Author: Rudolf Adis

Rudolf Adis Final Project Annotated Bibliography

Guisepi, R. (Ed.). (n.d.). GREEK AND ROMAN ART. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from http://history-world.org/arthist.htm

This article discusses both the similarities and differences that exist between Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman art. Furthermore, the article also discusses specific artworks from both cultures in order to specify the comparisons and contrasts. For example, one statement made in the article shines light on the Ancient Greeks’ use of marble for their sculptures, as well as their focus on the spirituality and deeper human meaning of their artworks. The Ancient Romans, however, were described as lacking much originality, but they made up for it by improvising and also innovating their artworks (for which they used a sizeable amount of Greek art to model after).

Crawford, N. (2018, September 19). What Are the Differences Between Greek Art & Roman Art? Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://ourpastimes.com/what-are-the-differences-between-greek-art-roman-art-12279193.html

This article is similar to the previous article in that it also explains both the similarities and the differences in the artwork of the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans. For instance, in this article, it is stated that the Ancient Greeks many times represented gods in their work, so as to express their idealistic view on raw physical looks and beauty. The Ancient Romans, on the other hand, used their artwork in order to demonstrate a different main idea, decoration/ornamentation. Furthermore, this article touches on a subject not mentioned in the previous article: the ancient Greeks’ paintings were very limited, whilst the ancient Romans had the upper-hand in painting.

Ambler, J. L. (n.d.). An introduction to ancient Roman architecture. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://smarthistory.org/roman-architecture/

In this online source, the main topic focused on was the architecture in Ancient Rome, as well as the differences in architecture that exist between the Ancient Romans and Ancient Greeks. Namely, the architecture of the ancient Greeks revolved around the post-and-lintel system. The architecture of the ancient Romans, however, differed in that it focused mostly on concrete, arches, and vaulting. Along with this, the article describes a number of famed ancient Roman architects, as well as the architectural pattern that most Roman cities were focused on: the forum, which is a large open plaza that is surrounded by important buildings, as per the online source.

Greek and Roman Art. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/curatorial-departments/greek-and-roman-art

In this online source, it is not so much wording that helps distinguish the source topic as it is the images of ancient Greek and Roman paintings that do. The reason why this is such a key online source is because its organization and display of artworks that correlate with their respective culture (either Ancient Greek or Ancient Roman) is clear enough to allow the reader to self-evaluate the distinctions between the artworks of the ancient Greeks and the ancient Romans.

Hemingway, C. (2003, October). Architecture in Ancient Greece. Retrieved December 7, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grarc/hd_grarc.htm

Finally, in this online source, the architecture of ancient Greece in specific is exemplified and expanded upon. This makes it easy to intake the information, and differ it from architectural information on ancient Rome, as seen in the aforementioned articles. In short, two principal order are stated as having entirely influenced the ancient Greek architecture that still remains wildly ubiquitous even to this day. These two principal orders are the Doric and the Ionic orders, which both differ in their general ideas of architectural design, such as the frieze, the cornice, the architrave, and etc.

Rudolf Adis Image List/Thesis Statement

Rudolf Adis

12.1.2018

Professor Shaw

ARTD. 1010

Topic: Paper Proposal on the similarities and differences amongst Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman art

Image List:

  • Marble grave stele of Antigenes, Marble, Hymettian (base), Greek, Attic
  1. Artist- Unknown/Ancient Greece
  2. Title- Marble grave stele of Antigenes
  3. Date- End of the 6th century B.C.
  4. Museum- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  5. Relation to Final Project- This artwork relates to my final project in that it is both an ancient greek artwork, and is also made of marble, which is a similarity between ancient Greek and ancient Roman artworks
  6. Reason for piqued interest- The reason that this artwork caught my interest is because of the fact that it was created during the times that the ancient Greek empire was just beginning to flourish, as well as the material used for it
    1. Bronze diskos thrower, Bronze, GreekArtist- Unknown /Ancient Greece
    2. Title- Bronze diskos thrower
    3. Date- 480 to 460 B.C.
    4. Museum- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
    5. Relation to Final Project- This artwork relates to my final project in that it exemplifies both ancient Greek artwork, as well as the ancient Greeks’ use of bronze material (which was rare to use for the ancient Greeks).
    6. Reason for piqued interest- The reason that this artwork caught my interest is because it exemplifies the rarity of bronze Ancient Greek statues, as well as the interest style that the Ancient Greeks used to sculpt human figures.

 

    1. Bronze statue of an aristocratic boy, Bronze, RomanArtist- Unknown/Ancient Rome
    2. Title- Bronze statue of an aristocratic boy
    3. Date- 27 B.C. to 14 A.D.
    4. Museum- The Museum of Metropolitan Art
    5. Relation to Final Project- This artwork relates to my final project in that it serves as a similarity with the previously chosen ancient Greek Artwork due to its artists’ use of bronze material. It is an Ancient Roman artwork example.
    6. Reason for piqued interest- The reason that this artwork caught my interest is due to the solemn power that it emits, as well as its ability to relate to a plethora of Ancient Greek artworks as well.

 

    1. Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, Fresco, RomanArtist- Unkown/Ancient Rome
    2. Title- Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
    3. Date- 50 B.C. to 40 B.C.
    4. Museum- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
    5. Relation to Final Project- This artwork relates to my final project in that it is an Ancient Roman artwork. Not only this, but it is a deviation from the previous style of artworks chosen for my project in that it is a wall painting instead of a sculpture.
    6. Reason for piqued interest- The reason that this artwork caught my interest is because it is an example of a non-sculpture form of art emerging from the Ancient Roman Empire.

 

    1. Marble statue of Eirene (the personification of peace), Roman copy of Greek original by Kephisodotos, Marble, Pentelic ?, RomanArtist- Unknown/Ancient Rome
    2. Title- Marble statue of Eirene (the personification of peace)
    3. Date- 14 A.D. to 68 A.D.
    4. Museum- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
    5. Relation to Final Project- This artwork relates to my final project in that it is both a marble statue and is also a recreation of the original, ancient greek version of it, which was created by Kephisodotos.
    6. Reason for piqued interest- The reason that this artwork caught my interest is due to its being a recreation of an originally ancient greek artwork. Furthermore, its deeper meaning, as well as the similarities that the statue holds with the Ancient Greek version of it, both serve as points of high interest.

Thesis Statement: All aforementioned artworks show that although both the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans were enthusiasts of sculptures and human models alike, their difference in minor details is evident as well.

Rudolf Adis: Unit 2 Summary

The Art of the Ancient World is an extremely diverse subfield within Art itself, and features a plethora of unique artworks. The spans of the artworks of the Ancient World go from Ancient Egypt, to Ancient Greece, and finally, Ancient Rome. Thus, as evidenced throughout the history of art, there are also significant differences amongst the artworks of all three artistic eras. Nevertheless, though certain differences are evidenced between these era’s, there are also a sizeable amount of similarities between them as well. This all traces back to the Egyptian versus Greek/Roman philosophies about art (humanism vs. idol/god-centered worship).

Concerning the first difference between these art periods of the Ancient World, Egyptian art, as aforementioned, was primly concerned with the worship to an almost cult-like extent of gods or kings. This is because the subject of afterlife was significantly ubiquitous throughout ancient Egyptian society, and was thus implemented within the artwork of the ancient Egyptians. For example, the god of the afterlife within ancient Egyptian society, Anubis, was so prominent within society, that his figure was carved within tombstones of ancient Egyptian kings and nobles. This is supported by the fact that the ancient Egyptians held a hierarchical society, and thus had nobility and kings buried with sacred jewels and riches. Furthermore, Ancient Egyptians preferred an otherwise straight and non-jagged look to their artworks, unlike the ancient Greeks and Romans. Therefore, as previously exemplified, it is easy to see as to why Ancient Egyptian artistic had its differences from other ancient world artworks.

On the ancient Greek and Roman side, however, there was a specifically high focus on humanism within the artworks of these two sides of the Art of the Ancient World. To elaborate, humanism was the holding of the idea that man was the be-all, end-all of the physical and spiritual world, and that aesthetics were the major focus. This is completely opposite of the kingly/godly worship that was exhibited throughout the artworks of Ancient Egypt. Furthermore, there was an increased focus on the realistic depictions of the human body, as evidenced via the increased dexterity and elaboration of physical traits of human beings. Such specific depictions were done using stronger materials, such as bronze and marble, on sculptures, which happened to be a big fad of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Nevertheless, commonalities amongst all arts of the ancient world were evident as well. First is that all artworks be they Ancient Egyptian or Ancient Roman, happened to attempt a depiction of real-life beings, disregarding gender and individual preferences. Furthermore, all ancient artistic cultures aimed to depict individuals of power or significance, with differences only lying in material use and style. Nevertheless, the influence of the Arts of the Ancient World holds grand ubiquity in modern society, and is the reason we are able to evolve our modern art to its present form. The commonalities and differences of these ancient arts are what helped shape our artistic world both historically and modernly, and it is a marvel to see what we may continue to evolve art into as humans.

 

Rudolf Adis: Humanism Blog Assignment

A philosophical idea initially exclusive to only the Ancient Greeks during the Classical Era, Humanism is a form of an artistic ideal in which the human man is seen as a “godlike” figure, and thus is the center of everything in the universe. As evident throughout history, the Ancient Romans had a tendency to adopt and build upon Ancient Greek art. Given this knowledge, it was not a surprise that the Ancient Romans adopted this idea. Nevertheless, this view of humanism was very much different from the god-centered view that the Ancient Egyptians had in relation to art. Therefore, it is interesting to observe the difference the humanistic, man-influenced-cause-and-effect view of the world/art that the Ancient Greeks and Romans had in contrast to that of the Ancient Egyptians.

The Art of Greece and Rome illustrates humanism and the differences that are seen in artworks from the Ancient Greeks and Romans versus those of Ancient Egyptians. Best exemplifying of this is the fact that Ancient Greek/Roman artworks were usually depictions of naked men who are of strong physical or societal power. On the flip side, Egyptian Art depicts humans and animals alike, and has a strong tendency to have the individuals clothed and wearing symbols of wealth and symbolism. This produces a contrast because the concept of humanism suggests that there is nothing higher than the human body, whilst that of the Ancient Egyptians builds upon symbolic meanings of objects other than the human body, such as animals or crowns.

Lastly, to exemplify these differences with artwork, we can look at the differentiation between the painting of the Egyptian god Anubis and that of Polykleitos, Doryphoros, from the Ancient Greeks. Anubis is seen portrayed with a head of a dog that may symbolize his ferocity and/or aggression as a god. Furthermore, the ubiquity of this artwork reached heights where Anubis was painted on the inside of a coffin so as to protect the soul of the dead individual. Deviating from this, Polykleitos, Doryphoros exhibits the more man-focused art known as humanism that the Ancient Greeks used in that the man is seen significantly leaning on his right leg rather than holding a straight stance, which is usually seen in Ancient Egyptian art. Furthermore, the muscle mass and proportionality of the sculpture, Polykleitos, Doryphoros, simply trumps that of Ancient Egyptian art. Therefore, humanistic art is seen as more “visual” and crowd-friendly than Ancient Egyptian art.Image result for doryphorosImage result for anubis

Rudolf Adis Brooklyn Museum Assignment

The Brooklyn Museum of Art assignment proved to be an extremely enlightening and insightful experience. Out of all exhibits, I chose the Ancient Egyptian exhibit. The Ancient Egyptian exhibit astounded me in a plethora of ways, and showcased the adept carving/sculpting abilities of the ancient egyptians. Specifically, the one piece that I chose to write about and formally analyze was “The Wilbour Plaque”. This artwork presented itself with a sense of mystique, as it exhibited the faces of Queen Nefertiti and presumably King Akhenaten facing each other with what appears to be line markings/scratches down the middle of the plaque, separating their faces. What specifically piqued my interest were the snakes sculpted on the top of both of their crowns, as well as the fact that only the ears were protruding pieces of the artwork. Through the use of formal analysis, I was able to define a significant amount of otherwise overlooked features of the plaque. Firstly, concerning the texture, the plaque sculpture was made using limestone, a commonly used material in sculpting. Furthermore, the color of the painting was monotone, as usually expected for ancient sculptures; a light colored shade of gray. In fact, it was noted that this artwork was initially used as a model-piece by ancient egyptian artists to carve offical images of kings and queens from the ancient kingdom of Amar. This explains why there is a hole on the top of the otherwise smooth surface of this plaque, as it was initially held on a wall via a cord inserted through this exact hole. Pertaining to concepts spoken about in class, it can be related to a plethora of other ancient egyptian paintings seen before, as it also idolizes kings and queens from that time, with snakes being a present object of symbolism.

The second exhibit I visited, The Soul of a Nation, did a wonderful job exhibiting the beauty of black history, as well as the works of art that were produced during the times of black history throughout the US. The one painting that truly piqued my interest was titled “The First One Hundred Years”. This artwork is emulating the dark, yet very real past of the US in which black americans were exposed to the cruelty of lynchings, slavery, the KKK, hate speech, and more. As done for the previously discussed artwork, I used formal analysis to give myself deep insight on the powerful emotional presence that this painting evokes. Firstly, the texture of the artwork is smooth, yet sensitive to the touch, leading me to decipher that the painting must be oil on canvas. Furthermore, the interesting color scheme presented within the painting is used in accordance with the message that the images within the painting are attempting to present. All red and bright colors used within this painting are used to represent the evil such as the time: the hanging confederate flag, the KKK member, and the vicious attack dog. Along with this, one can see the heads and bodies of black people hanging at the time, as well as a “whites only” sign with a policeman assaulting a black man right next to it. There is also a “colored only” sign in the painting, with the date “1863” engraved above it in order to symbolize the civil war. The more neutral gray and white colors used in the painting are used to symbolize the brighter side of an otherwise disgusting situation within America. In specific, in the back of the painting, the crosses under bright light are meant to symbolize the positive hope and success that black americans had in fighting for change and freedom within the US. This artwork is significantly different from all other paintings in this exhibit in that it contains more “objects” in it than any other artwork in the exhbit, as well as the use of only red, gray, and white colors, which differs from the other artworks in the exhibit in that they use a wide array of bright colors (namely orange, some blue, and red).

Rudolf Adis Unit 1 Summary

So far, in ART 1010, I have garnered a significant amount of knowledge in the history of art, the conceptual side of art, and even theories by other artists/philosophical thinkers of art. Nevertheless, one of the concepts we were introduced to so far is the Banking Model. The Banking Model is a theory/term created by Pablo Friere, a 20th century educator and philosophical thinker. This term, seen depicted in Friere’s work, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, basically envisions students as containers in which knowledge is stored by the teachers in the classroom. Friere uses the Banking Model in order to critique the approach used in the educational system, in that students should be able to express themselves within a classroom just as much as the teacher should, being that they would be able to use the knowledge attained from the teacher and mix it with their own knowledge in order to gather a better understanding of a certain concept. That brings us to Friere’s concept of Critical Pedagogy.

Critical Pedagogy is a concept that builds itself hand-in-hand with the Banking Model. However, the slight difference is that Critical Pedagogy critiques classrooms and pushes for students to have a tenfold increase in their own independence within a classroom. Furthermore, Critical Pedagogy inspires students to question and challenge “domination” within the classroom. The reason for this is because Friere believed that students do not have freedom of thinking, and are even oppressed within the classroom. So much so, that in “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, Paulo Friere stated, “Education is suffering from narration sickness…”.

Formal Analysis is a type of visual description of Art that we learned about in class. Specifically, formal analysis is not only about describing what one sees in and of the artwork, but it is also about getting down to the nitty and gritty parts of the artwork, and describing specific traits within it. To elaborate, there are 7 traits we look for when using Formal Analysis: historical context, line, space, mass, scale, color, and composition. The last mentioned trait, composition, deals with how the artist combines all aforementioned traits within their artwork and then produces a beautiful, finalized version of it. In fact, Formal Analysis is what I used when visualizing the works of art that were spoken about in class.

In specific, when analyzing Manet, Olympia, 1863/5, I noticed that a lot of dark and warm colors were used. Furthermore I have noticed that in terms of historical context, the older, black woman seems to be the maid of the younger, white woman. This is synchronous with the time period (1863) at that time. Finally, based on how eminent and bright the lights in the painting were, as well as the texture of the painting, it is easy for me to come to the conclusion that this must have been an oil painting. Nevertheless, Unit 1 has taught me a plethora of knowledge concerning art and its history, and has truly broadened my perspective/horizons when it comes to the philosophical eminence of art, as well.

Rudolf Adis Blog Post #4: What is Formal Analysis?

Formal analysis is an integral method used to evaluate artwork. To define formal analysis, it is a method of object/artwork description through interpretation via multiple sub-categories. In order to use this method, one must explore the visual effect of the art and basically decipher what you think the artist is trying to convey to the observer. The sub-categories/components that constitute formal analysis are: formal properties, subject matter, and historical context. Formal properties are basically the physical characteristics of the artwork, such as scale, mimesis (real world imitation), line, color, material, and illusions. All of these formal properties constitute perhaps one of the most vital components of the artwork that goes beyond its potential meaning in that it focuses on its true physical properties. Subject matter, the most integral part of formal analysis, focuses mainly on the deeper meaning of the artwork, as well as evaluates the potential reasoning that the author had for creating a certain piece of artwork. Historical context is very simply just the timeline information of the artwork, such as its date and location of creation. All three components combine to create a powerful tool that art viewers around the world can utilize to critically evaluate a certain piece of artwork, and thus draw conclusions. Composition is the term used in the art world when all three components are used synchronously.

Rudolf Adis Blog Post #3: Pedagogy and Power

Pablo Friere was a leading Brazilian educator and philosopher who’s article, “Pedagogy and Power” was a critical work that helped shed an entirely different light on the education system than previously seen. In this article, Friere creates the banking model of education in order to help readers visualize the relationship between students and teachers as one of oppression, with the teachers assuming the role of oppressor. This is because, as Friere sees it, the teacher assumes him/herself as all-knowing, whilst the student is viewed as an “empty vessel” or “container” into which the teacher continuously vests knowledge to be stored. This model helps illustrate how flawed our understanding of the learning system truly is, being that students are only taught one “right” method or way of thinking, and are left without any room for creativity and individual thinking. Furthermore, the banking model of education forces us to think outside the box, revealing that if the teachers are by some chance wrong, no one student may be able to dispute it. Even if a student is able to dispute a mistake, most of the time the word of the teacher overrules the student no matter how ludicrous, thus only adding to the authoritarian style of learning. Given this information, it is safe to conclude that the empowerment largely goes to the educator/teacher and the dis-empowerment, obviously, in the hands of the students at the expense of their learning.

From the end of elementary school until the end of high school, I had always thought of the education system as beneficial but flawed. My reasoning for this line of thinking is similar to Friere’s in that most of the time, I did not feel as if my creativity was encouraged to flow, or that I have to think “outside the box” simply because it all seemed like a mindlessly repetitive pattern: school, study, sleep, repeat. Most of the time, teachers were just there to instill their version of knowledge and education into our brain, regardless of how monotonous or flawed it may be. To exemplify this, I remember after half a year of simply memorizing scientific terms and definitions for 6th grade science, I questioned a scientific theory once and my answer was a simple “because that’s what the book says”. Thinking about it now, it is a clear-cut example of my teacher using me as an empty vessel to just throw information into without truly considering its validity. Nonetheless, the education system is not complete chaos like one may assume, without rote information being passed down to us students, classes such a computer science and mathematics, where memorizing is the second step after understanding, would be a complete disaster.

Rudolf Adis Blog Post #2: My Art Story

Ever since childhood, Art and I never got along. Even the simplest drawing tasks would appear as insurmountable tasks to me. In fact, my relationship with Art was so strained, that even a simple straight line down the page would appear crooked half of the time. I truly believed I had no talent in art whatsoever, and thus had absolutely no interest in art for years! Nonetheless, my mother, who came from a very musical/artistic background as a pianist by profession and painter by hobby, changed all of that when she brought me to the Guggenheim Museum on my 18th birthday. The plethora of all the different and varying artworks helped me completely change both my outlook on art, as well as my interest in it. I previously believed Art was simply just a talent, and that one either had it or they didn’t. Furthermore, I would believe that Art was a one-way road where one can instantly imagine what to paint, and they would thus flawlessly paint/draw/sculpt that image. Now, however, it is apparent to me that Art is a beautiful expression of the human mind, our imagination, and our passions. Along with this, I have also adopted the mindset that Art is truly a matter of perspective, and is so much deeper than what one may think. In this class, I would like to further my knowledge of the history of Art, of the famous authors behind critically-acclaimed artworks, and finally, to gain more respect than already held towards Art.