Socio-cultural and Political Relevance of Artwork
Regardless of how an artwork is interpreted and with what lens and in which frame it is looked through works of art stay alive as we glean historical information through them. As the following section on The Robert Kennedy Times Magazine cover shows, it is possible to develop various interpretations about the time and place of an artist even if researched historical information is available to assist us in our interpretation.
The Robert Kennedy Times Magazine Cover
Seeing that the sociopolitical environment of Peru revolved around religious affairs at the time, it is not surprising that the Christian, Peruvian artists started a new art movement the Cusco School to create religious art in particular (Bennett).The painting, Wedding of Mary and Joseph, reveals itself as an excellent tool to understand the culture of Peru with respect to Spanish colonization. By discovering more about the conditions of the artists time, history of the Americas may also be studied in great depth.
This work has several parallels to Roy Liechtensteins Robert Kennedy Times Magazine Cover. The artwork also seems out-of-time from this point in the American historical perspective. Robert Kennedy is depicted looking eerily similar to his brother, Jack, with small red spots and a flash of light around his head. The article for which the cover art was designed, which was titled The Politics of Restoration, was released a mere two weeks before Robert Kennedy was assassinated by multiple gunshots to the head. It benchmarked the end of a new golden era with an uneasy, seemingly-precognitive demonstration of the continuing sociopolitical relevance of art (Times, 1968).
The 1968 cover of Times Magazine looked toward and depicted promise. Perhaps the similarity in appearance to John F. Kennedy was intentional, meant to send the message that the Kennedys legacy of hope was still alive. If that was the intent, then it recoiled as the gun did when it unloaded three fatal rounds. The history surrounding art can increase its appeal.
HIV Public Enemy No. 1
As our analysis of Liechtensteins magazine cover show, it is possible to understand the situational context of a painting in any number of ways. Sociologists and historians may be more interested in discovering the history of society in a block of time. If psychoanalysts were to join them, there would be various intricacies of the human mind revealed through artworks. There have been attempts by modernist artists Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko to draw the uninhibited ravings of the psyche or feelings, but they have been highly interpretative.
On that note, Mother with Child is a very interesting sculpture because there are multiple ways of understanding its import. On the one hand, the sculpture is a perfect depiction of the pain of starvation that the African people (Mother with Child). The sculpture had been created for a Lulua woman who had experienced difficulties in childbirth. The Lulua people believed that it was the evil spirit which interrupted the process of childbirth for women. So that the woman would attract the ancestral spirit of the Lulua tribe and get rid of the evil spirit, the artist gave her the sculpture to care for until delivery. The bulging eyes of the sculpture reveal that the woman is aware of the influence of the evil spirit that is stopping her from becoming a mother (Lulua Tribe).
The new evil spirit of Africa is AIDS. Much as the Lulua tribesmen derived a sense of protection from the sculptures, HIV Public Enemy No.1 continues in the tradition of protection from harm the artwork was intended to address the rampant social dilemma caused by HIV-related deaths. One of the so-called AIDS paintings of Yambar in the 1990s, this personified nuisance holds lightning bolts in one hand and stares out of the painting at you with large, red eyes and a skeletal figure that tapers into a jagged, dagger-like point its silhouette, overall form, and ulterior symbolism mirror the Lulua Tribes Mother With Child, despite the span of centuries that separates the production of the two artworks (Yambar, 2005).
The AIDS paintings were meant as catchy pop art to promote a realistic sex education. Advertising and pop art are reliant on timely presentation of a catchy concept. Very few people would buy a plain wallpaper featuring a cow head in endless repetition. Andy Warhol made Cow Wallpaper famous through its vibrant, tongue-in-cheek choice of colors. He created it at the cross points of the old guard of modernist painters and the new generation.
The AIDS paintings were meant to catch the eye of an audience that is typically inattentive- ironically attempting to address the cause and result of such flaws. It had to be well-timed and catchy but serious.
Foreign influences in Nabataean art
There is no place in the world like Petra undoubtedly the most well-known legacy of the Nabataeans for the millions of tourists that visit it year after year. The exceptional beauty of Petras sculpted mountains reveals that the Nabataeans had a dominant culture. It takes a high degree of confidence, after all, to create such beauty as did the Nabataeans. History confirms this assumption. Vries and Osinga state that the Nabataeans at their height spread as far north as Damascus, to the coast of the Mediterranean at Gaza in the east and to Madain Salih in the south. But, the Nabataean kingdom came under Roman rule in the year 106 A.D. It became an Arabian province at the time (Vries and Osinga).
The Nabataeans were caravan drivers on a large scale. Roman traders visited Petra even before the Nabataean kingdom was taken over by the Romans. These traders came to conclude transportation agreements with the Nabataeans. The latter traveled around the world with merchandise between the Red Sea and the Nile, and sometimes as far away as the Delta (Sartre, Porter, and Rawlings 268).
Unsurprisingly, therefore, their temples expose a variety of influences on the hearts and minds of the Nabataeans (Vries and Osinga). Vries Osinga write,
The many structures are so diverse that it is difficult to categorize them, at least without oversimplifying or overlooking what may be important details. Philip Hammond, who excavated the Temple of the Winged Lions, concludes that it might be more faithful to the diversity of the temples to see them not as derivatives of Iranian temples, Roman temples or other, but to recognize the borrowing of constructional and decorative technique and to concentrate on why each was unique. (Vries and Oringa)
Sartre, Porter and Rawlings state that the Nabataeans were so influenced by Greek art following the Roman invasion that they spread that influence in many parts of Arabia. Nude heroes of the Greeks have been found in Arabia and believed to have been conveyed there by the Nabataeans (Sartre, Porter and Rawlings 269). But, Vries and Oringa have uncovered Egyptian influence in the temples of Nabataeans to boot. Describing one of the most significant temples left by the Nabataeans, the authors state,
The Wadi Rum temple took its layout from Egyptian models, specifically the Egyptian Temple Dayr Chelouit. The only reference to the Roman world would be columns of the Wadi Rum Temple. Dharih might also be kin to the Egyptian Temple of Coptos, while the Qasr al-Bint and the Temple of the Winged Lions find construction parallels there also. (Vries and Oringa)
Then again, Greek andor Roman influence seems to be most profound. Although temple plans of the Nabataeans do not appear typically Roman, decoration outside of the temples may be recognized as distinctly Roman andor Hellenistic. As an example, the external decoration of Khasneh makes it appear as though it was built in Alexandria (Vries and Oringa). However, Vries and Oringa argue that the Nabataeans did not simply copy the designs that were handed down to them by Romans. Instead, they took influence in their stride, sometimes appropriating the general structure but modifying and adapting it as time went on (Vries and Oringa). In other words, they were open to influence, but also believed in maintaining their local traditions. Taylor agrees with this view. In her book, Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans, she explains that the Nabataeans did not make copies as slaves would. Rather, Greek ideas were amazingly transformed by the Nabataeans into works of art keeping a distinctively Nabataean flavor (Taylor 92). No wonder, Petra remains as an incomparable feast for the eyes for all lovers of art.
Vries and Oringa write that the art of Nabataeans, in particular the sculptures they made, also changed from era to era that is, even before the Romans came to rule the Nabataean kingdom, the Nabataeans went on altering their artistic style (Vries and Oringa). Perhaps their visits to foreign lands brought such changes to the art of the kingdom. But, once the Romans had arrived on the scene, the Nabataeans did not only borrow the artistic styles of the Greeks but also others. The sculptures of deities in Tannur, for example, appear both Hellenistic and Oriental. The Nabataeans also seem to have been influenced by Syrian art, as revealed through sculptures at both Dharih and Tannur (Vries and Oringa).
Although Hellenistic artistic style of classical proportions is most often cited as an influence on Nabataean art, there were plenty of sculptures made by the Nabataeans that did not appear Greek at all even though they were made while the Nabataeans were living under Roman rule (Vries and Oringa). Vries and Oringa cite the simple standing block as an example of such artwork. The fact that the Nabataeans maintained their local flavor in their artistic style shows that these people did not lose their cultural identity at the time. Even the Romans may have delighted in diversity revealed through Nabataean art.
Similarly, Possible Worlds, as directed by Robert LePage, explores the story of a man who believes in his simultaneous existence in multiple places and times. His consciousness can selectively choose which of his bodies in which to settle and inhabit. This mind-and-body separation is behind the mystical theories concerning the Nabatean mythology and art. Mysteries of the world are a cultural and historical phenomenon in themselves that have not gone unnoticed by the various types of media. (Possible Worlds Summary).
Imitation in art Is it a problem
Today, we refer to our world as a global village. Using the Internet, we are aware that interaction with people from different parts of the world requires a certain level of integration, even if it only means that they should know our language. As the Nabataeans interacted with people from around the globe, they too must have experienced the need to know their respective languages. Art, too, is a language. It gains importance as a language when we cannot communicate with people from other parts of the world in ways other than simple gestures. What is more, it is but human nature to be influenced by the environment. If foreigners occupy our environment we are bound to be influenced by them. Most importantly, this does not render a perfect work of art imperfect, as the individuality of Petra clearly shows.
As another example to understand influence in the world of art, let us assume that an American learns the German language well enough to write poetry in the foreign language. Does this mean that his or her poetry would be distinctively German in character No. The expressions that the American poet employs would be German although the identity or personality of the poet revealed through his or her work would remain American and exhibit the same quirks of character.
Ingress famous painting Grand Odalisque has been a guest of the Met many times, despite the provocatively-positioned woman who comprises the foreground. It is said that Ingres chose the turban to mirror Italian artist Michelangelos Madonna della Sedia (Madonna and Child). Yet the form, the turban, and the style of the woman in Grand Odalisque does not stale because of selective application of previous artistic concepts (Ingres, 1814).
High-minded artistic predecessors aside, since the feminist movement- in the eyes of some- it is merely another degrading painting of a naked woman. The Guerrilla Girls form a group of women who adopt famous female artists name and produce the feminist response to the objectification of women in mainstream culture while wearing gorilla masks. They distributed their own odalisque wearing a gorilla mask and sporting this statement Do Women Have to Be Naked to Get into the Met. Museum (Guerilla Girls, 2006).
Perhaps this is one of the best ways to understand influence in art. Integration, diversity, and learning through integration are all good. They lead to creative change. The world of art would become static without this, without a naked, turban-wearing woman, and without a naked, turban-headed gorilla.
Then again, as the greatest Greek philosopher, Plato would put it imitation in art is bad because artists are representing God, the most creative one. Hence, imitation or adaptation in art must necessarily replace the reality of something with falsehood, thereby shaking the very foundation of being human, that is, an image of God on earth (Plato and Aristotle on Art as Imitation). With all due respect to Plato, he did not see the religious and artistic masterpieces that adorned the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Conclusion
We focused on the historical conditions surrounding the before-and-after view of Time Magazines 1968 Robert Kennedy. We examined the social dilemma producing the need for AIDS Public Enemy No.1. Finally, we considered foreign influences on art of the Nabataeans that continues to be admired today like all other pieces of artwork discussed thus far.
Although this discussion was centered on political, societal and cultural contexts of works of art, it was clarified as part of the discussion that an artwork may be appreciated in any number of ways. There are countless theories and innumerable stories about the history of mankind. What is more, each piece of artwork tells a tale about the space and time of its artist alone. The work lives on as students of art and historians delve into artwork over and again. Any number of assumptions could be made about the situational context of an artwork thus. Art lovers may even choose to offer excuses on behalf of imitators, as our discussion on imitation as a problem in art reveals.
Perhaps, therefore, it is reasonable to state that a work of art has as many minds as interpreters as the number of people that consider the artwork through the passage of time. Moreover, only assumptions can be made about the situational context of an artwork. History is best left to those that lived it. After all, we only make educated guesses about what people of the past lived through to gather useful information for our lives in the present. We cannot even be sure that historians have told us the absolute truth in their tomes of history.
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