Art Appreciation Unit VI Assessment Questions (Mathguy18 ONLY)

ART 1301, Art Appreciation 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VI Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Justify visual arts in relation to history and culture.

2. Examine the characteristics of works of art, including the purpose and structure of the work.

Reading Assignment Chapter 15: From the Earliest Art to the Bronze Age Chapter 16: The Classical and Medieval West

Unit Lesson Chapter 15: From the Earliest Art to the Bronze Age Art history makes history visible and accessible. As stated in your textbook, “There is no ‘better’ or ‘best’ when we compare the art of different societies, or even the art of different times within the same society” (Frank, 2014c, p. 240). This means that differences in art reflect different points of view. When we see art made by someone at a different time, we can better understand what that person was going through. Now that we understand how to make the art, we can imagine the artist’s life as he or she made the art. Art should always work in the present; it should be a gateway to better understanding lives surrounding history. Paleolithic Era

(Frank, 2014a, slide 4)

UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE

The Beginning of Art

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Around two million years ago, early man was a hunter-gatherer in East Central Africa. This is where some of the earliest artforms are found (Frank, 2014c). Early humans made crude stone cutting tools to make carvings while they moved from place to place for survival. Burial sites with decorations show early man’s thoughts on afterlife. From these artifacts, we know that early man cared deeply and had thoughts about religion and what happened to the soul after someone departed.

The earliest known work of religious art was found in 2008. The Hohle Fels figure (shown on the left and on page 242 of your textbook) is 2” high and about 35,000 years old. This sculpture was to be worn as a necklace, since there is no head, but just a loop for hanging (Frank, 2014c). Obviously, these artforms do not come with a pamphlet, but we can assume by the exaggerated female characteristics that they believed in a great mother goddess or this was the main purpose of females at that time. If we start thinking about why they might have carved this sculpture, we start to understand the importance of women and life at that time (Frank, 2014c). Who mothered and took care of children? How did their

families grow and survive? The mother gives life to the family, so this was extremely important for survival and growth. Another early sculpture is Women of Willendorf (on page 242 of your textbook), which is 4” high and was made 10,000 years later than the Hohle Fels figure (Frank, 2014c). It is hard for us to imagine that amount of time spanning, but it is incredible. People at that time were still nomadic, but this figure is much more refined than the first. Life at that time was so treacherous that the thought of sitting down to carve a statue seems a little frivolous, but this shows how important these figure were. Paleolithic paintings have a different style than the sculptures. Cave paintings show animals with expressive naturalism, not very exaggerated. Wall Paintings of Animals is among dozens of 30,000-year-old images showing horses, rhinoceroses, tigers, and other large animals (Frank, 2014c). Art at this time may have been used to bring the spirit of the animals into rituals related to hunting. Others believe that these paintings were used for religious rituals with animals. Petroglyphs are similar to cave paintings, but are large etchings above ground. They can be found all over the world, and the work ranges from showing scenes with animals to symbols used for communication. These rock carvings were made by scratching or pecking on the surface of exposed stone. The Murujuga petroglyphs (located on page 244 of your textbook) is one of the largest complexes off the northwest coast of Australia (Frank, 2014c). There are thousands upon thousands of carvings featuring humans, animals, and mythic beings. Based on how many carvings are there, we can assume that thousands upon thousands of peoples passed through and carved on the stone as they went. The carvings were not all made at once; this was carved over many years. Petroglyphs are endangered due to acid rain and erosion.

(Frank, 2014a, slide 9)

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The Neolithic Period

The Neolithic Period was a major turning point in life and sustaining life. The precarious existence of hunter- gatherers changed to a more stable life of village farmers and herders. Families no longer had to move from place to place. The agricultural revolution brought about a change in art, as well. Food storage became very important, and abstract designs were used to embellish these items for daily use. Highly abstracted designs were usually derived from animals and plants; these designs are a big departure from the naturalistic cave paintings (Frank, 2014c). Chapter 16: The Classical and Medieval West If your idea is of “beautiful” includes the perfect or ideal, then you have something in common with classical Greek ideals. In Greece, humankind was regarded as the highest creation of nature that strived for physical perfection and had the power to reason.

The first style of Greek art appeared during the Archaic period. The Greeks were influenced by Egypt and the Near East in art (Frank, 2014c). You can see the influence of Egyptian art in the vases and statues created by Greek artists. Painters were regarded as the most important artists and signed their artwork. Most sculptors are unknown. The Classical Greek phase is what most people think about when they think about Greek art. Artists at this time were obsessed with making the perfect human, mainly through sculpture. Artists would use live models, but for different parts of the body. First, an artist would figure out the perfect ratio for

the figure, and then would use models to copy (Frank, 2014c). Most Greek sculpture shows an interest in anatomy and more relaxed poses, very naturalistic. They wanted to achieve the ideal and portrayed people in the prime of life and blemish free. The last Greek art style is the Hellenistic phase, Hellenistic means “Greek-like” (Frank, 2014c). This art was made for non-Greek patrons. It coincides with the decline of Athens after war with Sparta. In this style, the Greek art being made is not showing the ideal, but instead, the drama. Art became more dynamic and less ideal to show movement and expression.

(Frank, 2014a, slide 19)

(Frank, 2014b, slide 9)

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References Frank, P. (2014a). Chapter 15: From the earliest art to the Bronze Age [PowerPoint slides]. Boston, MA:

Pearson Education. Frank, P. (2014b). Chapter 16: The classical and medieval West [PowerPoint slides]. Boston, MA: Pearson

Education. Frank, P. (2014c). Prebles’ artforms: An introduction to the visual arts (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Suggested Reading If you would like to learn more about this unit’s reading, review the below chapter presentations that align with the textbook required readings: Click here to access the Chapter 15 PowerPoint Presentation. Click here for a PDF version of the presentation. Click here to access the Chapter 16 PowerPoint Presentation. Click here for a PDF version of the presentation.