Influences:
All contemporary artists owe a debt to the past. We borrow,
we steal, we build upon the foundation created by countless artists and
civilizations that came before us.
To pay homage to those who have influenced me I will begin
with a section that will focus on selected works of art produced world-wide,
relating them to their historical context.
But, plan on focusing on the artistic traditions of
non-Western cultures around the world.
If you want to read about the Mona Lisa as influence it’s
not going to happen here. But come on, you’ve been learning about Western Art
all your lives. I do promise to eventually honor the west but not before I’ve
thanked the Non Western world thoroughly.
So, as we travel the Non – Western art world, you will be
exposed to a number of issues and if you wish, spend countless hours learning
how to:
Analyze fundamental concepts in the history of world
art
Apply knowledge of the specific artistic styles and modes of
cultural expression exemplified in South and East Asian, Native North and South
American, African, and Oceanic art.
Evaluate cultural and historical issues through the lens of
artistic expression as understood from a variety of global perspectives.
Analyze and critique works of world art on aesthetic and
cultural grounds.
Analyze aesthetic values, power relationships, and diversity
issues as they relate to the field of art history and criticism.
Let’s go to Africa first.
But here’s a warning. I’m going to present much of this information in a more
“bulleted” format. Meaning the words will be arranged in a dry, yet organized
manner that spits out facts. I hate doing this, because I like to ramble on,
but remember how little time we have. And, if I reduce the words, you get to
see more stuff, more artwork.
II.
Africa
Ancient 70,000 to 100,000 years ago
Medieval (1000–1400 A.D.)
Colonial
Contemporary
Ancient
Rock Art, Paintings and
engraved images.
Rock paintings and engravings
are Africa's oldest continuously practiced art form. Depictions of elegant
human figures, richly hued animals, and figures combining human and animal
features—called therianthropes (often associated with shamanism).
The actual dates of the
earliest art works are constantly debated as new evidence/sites are discovered.
According to some
experts, the earliest evidence of geometric art was dated from 70,000 to
100,000 years ago.
Most experts now believe
that the rock art tradition in Africa may go back at least 50,000 years. Unlike
the rock paintings of Europe which are typically found in deep limestone caves
most of Africa’s rock paintings are exposed to the elements in shallow
shelters.
Rock paintings found in
southern Namibia in 1969 were carbon-dated to 30,000 years old.
Southern African San rock
art:
Aboriginal San
hunter-gatherers made most of these paintings and engravings.
Lonyana Rock,
Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
Image courtesy of Rock
Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Kasama Hills, Northern Province, Zambia.
Courtesy of the Rock Art
Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
The eland is often
depicted:
eland
... as well as a variety
of human figures. The depictions of magical animals/people I create are influenced in my graduate school exploration of tribal African art including the San.
“... scholars began to read about San beliefs and practices. They
were fortunate in that a German linguist, Wilhelm Bleek, and his sister-in-law
Lucy Lloyd had collected some 12,000 pages of /Xam San beliefs, folklore, and
ritual practices in the 1870s. These were written down in the /Xam language in
the orthography developed by Bleek and translated verbatim.
Alongside the numerous
images of eland are ubiquitous depictions of healing or trance dances and the
various experiences that the shaman-dancers have when they enter the other
world, such as transformation into animal form. These images often interact
with the rock surface; they appear to enter or leave cracks, steps, and other
openings in the rock surface. For this reason, it is believed by scholars that,
for the San, the rock surface functioned as a veil between this world and the
spiritual one. Filled with supernatural energy, the images are depicted on this
veil, on the very liminal space between two worlds. It is now thought by some
scholars that, for the San, these images were more than just representational—they
were the actual inhabitants of the spirit world.”
Origins Centre, University
of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
stay tuned for more....
