Dead Flashcards
Tyi Wara (Chi Wara) Dance Headdress (location, culture)
Bamana people of Mali. Ritualistic head garment worn during dances. Dance represents the way antelopes move and jump. Antelope represents agriculture. Tribe would perform ritual before agricultural seasons to ensure healthy crops
Tyi Wara (Chi Wara) Dance Headdress (Date)
Late 19th Century
Tyi Wara (Chi Wara) Dance Headdress (Material)
Wood, decorated with metals, string, leather, shells
Tyi Wara (Chi Wara) Dance Headdress (visual form)
carved wood, representing pattern, negative&positive space
Three Legged Ting w/ Cover (Location, culture)
China, Zhou Dynasty.
Three Legged Ting w/ Cover (Date)
6th century BCE
Three Legged Ting w/ Cover (Material)
Cast Bronze
Three Legged Ting w/ Cover (Visual Form)
Harmony & Balance, Circular details compliment overall spherical form. Shape represents order
Three Legged Ting w/ Cover (Historical Context)
Collected by Song Dynasty, used to cook meats, hold wine/grains/vege/etc… Represents importance of ancestors. Funeral dish used by elite to receive blessings from deceased ancestors. Used on courtyard connected to cemetery.
Gnaw (Location, Artist)
Janine Antoni, New York based artist
Gnaw (Date)
1992
Gnaw (Material)
600lb Lard & Chocolate blocks (Chewed and spit out, She made sculptures such as lipstick, heart shaped chocolate tin out of the spit out excess)
Gnaw (Visual Form)
Minimalism
Gnaw (Concept/Historical)
- Act of eating as a sculptural process.
- Idea of eating disorders, greed, gluttony, superficiality
- Female desire & fetish
- Minimalism was a predominantly male concept until it died out. Females brought this idea back
- Makes you think about where luxury products really come from
- Incorporating ideas and meaning to process/product.
Fallingwater (Artist, Country)
Frank Lloyd Wright, Kaufmann House, Connellsville vicinity, Pennsylvania, USA
Fallingwater (Date)
1936-1938
Fallingwater (Materials)
Used local materials (rock,wood,etc)
Cantilever- a structure in architecture that extends or protrudes horizontally beyond its support.
Fallingwater (Visual Form)
-Wright believed that houses should be unified wholes that merge into their natural settings.
-Flowing interior space, windows allow max. sunlight, with contrasting textures between stone and concrete.
-Wright designed the furniture inside the house so that the materials and colours are unified.
Cantilever- a structure in architecture that extends or protrudes horizontally beyond its support.
-Asymmetrical
Fallingwater (Historical Context)
- Built as a weekend house to escape urban life for the wealthy Kaufmann Family. $75,000
- Influences from Chinese and Japanese architecture (traditional gardens)
- Wabi Sabi: Cultivation of the Self through art, love, meditation. A place to retreat. Living with what you have.
Piazza d’Italia (Artist, Country)
Charles Moore (with U.I.G and Perez Associates) New Orleans, Louisiana
Piazza d’Italia (Date)
1975-1980
Piazza d’Italia (Visual Form)
- References to many other styles of Architecture: Roman Empire, Italia Renaissance, 20th century entertainment sites.
- Fountain in the centre of plaza
- His use of colour is bright, vibrant, playful. (stands out)
Piazza d’Italia (Historical Context)
- Moore favoured maintaining distinctness and the presence of the past in any l ocation. He believed cities lost much of their unique character b/c skyscrapers were all the same.
- Post-modern style (late 20th century movement)
- Rejects originality: Forms deconstructed to be analyzed, reinterpreted and reconstructed.
Ashanti Akua’ba Doll (Country)
Ghana, Africa. Ashanti (Asante) Culture
Ashanti Akua’ba Doll (Date)
20th Century
Ashanti Akua’ba Doll (Materials)
Carved wood. avg. 12-13 inches height
Ashanti Akua’ba Doll (Visual Form)
- Flattened, Abstract figure.
- Resembles chubby, healthy baby w/ face squished in lower half of head
- Figures express interpretation of beauty reduced to uncomplicated forms (simplified)
- Circular, cylindrical form
Ashanti Akua’ba Doll (Historical Context)
- Fertility sculpture
- Ritual doll carried on back like a baby as an aid to conceive and to ensure a healthy, happy baby.
- Akua: name of first woman who used this ritual successfully
- Ba: “child”
- “Akua’s Child”
- Woman consults priest who advises her to have the doll carved. She adorns doll in beads, care for it, and carry it wrapped on her back as mothers traditionally carry babies. The woman must avoid gazing upon deformities in humans and the doll so that the baby would not be born with these traits. If the ritual was successful, the woman would place the doll in a shrine to recognize the power of the priest, or give the doll to her baby as a toy.
- Akua’ba expressed Ashanti ideal of beauty.
Wedding Portrait (artist/country)
Jan Van Eyck. Flanders Northern Europe.
Wedding Portrait (date)
1434, early renissance
Wedding Portrait (materials)
Oil (linseed oil w/ pigment, into a runny wash that creates glowing colour and detail) on wood panel, with tempra underpainting. size: 32x 25 inches.
Wedding Portrait (visual form)
-one point perspective, where the vanishing point is at the script that translates to “Jan Van Eyck was here”
-rich in colour and detail.
- lots of symbolism and iconography (religious) : the dog represents loyalty. the fruit on the table refers to Adam and eve, the one candle represents the presence of god. Gargoyle above the hands represents protection from spirits and demons. ( or can be seen as how the marriage is arranged for money and he will not be faithful)
-Van Eyck was visible in the mirror reflection with the priest.
-different from Italian renaissance as they looked more at details.
Two ways of interpreting it:
1. wife is not pregnant but wants to be
2. full of iconography: the dog represents loyalty. the fruit on the table refers to Adam and eve, the one candle represents the presence of god, the mirror is the eye of god, and the shoes are off showing god is present.
Wedding Portrait (historical context)
- painting visually certifies the wedding of an Italian business man living in bruges.
- he had an arranged marriage where his wife wanted to have children and the painting served as a wedding certificate.
- Giovanni Arnolfini rich business man
- the size was chosen because he travelled a lot and wanted to to show his painting to show how rich he was. this also shows why the painting is in his room and not in a church, it shows his wealth in the picture and also is more intimate.
A Pair of Lovers (artist/ country)
Japan, Kitagawa Utamaro
A Pair of Lovers (date)
1788 Edo period
A Pair of Lovers (Materials)
wood block relief print 9 ¾ x 14 ¾ inch
A Pair of Lovers (visual form)
- emphasis on intertwining bodies through pattern and line in the kimonos
- visual poem of line pattern and colour
- line flat patterning subtle colour
- varied line weight
- relief print (cutting away from wood blocks)
A Pair of Lovers (historical context)
-front piece for a book called ‘poem of the pillow’
-Shunga print (depicts lovers engaged in intercourse)
-depicts ‘floating world’ (Ukiyo) which is provocative and sexual subject matter.
-represents the buddhist concept of transience of life.
the ‘floating world’ is enjoying the pleasure of life such as eating drinking and being merry
-represents female beauty, theatre, and entertainment
-17th century printmaking brought by Chinese and Korean buddhist missionaries
-during Edo period all non Japanese were kicked out. artisans became middle class because of the new peace.
Shiva as the Lord of Dance (Culture/Country)
Naltunai Isvaran Temple, Punjai, India.
Hinduism
Shiva as the Lord of Dance (Date)
1000 BCE
Shiva as the Lord of Dance (Material)
Bronze
Shiva as the Lord of Dance (Visual Form)
- Supple, sleek, graceful body
- Cobras forming ends of hair
- Shiva standing in perfect balance (representing unending dance, eternal stillness, embodiment of cosmic energy)
- Multiple arms represent power
- Third eye represents divine wisdom
- Holding small hour-glass shaped drum (beating of drum stands for creation and the passing of time.)
- snake represents regeneration
- Hands form “mudra” - sign of protection
- Flame symbolizes destruction
- Elevated left foot represents release from earth
- Right foot crushing personification and ignorance
- Circle of fire - unfolding and transformation of universe and its destruction
Shiva as the Lord of Dance (Historical Context)
Shiva: primary avatar (manifestation) of Brahman, The Unbounded, universal spirit of all things
Brahman: one, pure being, pure intelligence, pure delight, unknowable, All natural things, humans, and spiritual beings reflect Brahman.
Shiva is the source of good and evil / male and female. The unity in which all opposites meet. The destroyer and re-creator of life. Often depicted as Nataraja, or Lord of Dance.
The Goddess of Hathor and the Overseer of Sealers (Culture/Country)
Saqqara, Egypt.
The Goddess of Hathor and the Overseer of Sealers (Date)
6th Century BCE // Late 26th Dynasty Egypt
The Goddess of Hathor and the Overseer of Sealers (Material)
Graystone / Slate ( strong, stable, enduring, unchangeable)
base 11 ½” x 43 ½” , height of cow to horns 33”
The Goddess of Hathor and the Overseer of Sealers (Visual form)
- Symmetrical frontal view
- Symbolism
- official duties inscribed on Psamtik’s skirt
- Formula (using measurements and cubes) created by Egyptians to draw humans. All human forms to look the same/ same scale.
The Goddess of Hathor and the Overseer of Sealers (Historical Context)
Egyptian deities: personification of natural forces or animal forms.
Hathor: goddess of sky, depicted as woman or cow (maternal).
Psamtik: Egyptian official (king)
(Hathor protects Psamtik)
-official duties inscribed on Psamtik’s skirt
Commissioned by Psamtik
Symbolism:
head of cobra-sign of royalty
horns and sundisk-royalty and divinity
The Water and Moon Guanine Bodhisattva (Country/Culture)
China, Buddhism
The Water and Moon Guanine Bodhisattva (Date)
c.1100 Song Dynasty
The Water and Moon Guanine Bodhisattva (Material)
Painted wood, 7’11” high
The Water and Moon Guanine Bodhisattva (Visual From)
Depicts Bodhisvatta
- Graceful body, beautiful face
- rich colour, intricate detail
- Right leg and arm balance verticals of torso & left limbs
- flowing curves of drapery unites all
- Asymmetrical
- Very feminine features
- Colours are very vibrant show elegance
The Water and Moon Guanine Bodhisattva (Historical)
- buddhism teaches that attachment causes suffering.
- goal is to achieve enlightenment and reach nirvana.
- buddha himself teaches how to achieve enlightenment, karma the middle way, and 8 fold path.
- Bodhisattvas are people who have been enlightened and decide to stay on this plane of existence to help and guide others to achieve nirvana
- buddhism was losing patronage in the song dynasty this was made to feel more approachable. they wanted to gain followers and did this by showing his relaxed demeanour.
Notre Dame du Haut (Artist, Country, Culture)
Le Corbusier (Swiss-French Architect)
In Ronchamps, France. (Vosges Mountains)
Christianity
Notre Dame du Haut (Date)
1950-1955
Notre Dame du Haut (Material)
Concrete
Notre Dame du Haut (Visual Form)
- Design recalls praying hands, dove wings, boat hull; Christian symbols of divine generosity
- shape of structure recalls sculpture/sculptural process
- mystically dark and cave-like. Deep-set, square, coloured glass windows
- small interior, large services held outside
- little detail; minimal/modern. Gothic architecture.
Notre Dame du Haut (Historical)
- Catholic chapel in the Vosges Mountains of France
- Large services held outside.
- Latest of chapels at the site.
- Previous chapel completely destroyed during World War II
- considered first Post-Modern building in the area
- difficult to access
Peanut Necklace (Country/culture)
Peru, Royal Tomb of Sipán. Moche Civilization
Peanut Necklace (date)
c.300
Peanut Necklace (Material)
gold and silver
20” diameter
Peanut Necklace (Visual Form)
Symmertical
Intricate detail
Peanut Necklace (Historical)
- Moche peoples ruled from 1st century to c.600. After this, they were absorbed by incas.
- diverted water from mountains for crops
- Representative of Agriculture/Earth
- Peanut: ceremonial food/food of honour
- Worn by warrior priests and later buried with them.
- Hierarchy: all classes buried with pottery, elites buried with fine metalworks.
Mbulu Ngulu (Reliquary Guardian Figure) (Country/Culture)
Kota region, Gabon Africa
Mbulu Ngulu (Reliquary Guardian Figure) (Date)
19th-20th century
Mbulu Ngulu (Reliquary Guardian Figure) (Material)
Wood, metal
Flat wood, covered in sheets and wires of brass or copper
Mbulu Ngulu (Reliquary Guardian Figure) (Visual Form)
- emphasis on pattern and geometric shape
- Oval, concave faces
- Projections show elaborate hairstyle traditionally worn in the area.
- small, centered face
- symmetrical
- Influential in development of 20th century European modern art.
Mbulu Ngulu (Reliquary Guardian Figure) (Historical)
- Honour ancestors through rituals and sculptures
- Can be used in dances
- affect welfare of living
- Placed over container that held skulls and bones of ancestors that founded the clan
- guardian protected relics from evil and helped obtain food, health or fertility.
- Sculpture represented image of spirits of dead ancestors.
- offerings we made to sculpture/spirits
- Influential in development of 20th century European modern art.
Taj Mahal (Country/Culture)
Agra, India. Islamic. Mughal Empire
Taj Mahal (Date)
1632-1654
Taj Mahal (Material)
Red sand-stone
Taj Mahal (Visual Form)
Symbolism
- Centrally planned structure
- Symmetrical (Bi-axial symmetry)
- Taj Mahal small, but property around it (gardens) make the temple greater in area.
- raised on platform, surrounded by 4 minarets
- Dome unites entire building
- Arched portals, windows, and porches maintain their own identity
- Floating, light, billowing effect
- Blue: morning
- White: day
- Gold: night
- decorated with floral designs, semi-precious stones, w/ intricate detail
- Decorated lavishly w/ inlaid or carved floral designs
Taj Mahal (Historical)
- Grave/Burial place of Mumtaz Mahal (wife)
- Memorial to wife of Shah Jahan
- monument to greatness of Shah Jahan, Ruler of Mughal Empire
Symbolism:
canals- four rivers of Paradise from the Quaran
Taj Mahal- symbolize throne of Allah
Gardens- parade, earthly recreation
inscription on Garden’s main gate refers to paradise
water reflection- mystical metaphor for “veil of reality”
