had gone over a variety of topics. The material looked over many subjects, ranging from Formal Analysis to Pedagogy and everything in between. We were able to learn how art was viewed by many different civilizations, as well as how to fully understand and delve deeper into the pieces created for ourselves. It was made clear that art is an open expression, and what it may mean to someone varies depending on their views. Art can be put out in music, films, and many other different ways according to what the creator may see it as.

Formal Analysis being the first topic of discussion in our Art History class, opens us up to a new technique of achieving more insight on a plethora of art pieces. It’s essentially the process of analyzing a painting, sculpture, etc. through a variety of different questions to answer, furthering our insight on the piece at hand. It helps us bring out the smaller details in a work of art, and begin to analyze them all together, which eventually leads us into the understanding of the piece as a whole. After bringing to light even the most minuscule points of interest, we are able to begin to piece together the story/situation being presented. It’s very clearly an effective way to go about understanding a painting’s meaning, and honestly can be used in figuring out the meaning in any form of art, whether it be a film or a song. The questions may vary, but the outcome of the method will always remain the same.

Pedagogy, on the other hand, is most commonly known for the role it played in Paolo Freire’s ideologies as well as in his book on the critical pedagogy, named Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The main idea followed throughout his teachings and ideologies center what both students and teachers are able to gain from each other. He believes that if students can deepen their understanding of the world around them, by learning the meaning of the worldly expression of people’s ideas, values, and feelings throughout a timeframe in history, the teachers (himself included) would be able to gain insight on their students perspective. Giving them a deeper understanding of how they process, and retain information. He sees them as vessels that input and output knowledge, teaching not only themselves but the people around them as well.

In conclusion, Unit 1 of our Art History class has been a very informative look into the start in the history of art and has gotten us ready to delve deeper into the curriculum to come.