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Gothic

Learning about Gothic architecture was quite a surprise for me. Chapter thirteen was open the history and creation of Gothic architecture. Beginning in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Gothic architecture became more and more common among cathedrals. Beginning in France and eventually spreading across Europe, these Gothic cathedrals were much larger and spacious than its predecessors. I find these to be a lot more beautiful and detailed than cathedrals prior. Everything about them, the spacious inside, the hundreds of sculptors on the exterior walls, and the massively tall ceilings are all awesome.

Unlike what I thought going in, Gothic architecture does not at all resemble what we associate with the word Gothic or “goth” for short. These buildings are not dark and scary but open and beautiful. They were not meant to be intimidating but majestic and a tribute to God and the king. Gothic cathedrals were built to maximize the intake of natural light. From interior pictures in the day time you can see how bright and shiny everything is. Today there is still no reason for artificial lighting in Gothic cathedrals because of this.

Some key features of Gothic architecture are tall ceilings designed out of peaks called a “vault”, pointed doorways in place of the common rounded style, and the famous “flying buttress”. The pointed doorway which led to the tall and spacious ceiling vaults was technology borrowed from the middle east, it had been there for hundreds of years before the French began to use them. I found it pretty interesting how styles of stricture and art travel like this. Someone must’ve observed it in the east and brought it back, just a weird thought. The flying buttresses were a support system for the buildings that came off from the exterior walls giving it the thin, detailed look Gothic cathedrals are famous for. Some other consistent traits of Gothic architecture were stain glass windows, gargoyles, and fountains.

My favorite feature of them was the stone status on the outside that covered the entire frontal walls. I found them so detailed and well placed. But overall Gothic art was pretty cool to learn about, I was able to watch a bunch of videos of the indie of these cathedrals which was cool as well. The way we’ve changed the meaning of Gothic was a much-needed reminder to not judge a book by its cover. I did not go into this blog thinking I would enjoy Gothic art but after actually learning what it was, I have to say I do. I found its history and origins to be fascinating to learn about as well, to have incorporated styles from the middle east is not something I would guessed for the early mid evil period.

howej23-blog

When I heard Gothic i thought the piece and building would be dark and scary but they were not. They had lots of windows and let lots of light in to make them bright. I like how you described the parts within the architecture because it is important. Those separate the Gothic building from other architectures. I love that you watched videos about Gothic art, it shows that you were interested in learning about Gothic art and the importance behind it.

Blog 11 - Chapter 13

Chapter 13 is about gothic art. Gothic cathedrals are the most details monuments in stone. Gothic is a term that recognizes that art made in Western Europe from the middle of the twelfth century in France to the sixteenth century in Europe. Gothic was first used by Italians in the sixteenth century to diminish pre-Renaissance styles. Mentions the Germanic tribe who invaded Greece and Italy and dismissed Rome in A.D. 410. Goths were blamed for destroying what remained of the classic style, but the origins of Gothic art had nothing to do with what happened years before. Once the scholars realized what happened in the 19th century and where the confusion came from it was too late to do anything about it. Gothic art remains the name still today. It is crazy to me how Gothic art should not be what it is today, it is all caused by something little and it could not be changed once it was started.

A lot of the art in this chapter is artitecture. There is certain elements that show it Gothic architecture, this includes: rib vaults, piers, flying buttresses, pointed arched, and the skeleton. Rib vaults were used to replace barrel valutes used earlier. The weight of the rib vaults is only in the corners, the structure can be reinforced with space, this leaves spaces for more windows. Including ribs the Gothic builders could strengthen the ceiling vaults by giving off weight more evenly. Due to the fact the vaults could not hold lots of weight the vault surface was made from lighter material. Piers are columns that are supported on both sides which clusters of colonnets are attached. They ribs of vaults went down to the floors by colonnettes that rested on compound piers. Due to the support the builders made a place to look out of.

Flying Buttresses was made from thick walls that were used for reinforcing. This made it so there was less window space and decreasing the amount of light that could enter. The builders made flying buttress which were exterior structures composed of half arches. The buttress was used to support the tallest point of the arch. Pointed arches that was an important part of making Gothic architecture. The piers go downward of the pointed arch, having less lateral or sideways thrust against the wall. The pointed arches can be raised to any height, it is more flexible for building. Dynamically and visually the thrust is more vertical. The skeleton is a form is a ‘skeletal’ structure. The main supports form ‘skeleton’ to non supporting elements such as walls, that attached. Builders wanted a structure biologist would describe as exoskeleton, such as crab or lobster, the exoskeleton is on the outside on the body.

I love that there is certain pieces in architecture to show that it was made during Gothic time. Each piece is very important to the building, supporting each other. My favorite picture is 13.5 because it shows the structure and the details.

caseynicc

Blog Post Week 13

This weeks blog post is about art from the Early Middle Ages. Previous to reading this chapter I had no previous knowledge of art from this time. The book says that the rise of the Early Middle ages happened following the decline of the Roman Empire which was from the 7th to the end of the 10th century. Like last week I find this weeks chapter to be interesting material because from viewing and observing the art you can tell there is a high influence of religion in their art much like the Christian art.

Islamic Art has high influence from their religion because they basically live for their religion so they must obey the rules. The Koran state that it forbids the figurative representation of Allah or his prophets so majority of all the paintings include abstract geometric and floral patterns. I found it interesting that sculptures were considered the work of Satan so sculptures in Islamic art really didn’t exist. On the other hand the monumental architecture and architecture decorations made up for not having sculptures because this art thrived in Islam. In Cordoba the Great Mosque was originally created for the first Muslim ruler of Spain and it seemed like a beautiful place to see. The design of the double arches were interesting because in the large interior space it looks like a bunch of separate walk ways. These arches where 9 feet 9 inches and the paint and details on the top of these columns add a pleasing visual. The part of the Great Mosque that really caught my eye was the mihrab bay in the mosque. The ceiling in this part of the mosque has a intense mosaic filled with abstract patterns of floral and geometric shapes. In my opinion I really liked the color choice because it has enough contrast to see the individual design but still blended together nicely. The room itself also had beautiful complicated patterns that are very intricate that I found interesting. This would be something special to see in its time because now it is a cathedral and only has some of the beauty that existed during its time.

The next topic in this chapter was the Northern European Art. During this time no monumental architecture, paintings, or sculptures were created from this time due to invasions, but another type of art was being made which was influenced by the invaders. A piece of art that is famous from this time would be the Sutton Hoo purse cover. This purse cover was made of gold and red garnets and in my opinion is a fancy looking purse cover. The figures on this piece of art are pleasing to look at because it is symmetrical. The patterns on this also are an eye catcher because the line detail in this work is clean. The last piece of art that I found to be really interesting was the Four Evangelists from a gospel book. I really do not understand what is happening in the painting but the dark blue background on the white robes of the people adds great contrast and the dark figures add to the painting seeming like they are evil in some way. In conclusion I found this chapter to be interesting because I didn’t have much knowledge of this art but after seeing some I really like the colors and patterns that were used in most of this art.

howej23-blog

I think your post was very nicely written. You added good details about what you wrote about. I thought it was interesting. I thought it was interesting that the sculptures were known as the work of Satan, I do not understand why they thought this because there was so many sculptures made before that and nothing bad happen to those people. I thought this chapter was very interesting also and it taught me a lot.

The Middle ages was something I did not think I knew anything about until I started reading it. Then, everything I learned in my world civilization class started coming back to me. This was a chapter in that book I loves learning about and I found interesting.

Middle Ages comes from the time after the Roman Empire decline. The Middle Ages is from the seventh century to the end of the tenth century. As the Roman empire fell the Germanic tribes took over Western Europe. This effects the artist development and changing social and political power. During this time Islam entered Europe.

There was two types of art during this time period. The fist type was Islamic Art. During this time Muhammad taught not to worship idols and the Koran did not approve of statues of his prophets. There religious paintings were mainly of geometric or floral paintings. Sculptures were not made because they were believed to be work of Satan and there is not many found from Islam. A lot of their architecture came from mosques. This is where they would pray and when they prayed they faced Mecca. This is where I knew I had learned about this before. I have thought it was interesting they prayed facing their city, it shows the importance it had the people. In the mosque there are double arches. They were made by the original architect. I think these arched are beautiful and well constructed, you do not see anything like it anymore.

The second type of art of the time was Northern European Art. This art was influenced from Charles Martel, the ruler of the Frankish. He stopped the invasions of the Muslims into Central France. The North became more politically and artistically active. Germanic Angles and Saxon invaded British Isles and Frank invaded Gaul. Due to the invasions there was no production of architecture, paintings, or sculptures. But, there was a new craft-based art that developed by designs and techniques of metalwork. Anglo-Saxon made metal work in the seventeenth century. The piece originally has gold coins that came from Sutton Hoo in East Anglia. This purse is believed to have belonged to a person of royalty. The purse is covered in gold and dark red garnets. The designs on the purse are similar to Scythian animal style and other ancient Near eastern design. The Carolingian period was also apart of the Northern European Art. In 800 the pope crowned Charlemagne Roman emperor. He ruled most of Western Europe. Before the nineteenth century the territory was controlled by political and religious controversy, named Holy Roman Empire in the thirteenth century and stayed this way for 600 years. Charlemagne established a political organization like Ancient Rome and have unified laws and codes. To improve the peoples education he hired English professor and bought books to fits curriculum. I think Charlemagne was very important to the city, he really wanted to make his city a better place.

While looking through chapter ten which is about early Christian and Byzantine art, everything that is shown is so beautiful and well designed. This chapter really grabbed my eyes. The painting feel so realistic, including the features of the people because of such details. The building has so much design to them, which make then stand out. One picture that really caught my eye is called Christ. When I first looked it, it looks like the pictures of Jesus you see all over church. This painting was created in the 13th century and is apart of the mosaic created by Hagia Sophia. Christ shows a revived interest in organic forms of classic art. The mosaic shows Byzantine elements. The letters in the corners of the picture ‘IC’ and ‘XC’ stand for Jesus Christ. The picture shows the determination of the artistic style but it also shows how the style can change. The image created in Eastern Empire and is located in world’s greatest Byzantine church is shows elements of pre-Christian, Hellenistic, and Roman style. This image shows how art was changing by adding different styles and it shows how it may have been a style of one place but slowly, all the styles started to combine. A piece of architecture that stood out me was the inside of the Hagia Sophia after its conversion to a mosque. This picture shows the arches on the north and south sides and the walls that are below the arches. There are four piers that can be pierced with arcades and windows. The windows and arches give a feeling of light and space. I love the inside of this building because of the way the light shows the colors in the room.

For the second part of the assignment I chose to do Arabian Peninsula between 1-500A.D. . From the success of South Arabia encouraged the Romans to call it Arabia Felix meaning happy Arabia. Increasing trans-Arabian trading stimulated growth of the cities that trains of camels moving around the deserts. Most of the flourishing were close to market is Mediterranean regions, small caravan cities develop within Arabian Peninsula. Mecca is the most important. It owes prosperity to certain shrines in the area visited by Arabs from all over the peninsula. There were some key events the happened during Arabian Peninsula between 1-500A.D. . In the first century A.D. In the south, kingdom of Himyar conquers much of the regions, combining with parts of Saba. The rival kingdom of Hadhramaut destroyed the capital of Qataban kingdom. The Sabeans assert their independence, attach, and conquer much of Himyar and Hadhramaut. During 106 A.D. The romans annex the kingdom of Nabataeans which later becomes the province of Arabia. 240 A.D. The Parthians are a major force of regions. The Sasanians become a political power in the region and remain in power four more centuries. During the third century A.D. Southwest Arabia is invaded by the rules of Abyssinia, showing Christianity to the regions. The Abyssinians are later driven out by the Sasanians at the invitation if the rules Himyar. After 400 A.D. the Roman and Sasanian empires pay Arab tribes to protect their southern border and harass the borders of their adversaries.

caseynicc

Blog Post Week 12

The discussion topic for this week is Early Christian and Byzantine art. Right away I thought of the Christian religion and some of the early history about this. Their religion would have a major influence on their art and architecture because their religion is basically what their beliefs are based off of. The marble sarcophagus in the Church of S. Maria Antiqua in Rome is the perfect example of their religion reflecting art because on the visible side there is a visual from the Old Testament and the New Testament which includes carvings of Jonah and the Whale as well as John the Baptist baptizing a child and other carvings of religious figures. This section notes that this carved sarcophagus had influence from the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans because they would carve sculpture with religion figures. Moving onto Byzantine art previous to this chapter I did not have much knowledge of art from this time. In my opinion I was shocked at how incredible Hagia Sophia looked on the outside and the inside. From the outside it looks like a large temple with 4 towers on each corner. From the inside the ceiling looks drastically high and the pillar structures made it look high class as well as the mosaic decorations. Finally I would like to point out that this place was an imperial building and was only available for the emperor and his court so this was not available to the public. I think this is a true reflection of how important royalty was. In conclusion, the art from this chapter was pretty interesting but in my opinion I like the Hagia Sophia and the San Vitale because of how large and incredible the architecture was.

For the second part of this post I researched Japanese art from 1-500 A.D. During this time in Japan the people that lived their would practice building tombs out of large mounds and they would be buried with treasure. These large tombs were evidence of Japan developing a power with central government. Some of the treasures buried in these tombs were objects like bronze mirrors, personal belongings, and clay vessels. Advancing into a more structured art in the early 400s more advanced clay pottery was being developed like using a pottery wheel to create their art. During the Yayoi period a piece of pottery was created which was a jar and in my opinion I find it fascinating and impressive that in 100-300 A.D. a jar was created with the design Im familiar with seeing. This would bring up the point that this design has influenced pottery for thousands of years because there is a lot of pottery that looks like this and the Japanese were doing this in roughly 100-300 A.D. In my opinion the art from this period is interesting because at a glance with no prior knowledge these sculptures would seem basic but if you think of how old these piece of art actually are it will blow your mind because art existing all the way back to 300 A.D. seems almost impossible because life was not very advanced in that time. After doing a little research and seeing some of the art from this time was interesting because I really had no knowledge prior to looking at this website. But in conclusion I was impressed at how influential and advanced this art was i this time.

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/05/eaj.html

howej23-blog

I really like how everything relates back to past chapters, it really shows the importance of art of the past, and how it still affects us while making art later on. The Hagia Sophia really caught my eye as well and I thought it was incredible. Reading about the Japanese explains why you chose to cover them. Just as every other place there was much going on and everything they did then is still important now it there country.

I have not recently learned about Ancient Rome before this chapter. I like not really knowing what is gonna be in the chapter, so everything comes as new. While looking through the chapter there are lots of building and architecture shown in pictures and not to many sculptures or paintings. I knew right from the start they were going to be talking about the building, maybe how they were made or important pieces to them, and what happened inside of them.

Something I find interesting is that most chapters, including chapter nine, compares themselves to Greek. In my mind, this puts Greece as one of the most important times in our art history. One thing that is different is between Greek and Roman was their views on art.

Roman interest in material comfort lead to domestic architecture. Roman domestic architecture came from Etruscan and Greek past but had its own characteristics. A main feature was the atrium (open roof entrance hall), this entered from the corridor to the street. The roof slanted inward so the water would open the compluvium and collect in the impluvium (sunken part in the house). The outside or the houses were plain with no windows. Rooms facing the streets were shops. The inside were decorated and luxurious. They had wall mosaics, paintings, and sculptures. The upper-class had running water and sewage pipes. The middle and lower class lived in apartments. These buildings could be five stories high. The lower levels were full of shops and the upper levels were from families. I think it is important to get a idea of where people lived to really see where they came from and what types of things they needed or had.

One piece of architecture that grabbed my attention was the Colosseum. This is a famous piece of work. The Colosseum was built mainly for the people to view. It was an outdoor amphitheater invented by the Romans. The columns are built by in order for people to see and for the strength of the structure. The outer walls become flatter the higher you go, which carried eyes up. The Colosseum was built around a concrete core and lots of halls and stairs for easy access. The upper wall fitted with sockets that fit poles to support a canvas cover. This was used to support the people from the sun and rain. The Colosseum was made for gladiator contest and combats between men and animals. Drainage may have been added to wash out the blood.

Chapter nine talks a lot about the architecture, how it was, what is was made out of, and the purpose of it. They also had lots of sculptures of important people to Rome and the types of sculptures that were famous. Rome is one of the examples of why art history will never be lost. You can still go and visit the places and see the sculptures in this book, they will never be taken away or hidden from the public.

cyberstudentsoul-fan-blog

Week 11-Ch.9

I have always had a love for this era, along with the Greek time period. However, as their art may be interesting and tell a tail of their life at one point, I’ve always loved listening to the stories. The tragic death of Julius Caesar was a downfall, but the back stories and detail behind them are all so interesting.

Julius Caesar was the ruler and political leader that reined Ancient Rome, along with Pompey, his son-in-law and Crassus. He was known partially for his first role which was the First Triumvirate-the rule of the three men. He later was apart of a consul. Caesar’s role later on lead to him becoming temporary dictator-meaning he was a “fill in” before they found someone else fit for the job. As he was gaining rule and power, his people and many others became worried that he had gotten to used to the power and rein. So when many others didn’t like it-those of “council” did something about it. A well known group, in fact, in most stories these people were part of Caesar’s rule-they back stabbed him-literally-to the point where he bled to death.

But on a more positive note, to be quite frank, I love the building portraits more than the human sculptures because it represents more than just person. There were many people in rule over Ancient Rome at the time, and sculptures only depict what the rulers looked like and how they dressed-rather their live style and what/where they lived. I feel like their art was portraits of rulers and their architectural buildings. Today, most these buildings are in ruins. There were two developments that really shaped Rome and use for public spaces. For instance, in these public spaces, there, they grew the Forum and the Basilica. Forums were used for emperors to address announcements that the people of Rome heard news from. Basilica’s were formed at one of end the forums. Mostly used for court halls or community involved activities, they were big enough to hold large groups or have really cool parties!

The Colosseum was another major part of this community. It basically had the same concept as the Forum and the Basilica however, this was known to people today as the Colosseum or an amphitheater. Today, this monumental building has been tumbling bit by bit for many years now, yet it had been a popular site and still is one of most incredible sights to see today. The ground floor columns were a later invention by the Doric-but are Tuscan. The second floor is Ionic while the third had Corinthian texture. Other temples, an Athen Parthenon, an aqueduct (bridge), columns and many monuments were made and used and have been apart of this Ancient Rome culture for centuries! We are still learning about this amazing and tremendous mystery of a life people lived in back then!

howej23-blog

I like that you added a little background of what you already knew and how this is one of your favorite times. I like that you added the Colosseum into your post. I feel like this is one of the most knows pieces of articulate from Roman times. Even if it may not be in the condition it once was, it still holds its importance. I like that you listed other temples at the end, just to mention them, because they are important also. I thought you did a very good job writing this blog and had very good information.

Blog 7

The art of Etruscans in something I have not learned about in the past, I am finding a lot of what is in the textbook is new to me. Something I found interesting about this chapter is they connected back to the chapter of Ancient Greece. I thought it was interesting that each of them had a connection to each other. While looking over chapter eight, there are lots of unique sculptures that was made during the time of Etruscans.

The sculpture that grabbed my attention the most was on page 118, figure 8.2. When I look at it I do not see a wolf, as they say it is in the description. I see it more as a very scared pig while baby humans drinking its milk. This sculpture is called the Capitoline Wolf. The statue shows the wolf protecting her cubs, she shows her teeth to the intruders. The stature goes with the tale of Romulus and Remus, who are the founders of Rome. This stature of the wolf nursing Romulus and Remus is the symbol of Rome. The wolf was most likely suppose to be a guardian. This statue was one of the few remaining sculptures of the bronze industry.

On page 120 in figure 8.2 shows the back of a mirror with Uni nursing Herakles in front of other Gods. Herakles is an adult which shows he is accepting into the pantheon of gods and his attainment or immortality. The mirrors were decorated with mythological scenes and their names were carved into them showing who it belonged to. Women of Etruscan art were viewed more highly than women in Ancient Greece. They enjoyed public life with their husbands and held higher positions than Greek women. They went with their husbands to banquets. Higher class Etruscan women wore jewelry to outing to show their ranking. In Etruscan art women dominated over men by being older, more powerful, and higher in status. You can see this in the picture of the mirror.

Tomb painting grabbed my eye, they always do. They tell a story shown out, unlike a sculpture which is only one scene, where a painting can be many. Painting on page 124 in figure 8.12 grabbed my attention the most. I think this is because of the leopards at the top and the people down below. In the painting women are drawn in lighter skin and men have darker. In the picture it shows men and women sitting and the servants are standing. The colors shown are terracotta tones of brown, with wreaths, plants, and extra details in the background.

Chapter 8, in my mind was very crazy. I do not understand how a wolf nursing Romulus and Remus could be the symbol of Rome or how it came to be. I think that is part of the mystery of the past, the not knowing. We can not answer every question because we were not there to live it and to understand it.

edealyx-blog

Week 10 Post

Before beginning this chapter, I knew it was going to be very hard to read about better art than ancient Greece. Greece left an outstanding mark on the art history world. But, after flipping through the first few pages, many of the objects and sculptures of the Art of the Etruscans are looking very similar to Greece.

The first sculpture on page 118 is very interesting. It is called the Capitoline Wolf, and it is a wolf protecting its cubs. I really like this picture because it is almost like how mothers in real life do everything they can to protect their” cubs” or children. The wolf in the picture is doing everything in its power in order to stop predators from attacking her cubs.

The women in Etruscan Art section really caught my eye. The most interesting about this section is how from one art period to another, the position women can hold is significantly different. In Greece, many women were supposed to stay in the house and do the housework, like; cooking, laundry, and taking care of the children. Etruscan women had many rights. They were allowed to be with their husband and could hold positions higher than women in Greece. Another thing I noticed about the women in the art as they were more involved. They are in more pictures and not just for background purposes. They are in clear sight in the paintings and pictures and they are very active. Sometimes even being the lead in the piece of art.

The tomb painting section is by far the most interesting and my favorite section of this very short chapter. The first sentence reads, “Etruscans used pictures as well as architecture and sculpture in the service of the dead.” This sentence alone really caught my eye. In today’s time, we still use pictures and sculptures at funeral services. As you walk into a service, you will see the long lines of people waiting to look at pictures of the deceased life. The pictures will include from their childhood, midlife, and even their old age. In some cases, there may even be an extra time during the service to show a slideshow on the projector to show off their life. In the Etruscan age, the pictures or paintings may include their favorite painting or the best one they have created. The Mourners at the Door of the Other World painting is very relatable to this today in time as well. But, instead of decorating the walls or having the walls be mourning, we will bring plaques on concrete stones that have a saying on them to let the family know we are thinking about them. Sarcophagus sculpture also represents today’s world. It really looks like a couple mourning the death of a loved one or a close friend.

This chapter was very short but also it was an important chapter. Many funerals are based on these sculptures and these paintings. I have never realized how much of today’s world is based on the ancient art in this book. This book has taught how important the history of art actually is.

howej23-blog

I though ancient Greece had amazing work and left a great impact. I like how they compare the Etruscan to ancient Greece time. I found the same sections in the book eye grabbing, as you did. I thought the symbolism behind the Capitoline Wolf culture was very interesting and how now it is the symbol of Rome. I liked how the book compared the women of ancient Greece to the women of Etruscan so we could see right in front of us how two different places treated their women differently. I feel the same as you not knowing how important ancient art is in today's society and how much of an impact it still has on us today.

emilyleifker-blog

Week 8

Everyone has a different definition of beauty, and it was very cool to hear other definitions of it in the podcast. Personally, I have different definitions of beauty depending on what the topic is. As they were talking about kalós and kallos, they are very similar words with similar meanings, but the two words imply different things and different contexts. Art is one of the many ways we use to express our visualizations of beauty. The Greeks believed that beauty was represented by symmetry and proportions, that beauty was skin deep, which can be seen in their art pieces. The Greek’s included “beautifying” details in their sculptures, such as curled hair. Like in many other periods we’ve read about, the Greek’s sculptures represented their beauty standards. The beauty standards of the Greeks is still very relevant in our beauty standards today.

Greek pottery used a lot of geometric patterns, creating smooth flowing patterns. Their statues were made life-size and with real details and features. I think this shows just how much their ideas of beauty meant to them. Back to the podcast, the quote “There were people who were sexually attracted to statues”, really emphasizes the attention and dedication to the beauty that these statues were created with. The Greek’s architecture was also very elaborate and large. Such as the Parthenon, there were large pillars holding up the frame.

In Ancient Greece, women were viewed more as property than human beings. I was not surprised to read this, as this was much before the era of women’s rights. Women, again, were also held to a high beauty standard, as represented in statues and art. They were expected to be beautiful and just the right shape and size. Like with art, I do feel that to a certain extent, we are going back to many of the ways that the Greek’s had. Our art is very similar, and we stereotype people into categories especially where looks are concerned.

I enjoyed that chapter 7 also talked about the Greek’s democracy. The adult citizens, male only, had to take part in the government if chosen to do so. Those who were chosen would implement laws which would then be voted on by the rest of the adult citizens and the majority would rule. Sounds a lot like our government today, huh?

howej23-blog

I agree how each definition of beauty can be different and they showed that by having people tell what there detention is. Beauty can be anything you can imagine, it is just told by the eyes of the viewer. My view and you r view of beauty would not the same. Regarding your last comment, I think it is crazy how time have changed but not everything has changed. I feel as we learn from the past and things slowly adjust to our needs.

Between the reading in chapter 7 and watching the podcast I have learned a lot more about ancient Greece and the art apart of it. I have found this the most interesting chapter so far and hope to learn more about it in the future.

I thought this weeks podcast was interesting. There was a lot to learn from it and I learned a lot. I liked that they brought in different people and different voices to keep you interested and to make it original. They spent a lot of time talking about kallos and I think by spending a lot of time on it, it emphasized the word. You can tell the importance of beauty and what it means. I liked that it was talked about how an ancient Greece statue meets our standards in today's society. I think it is crazy how our views have not changed in many years. All the details in portions of how the status should be sized. Talking about the head size to the rest of the body or the length of the arms. I also liked how the brough today's society into the video. I think it is great to see how our world is changing but also how it has stayed the same. After the video I am really thinking about how we view beauty and the standards we have put on people before they can be beautiful. They talked about how ‘venus de milo’ is beautiful but if we dressed someone up as medieval icon we would not consider them beautiful. But why wouldn’t we? It is one person dressed as another that is viewed as beautiful.

The sculptures in the textbook really grabbed my attention after they were talked about in the video. Each sculpture has defining features to it. You can see the texture in the hair on each person and in the beard on the men. The shape of each person is also really defined, including the arms, legs, and torso to really show what gender they are creating. Each statue is positioned in a different way to show exactly what they are doing. By reading the thoughts of why each statue was made you can tell they were not made because they wanted a project to do, each one was made with a purpose. If they were made to show an important date or event in the time or if it was an important person to them.

I thought it was important that the book talked about the important ‘buildings’ in ancient Greece. I also liked how they put in a recreation picture of each ‘building’ to give us a visualization of what it used to look like. It is important for us to see each detail that was added to see how they viewed each piece to look. It also teaches us now more about what they valued.

It is important to help keep each of the statues and ‘buildings’ how they originally were, which is very hard to do because they are old and the ‘buildings’ have suffered from being outside. But each of them are things that can never be recreated and are important pieces of our history.

gsydney11

Chapter 5

I really enjoyed reading chapter 5 this week, I found it very interesting. The Pharaohs were fascinating to read about. In the book it says, “from approximately 3100 B.C., Egypt was ruled by pharaohs, or kings, whose control of the land and its people was virtually absolute. In Mesopotamia, kings mediated between their people and the gods. In Egypt, the kings were considered gods.”

The pyramids were also very interesting to read and learn about. The book says that, “the most monumental architectural expression of the Egyptian pharaoh’s power was the pyramid, his burial place and zone of passage afterlife.” Pyramids were originally made of mud-brick and later were faced with cut stones. The pictures of the different pyramids in the book were amazing to look at. The people in the picture are so tiny, it’s crazy to think how big pyramids actually are.

I learned more about temples through this chapter. The Temple of Amon-Mut-Khonsu was beautiful. This temple contained both earthy and celestial symbolism. The original ceiling was painted blue and decorated with birds and stars, denoting its symbolic role as the heavenly realm. I also liked Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple and Sculpture. This was a Funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. I thought this temple was amazing, and the book says it was made from sandstone and rock.

I learned about the Amarna Period through this chapter. Amenhotep IV, was the Eighteenth Dynasty king of Egypt. He entrenched religious cults. The book says, “Amenhotep worshiped the Aten, represented as the sun disk, and accordingly he changed his name to Akhenaten. The sculpture of Akhenaten in the book is very unique. The artist who created it did a very good job and put a lot of time, effort, and detail into it.

It was very fascinating to learn about Tutankhamon’s Tomb. It was very interesting to learn that after Tutankhamon’s died, his tomb, with its four burial chambers, was discovered intact. I was also very intrigued learning that an English Egyptologist named Howard Carter found the mummified body of Tutankhamon. It is very fascinating that a sculpture was made of Tutankhamon’s mummified body. The Canopic coffinette of Tutankhamon was very amazing to look at. The gold and the stones that were used make the sculpture look very beautiful. It is crazy to think that this sculpture was of what Tutankhamon’s mummified body looked like back in 1922. I really enjoyed learning about Ancient Egypt in this chapter.

howej23-blog

I really enjoyed this chapter, it seems I learned as much as you did. Most of this chapter was new to me. I thought Tutankhamen’s tomb was also very interesting. The tom itself was very beautiful and full of lots of details. You must have been very important to get such an outstanding tomb to spend the rest of your life.

Chapter 5

I thought chapter 5 was really interesting and I learn a lot of new information. I do not really remember learning a much about ancient egypt during school. Most of this information was fairly new to me. I found it interesting and it kept my attention throughout the chapter.

I do remember talking about the pyramids in school, just a little bit. Which means we probably covered other things, I just do not remember. In school we made our own pyramids. We made them out cardboard and glue and created them as if we were making a pyramid for the first time. I think the pyramids and so amazing but I can not believe that they were made. They are huge and there is a lot going on from the outside and the inside. They did not just makes one pyramid they made several. With each pyramid they made they got more complex each time. They did not make the pyramids just for fun, there was a reason behind it. It was a place for the king to be buried. They made huge pyramids, for there king to be buried at. This just blows my mind. For them to want to put that much work in, there king must have meant a lot to them. I wish the book would have added how long they have estimated it took to build the pyramids. I want to know how they were built. They did not have all the tools we have now, it must have been a lot of working with your hands. The pyramids have always been something that have interested me so I am glad I got to learn more about it.

The process of mummification really grabbed my attention. They believed to get to another life after death there bodies had to be preserves. I never knew that is why they wrapped themselves up in linen. It does make sense that they would not be wrapped up after they were dead ‘for fun’. I think it is weird to remove their organs if they want to live on again. I would have thought you would keep them inside of the body, you need your organs to live. But they left the heart, I do not get why you would take all the organs except one. They must have thought for the heart to be the most important organ to leave it inside the body before it was preserved. I think it is weird they kept the organs by be protected by Horus’s sons. I would not have ever thought organs were important enough to be protected after leaving a body.

This chapter blows my mind about what they believed and how they did certain things. I do not understand how the pyramids were built, it is crazy to me. That they wanted to preserve their bodies to make it to another life. There views and what they did just surprised me. I do believe it is important to understand what happened before we lived.

caseynicc

Week 4 Blog

Chapter 4 was interesting to me because it talked about the history of certain art and the periods that it came from. A lot of this art was some of the original types of art like writing, carving, and even architecture. The chapter talks about the reasoning behind these forms of art. Most of the pieces of art mentioned in the chapter are very old pieces of art from B.C time. This chapter is basically a overview of the certain people from certain times and what they produced as far as art.

To begin the some of the Neolithic sites mentions were the site of Jericho and Catal Huyuk. These locations both contained buildings that held corpses and even painted walls and some areas that are said to be shrines. I find it very interesting that archeologists are able to make the assumptions of the intended purposes of these buildings even tho they are thousands of years old. For example archeologist are able to find out that the buildings in Catal Huyuk were made without streets and the holes and little windows were used as ventilation from the oven.

During the early Dynastic Period statues were created in the Abu Temple at Tell Asmar. Experts are unsure if these statues were supposed to be in a group but they all seem to share characteristics. For example some of them hold cups but the men are bare in the chest while women have robes over one shoulder. One interesting thing pointed out about these statues are the hierarchical proportions. I never thought about hierarchical proportions until reading this section but it makes complete sense that the size of the statues shows the status of the donor and how much money was donated. If a person owned a large statue this would reflect how much they paid for it. Its kind funny that back in this time a person received what they paid for. Today its unlikely to get what you pay for.

One of the big pictures that I interpreted from this chapter was art truly does have a purpose. For people like us, who enjoy the nature and meaning behind art, realize that as humans art and creation is a natural part of life. If you were to speak to someone who could care less about art they are going to say that art really serves no purpose and can’t help humans but this chapter shows that there is actually meaning behind these. For starters many people are religious and will stand behind their religion strongly. Some people may be religious but also have the opinion that art doesn’t matter. But if you look back at the history without art, religion could have been lost throughout history. Art was able to continue the religion through statues and paintings and even writings in books like The Quran or The Vedas. These are all forms of art and some people do not realize the importance of it. In the end after reading this chapter my knowledge towards periods and people who created art has grown and I have a better understanding of really how important art is.

howej23-blog

I thought chapter 4 was very interesting, also. I like that you brought up hierarchy, it does make a lot of sense that the more money you have the bigger your statue is. It kind of make me think it out world today the bigger your grave is the more money you had while you were alive. I think art is very important and has a lot of meaning behind it, everything was made to have a purpose.

Chapter 4

I thought chapter four was interesting. I remember talking about some of it in school but we did not learn all of this. There was a few thing that really stood out to me the Catal Huyuk, earliest form of writing, and the law code of hammurabi.

It's crazy to me that 12,000 years ago there were people were building these amazing houses, that connected by roofs instead of using streets. In there houses they had furniture, benches made out of clay that they would sit and sleep on. They put in windows to help the smoke out. They had agriculture and were trading goods. To think this is where we started, they did not have it as easy as we do now. Now every family has an individual home and we would walk outside or drive on our streets to see someone or do something. Instead of sitting and sleeping on clay we have beds and couches. They had agriculture if it was livestock or crops, what they did in the past we probably still use some of their ways now, we made it fit our needs. These are things that have evolved that we still use and do today, it is crazy they started over 12,000 years ago.

The word cuneiform caught my eye and really made me read the paragraph more closely. After I was reading I knew I must have learned it in my art class. I think it is really important to know where language came from, it took time to develop. I like how in the book they told how it evolved. They started by making characters in clay and stone, these tell there own story. The earliest known language came from the Sumer, this where I knew where I learned about cuneiform. Slowly writing became developed which lead to language. I think it is so interesting how language developed. It took many steps and a long time before it happened.

The law code of hammurabi caught my eye because it is something I remember talking about in middle school and high school. We would get in debates if we thought it was the right way to handle the situation or if something else should be put in place. In our textbook and the ones in middle and high school it really focused on the ‘eye for an eye’ law. I think it was a good idea to keep people in line so no one mistreated someone else who was helpless. They were trying to protect the weak from the strong and the rich from the poor. I think in today's world it would not work, there is gonna be a government side who does not approve and I think it will cause more problems then help solve any.

I think knowing about the past helps us nowadays realize where we came from. I think it is important for us to know what people of the past had to do to develop all of these things we still use today.

cyberstudentsoul-fan-blog

Week 3

My decision to work on and do research with the Neolithic Stonehenge era had something to do with my mom. When I was probably a pre-teen, maybe a little older, my mom would search YouTube in hopes of finding new songs and funny videos. I didn’t know what her point was…until she found the Ylvis Band. (All you have to do is look up Ylvis on YouTube and you’ll find “What Does the Fox Say,” “What’s the Meaning of Stonehenge,” etc.)

When she would show us these videos and make us laugh hysterically, I found myself listening to the songs in my own free time which I find odd now, but didn’t think much of at the time. But the theories that are out there are crazy: including these…

-They were “built” around 5,000-4,000 years ago.

-It apparently was once part of a larger structure that was said to be 15 times bigger than the Stonehenge.

-The weather may have caused the weathering of the rocks.

-It’s said to be the rocks were part of a ritual citing at one point, but more theories that seem to make more sense now are that they’re used to direct the rising and setting of the sun.

-There’s a road that might have led to the actual citing of the original stones.

-Bluestones may have something to do with the larger structures. When they are broken or freshly wet, they have a tinted blue-color to them. Maybe if the large structures had a piece broken off or put water is splashed on them, we would know if these “bluestones” are part of the structures.

-The Plains where the stones are now may have been sacred ground way before they were “put” there.

My belief in all this: miracles happen. People were smart then. Not all mysteries have been solved, and this one may never be. However, the weathering of how the earth looked then and how it looks now could have played a part in it. But I also feel like if we want to find out more about this, we have to consider the possibilities of these theories and put them to the test. Rule out ones we think we can test…because if we don’t, one day, it’ll just bring up more questions we won’t know how to answer. I feel like it has to do with the people then and the awful weathering we experience now.

howej23-blog

I liked that you connected the Neolithic Stonehenge era to your personal life and told the story about it. I thought the fact about the blue stones was interesting. I also think miracles happen. It would be a good idea to try and test out the theories we have made of these. I think it is crazy how the made things in the past and today we can not figure out how it was done.

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