My topic for the final project is on Bodys Isek Kingelez’s “City of Dreams.”
I chose this as my topic because his artwork is not only inspiring for architectural purposes but also gives contemporary society headway in constructing the future for later generations. Kingelez’s artwork allows young generations to have limitless dreams.
In Unit 2 we discussed the different type of art from the ancient world. The art that comes from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and early Rome all had their own style of expression, yet had several similarities. The idea of humanism influenced the art of some of the empires such the Greeks. Others based created their art in their beliefs of their God and Goddesses. Through their art they individually expressed what was important and valuable to their societies.
The Greek society showed humanism in their art pieces. Opposed from Egyptian and Mesopotamian artwork, Greek and Romans created 3D art. They believed that man was powerful and equal to the gods so their sculptures showed the full detailed body a man. It was believed that man was the measure of most things. In Greek art nudity was shown a lot. Artist would create sculptures of naked man and it would represent the pride and strength and qualities of human beings, rather than showing someone being a more “powerful” being than man. Two good examples of humanism would be the “Kouros” and the “Doryphoros”. As time went by their artwork began to look more and more realistic. The positions of the sculptures also said a lot about them. Contrapposto, is believed to be the stance of all humans. The tone of muscles, wrinkles, and folds were all shown in a sculptures bodies. Overall, the Greek humanism also showed events going on during that time and they valued free inquiry in that it wanted to open up to new possibilities.
After the fall of the Greek empire the Roman Empire arose. Their art was influenced by the Greeks. They basically copied their art and created their art looked even more realistic. They created their work on marble which gave it a smoother look. The marble made it heavier and unlike the brown material that was lighter.
Founded in the Early Dynastic Period (3100-2686 B.C), Ancient Egypt worshipped their god and goddesses. Their god and goddesses were seen as powerful and respected by everyone, therefore when portrayed in their art they were always bigger than the rest or above. Egyptians did not think that a god should have human like characteristics and so in their art there hierarchy was shown in different ways. As mentioned before usually the god or the goddesses had animal features. They were either at the top of the register and/or created bigger than the rest. The clothing they wore also showed how they were more wealthy and powerful than the rest. The Mesopotamians also based their art work on their gods because they were seen as the highest power. The believed that humans were lower and could not compare to the gods. The artwork of both these societies was created to show the respect and honor they had for their gods.
The artwork from the ancient world varied within the societies. Depending on their values and their beliefs their artwork reflected upon it. The empires all influence each other’s work in one way or another. At one point art was not taken serious because it was believed that it made people misinterpret and think about things that were not even real. The ancient world had a diverse section of art pieces, yet most tied to the same idea, just like in todays artwork.
Ilya Panov
Unit Summary 2
Unit 2 introduced us to Egyptian , Greek and Roman art. Unlike the naturalistic art of the greeks or the romans, Egyptian art contained a functionality. Functionality that provided benefits to a leader. As well as Egyptian statuary were used for ritual action and royal or elite statuaries served as a middle man between people and gods.
As well,a lot of Egyptian art contained what’s called a hierarchy of scale. Setting apart the Egyptian rulers and deities by making them much larger than a everyday Egyptian.
The Greeks were able to achieve a super naturalistic look in there art. They took the Kouros boy and added a more natural contrapposto stance. Clearly showing a displacement of weight between the legs , as if the statue is capable of movement as seen in the Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer) or The Canon. The Greeks were also able to capture emotion and motion in there art. As seen in ‘Great Altar of Zeus from Pergamon” expressions can can clearly be seen on the marble statue faces. Agony and confusion is portrayed on the faces and in the movement of the arms and body.
Roman was born out of civil war and naturally of there art depicts victories of major battles in service to the state. Victories such as Monument of Aemilius Paullus at Delphi).
Romans patrons also choose to be depicted in the marble stone with every flaw hyper announced, in hopes that this will portray them hard working citizen who acquired much wisdom through their lifetime. Flaws such as bald heads, large noses and, wrinkles were exaggerated as can be seen on the Marble bust of a man,
Well…my definition for art is basically like a stress-relief.
As a artist, I think it helps with forming a personality and expressing creativity. It could be a sanctuary on just expressing words you can’t put onto paper. Sometimes people just couldn’t say what they’re feeling. In my opinion, you could really put your feelings into your artwork. It’s like a little safe place. Maybe at most times, you might have art block; unable to put your thoughts onto art. However, it could simply be that you haven’t found the right words or right feelings? Well, art could also simply be a hobby or activity to pass the time. Art varies in many ways and I think it really helps as a defining feature of creativity to bring out a voice which should be heard within art. Imagination, thought and creativity helps bring out the individuality of a person and makes them different from everyone else which is a positive thing because individuality often helps enable the world to be interesting.
In this unit, we focused on the artwork of ancient civilizations such as the Ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Mesopotamia. Although there are many similarities between these ancient civilization artworks, there are also many differences. During the Ancient Egyptian period, most of the artwork is revolved around on religions, god/goddess, and place importance in animals, as time progresses to Ancient Greek and Roman period, there is more emphasis on humanism art.
Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian art was mainly focused on the Gods and Goddesses, and certain animals which heavily depicted around their religion. They believed in how in the afterlife the god/goddess can help guide those who passed, and the more important a person is such as a pharaoh or the more decorative their coffin is. During this period Ancient Egyptian art mostly consist of statues, tablets, amulets, little trinkets with animals such as the hippopotami, baboons, calves, cats, dogs and more. Most of the Egyptian artworks were made to appease towards the afterlife, and there is a heavy emphasis on using gold, and colors that reflect with their belief. Although these some of the Egyptian pieces may have resembled humanism features, they were more oriented towards religious belief.
In Roman art, they place heavy emphasis on bronze, metal, marble, glass…etc, and they also believe their art is not the depiction of an idealized man, but it was the depiction of a man in the truest sense, which is called Roman Portraiture. The Roman Portraiture also features an accurate portrayal of a person’s face, and appreciate older face because it reflects on wisdom gained through long hard years. An example of that is the Roman marble sculpture of a man head. A bust is an old man with wrinkles, and this portrays the realism and humanism in their art. The Romans also took inspirations from the Greeks, and many of their artwork are forms for sculptures, architectures, paintings, and mosaics.
Ancient Greece is the most similar to Egyptian arts because of the emphasis a lot of god/goddess, although that is mostly where their similarities end. While the Egyptians display harsh and fierce looks on their statues/sculptures, the Grecians have a more softer and feminine feature. The Greek artwork also had a more philosophical and idealistic approach towards their art and sculptures. The Ancient Greek sculpture also shows a dominant male with feminine characteristics with no harsh features, and although the Ancient Greek art likes to show a more feminine feature for their sculpture, they also put a humanism twist by making the body portions and features manly and accurate.
Unit 2 was about the emergence from art being more symbolic and representative of the ruling class to being more literal and representative of the common individual. Despite this change, art still retained its emphasis on symbolism, only its treatment of it was different. In the beginning of the unit, Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia was the focus. The ruling class was depicted in its art and the way art was handled remained the same in these societies for hundreds of years, with a ruler revolutionizing the art form every now and then before art would return back to how it always was. In these early societies, rulers and gods were always depicted as larger than the civilians and neither the civilians or their superiors were ever rendered in a realistic fashion.
The unit moved on to a visit at the Brooklyn Museum. During the exploration of the Soul of A Nation exhibit, we were tasked with the examination of a work of art as well as an examination of an ancient work of art. Although it wasn’t part of the assignment, it was very easy to explain how different art has become within our world. The Soul of A Nation was completely comprised of art that focused on the individual and the power and depth of the common man. This is in sharp contrast with the ancient art we described. Although there were many other exhibits such as Syria Then and Now: Stories from Refugees a Century Apart, One: Do Ho Suh, Half the Picture: A Feminist Look at the Collection, Something to Say: Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine and many more, Soul of A Nation stood out the most to me. I like the fact that it acknowledged that there are different types of nations (this one being a cultural one) that may not be visible to everyone else but still exists nonetheless. It felt like something that someone within this nation could instantly understand and feel at home with.
The unit continued on with the change to Greek and Roman art. Although there was a focus on rulers (the depictions of Augustus Caesar and Julius Caesar were important pieces of art from the Roman world), much of the focus was placed on the commoner. People with normal day jobs and day jobs that didn’t pay much money were depicted and with great honor and detail. This was due to the rise in the humanist philosophy. The focus was placed more on man as being powerful as opposed to gods or the ruling class. Symbols used to show power were no longer symbols of the gods but were instead the symbols of man. Realism was created to show this power; the more realistic the art, the more praise is given to mankind. This philosophy is related to how art is used today, as seen in the modern exhibits from the Brooklyn museum. Our philosophy always bleeds into the art we create whether we are aware of it or not.
The Ancient World is a mass and expansive subfield within Art History. It is here in unit 2 of our class where we delve further into the art of this Ancient World. We are taking a closer look at the art that has shaped Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. In analyzing the art of each of these civilizations, we are able to conceptualize them better and overall gain a better understanding of their ways of life, values and ideals. We have learned what is unique to the art of each of these civilizations as well as what common ground they share amongst one another.
Ancient Egypt contrasts a little more sharply when comparing it to the latter art of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. This contrast is accounted for in recognizing that the purpose of Ancient Egypt’s art was mainly divine worship, which isn’t predominantly seen in Greece and Egypt. For the Ancient Egyptians however, art was a way for them to worship the divine in order to ensure that their Gods and Goddesses would reward them not only in this life but in the afterlife as well. They often carried around small statues made out of limestone so that if they didn’t have time to extensively pray, these statues stood in place for them and acted as that prayer. They were usually designed with large eyes and ears to portray that the Egyptians were paying close attention to their divinities. Statues of gods, royalty, as well as the elite weren’t uncommon in Ancient Egypt and worked to “convey an idealized version of that individual” (Ancient Egyptian Art, by Dr. Amy Calvert). Ancient Egyptian statues, at least those of stone, were always respectfully clothed, and mainly were non expressive and rigid. Wood and metal statues, however, allowed the Egyptians to be more expressive in their art. Moving away from statues, two dimensional Ancient Egyptian art are vital to mention. In Ancient Egyptian paintings we see registers, which help depict hierarchy, hunting scenes, or instructions for the afterlife.
What makes art from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome so different from that of Ancient Egypt is the fact that the concept of humanism was introduced and implemented in both of these civilizations. Instead of divine worship being the prime agent of change to make things happen, humanism is the belief that Man instead is the prime agent for change to make things happen. It is now Man who is the center of cosmological order and the ultimate recipient of blame due to their greater ability to make social and materialistic change. Inspired by this new way of thinking art in Ancient Greece and Ancient, we see a change in the way that art is being made. The human body is not vulnerable in a bad way that we go to the otherworldly representations.
In Ancient Greece we see an emphasis on naturalism, anatomy and movement-an emphasis on what it is that Man can do. Even when we see depictions of something otherworldly (such as Gods and Goddesses) within Ancient Greek art, these Gods and Goddesses even look more and more like humans (no animal heads for them like in Ancient Egypt). These Gods and Goddesses interact with people as well as take on human traits (such as vanity and jealousy). Ancient Greeks (and Ancient Romans) felt that human beings were of great value. This is reflected substantially so in Ancient Greek statues, which were all originally made in bronze (eventually melted down to only be later replicated in marble by the Romans). In Ancient Greek statues we see an emphasis of physicality and facial expressions that even depict personality. These statues are mainly nude, as the Ancient Greeks took pride in nudity and the human body, much different from the Ancient Egyptians who would’ve felt embarrassed of such a thing. Ancient Greece is more anatomically accurate as well, the statues are much more like us, existing in our space and moving into it. Unlike the rigidness of Ancient Egypt, in Ancient Greece there is a sense of movement. Once the Ancient Greeks decided they were bored with creating statues that idealized the human body, they moved onto capturing motion and emotion better.
Ancient Roman art follows Ancient Greek art quite closely in the way that it focuses on the same concept of humanism. Much like Ancient Greece, Ancient Roman statues breathed life and had movement to them that emphasized the importance of humanity. Unlike the Ancient Greek’s though, Ancient Roman’s didn’t focus on portraying an ideal and perfect beauty through their work. Instead Ancient Romans found that it was important
The art produced by the ancient world is very significant in understanding the way society operated during those times. In class the three, civilizations that we studied were, Egypt, and Greece
The art produced by Egypt displayed that the qualities of power as well as the after life, were incredibly important to them. Egypt often had statues of and paintings of the beings that they viewed as powerful. the first being being the ruler of Egypt, the king, the pharaoh. often times statutes of the pharaohs were mad to honor and display the power of the ruler. the status would show the rulers decked out in all there royal attire, while sitting or standing upon their throne looking into the distance. Sometimes the statues or paintings didn’t only show the ruler ” ruling” per say, but often displayed actions of power. Other stone carvings produced by ancient Egypt show the Pharaoh conquering other human beings in war, displaying no threat to hinder his strength. the main reason why there was such an emphasis on the power held by the pharaoh was because, they rulers of Egypt were closely connected to the important after life. the afterlife in ancient Egypt was the notion that if any one person lived a balanced life and pleased the gods, they would be allowed to leave a joyful eternal life alongside the gods that have went on before them. Pharaohs were considered to be gods on earth, so striving to display the god’s powers one of many ways to please them.
The picture above depicts the journey of a scribe who in undergoing the process of the after life.He interacts with a serious of various gods (all in charge of various task) who judge whether or not he has lived a balanced life. The scribe passes all the test and is introduced to the ” god of all gods” if you will ( who may I point out was once a pharaoh on earth.) Its amazing how the Egyptians were able to interlock various beliefs and values into beautiful pieces of art.
The art that came from ancient Greece was similar in the fact that they exalted the power stemming from their culture. just like ancient Egypt The people of Greece displayed the power in their culture that they were most proud of through their art work. however unlike ancient Egypt the power that was displayed by ancient greece didn’t exalt gods per say, must exalted the power of the man, the human.
Humanism was the notion of celebrating the strengths snd qualities of that the human has displayed, rather than I’ve all the credit for advancement in society to gods. The base of the art in ancient Greece was humanism. The statues as the one displayed above showed how fearless and bold the humanism movement was in this society. here we see a young warrior/ athlete who is in shape in a lounging position. Instead of clothing this man, the sculptors decided to leave him with everything display. The reason for that being, other cultures were typically despised baring it all, and sometimes looked on nudity as shameful. the Ancient Greece culture however thought the exact opposite of nudity. The viewed it as a symbol of pride and strength. This explaining why their are multiple statues resembling the one above. In promoting true humanism in their society, ancient Greece discarded that their art would symbolize everything they believed in, unless ALL the qualities and features of them human were celebrated.
Humanism is the focus on the individual person, or concept of humanity, instead of the spiritual, divine and supernatural. Humanism is very focused on material reality and dismisses concepts that separate themselves too much from human praise. This praise of the human identity is expressed through the realism in humanist art.
The Seated Boxer for example is an extremely detailed work of art. Time was taken to work on the posture, muscularity and hair. Instead of simply showing a man sitting upright, he is shown with the top of his spine bringing his upper torso forward and his right legs are asymmetrical in placement. This seems like a snapshot in time because of the way his head is placed. It seems as if something has caught his attention to his right. One can read this from the statue not only because of the way his head has been moved but also because of his facial expression. All of these details serve to worship the beauty in the realism of humanity.
In the King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and Queen statue, the focus is not on the realism of the art. The two figures are depicted with less detail and certainly less movement. A stand and a forward stride are all that is needed because instead of vulnerability and humanity being displayed, the art is meant to display power, grace, and control. Despite the stride, the figures don’t look like they are actually in motion when compared to the Seated Boxer.
Humanism refers to Greek art and literature, it was important in the Renaissance period. In the most part, art had brought color, perspective, and realism. Greeks were not interested in the surrounding reality, in social and political life, they rather represent their world through the vision and imagination of the artist and the aesthetic standards of the time, responding to represent their surrounding environment and the image of the man in a particular way.
One of the ancient Greek art was named kore or korai refers to statues depicting female figures, always of a young age, which was created during the Archaic period (600 – 480 BCE) Kore statues were almost always standing, in a forward pose with the leg extended slightly forward (rarely with feet together), and with one hand pulling their dress as if not to step on it. The free hand was holding an offering to the god or goddess they served
