Much of the artwork and symbolism of their rule was erased by reactionary successors who restored polytheistic worship to the court.
The notion of considering artwork a form of historical documentation is moving. Not only were people 'writing down' what was happening in terms of their rulers and their government, but the very documents were considered significant enough for artists to dedicate time to creating.
“The tools were put aside, and the hands were now used … It took a considerable amount of time until the whole piece was completely freed from all the dirt and rubble.”
The description of the uncovering of the Bust of Nefertiti is something that I find to be unique to archaeological art. There is a sense of a human quality that is felt in the bust itself. "Freed" from the grounds in which it was buried, it's as if the bust has come back to life.
As well as the pride in their efforts, she said her shoulders, neck and back had ached after a couple of hours of stitching.
I love this anecdote. To be able to perform the same physical artistic activity that the original artists had performed is a rare and unique experience. In this day and age, we rarely practice the same hand-craft practices, because technology has taken the place of artisans. It must have been rewarding to feel the same experience as the original embroiderers felt.
The project took a year to complete and every effort was made to ensure it fitted in with its famous forebear.
Interesting; this actually seems like a relatively short time to restore an entire section of the detailed Bayeux Tapestry. I wonder if the embroiderers were able to "use the same techniques, fabrics, colors" etc. because they had prepared for this moment in years prior. Otherwise, it seems a short amount of time to find the resources to reconstruct this tapestry.
“Shinto gives him a direct link to pure Japaneseness, unsullied by association with dominant powers and their alien traditions.”
This is a poignant statement on the power that an architectural structure or an artwork is able to have on society at large. The fact that Shinto "gives [Abe] a direct link to pure Japaneseness" says more about Japanese culture and the culture of the masses than it does of Abe and his intentions.
The choice of venue is “very closely connected” to Abe’s strong ideological connections with Shinto and its revisionist political agenda, said John Breen, a professor of Japanese history at the International Research Centre for Japanese Studies in Kyoto.
The intentional, locational planning of the venue of the Shinto shrine is very clear. It is interesting that Shinzo Abe is not only aware of this fact, but willing to publicize the importance of linking politics ("bringing Shinto into the heart of the government" -Breen) and religion.
Last month at the Atlantic, Adrienne LaFrance further explored their process of sound mapping Byzantine churches, in which a “chirp” is used to test different parts of the church
I find this process both interesting / exciting as well as a bit strange. I value that the study of how sound travels through churches today is a valuable way of understanding the atmosphere of certain art and architectures but this technology at the time of the construction of the church.
the palpable change in the atmosphere
It's so interesting to look at the idea of art not just as one specific piece, but the entire environment in which it is held. The concept that the entire surrounding of the piece, be it a mosaic, a sculpture, or any other medium, can be regarded as one part to the whole atmosphere of the museum adds many other dimensions.
“The art is on the market,” True said, describing the Getty’s collecting approach. “We don’t know where it comes from. And until we know where it comes from, it’s better off in a museum collection. And when we know where it comes from, we will give it back.”
This seems to encapsulate True's ideas and the ideas of the writer completely. Essentially, she offers that people make mistakes and in the meantime, they try to get ahead in business. The surprising and story-making attribute in this case specifically is that in concerns art; an entity that is largely thought of as sacred and something that artists and viewers alike instill lots of emotional connection into.
If she found out where a work had been dug up from, she pushed for its return. In contrast, many of her colleagues did little, if anything, to research a work’s source. None of them were put on trial.
This only furthers the point that given a media-infused public trial, few involved care about the truth. Rather, the media is able to capture the attention and persuade the minds of whoever is willing to point an accusatory finger at the preferred individual.
the Italians to strike fear in American museums.
Interesting how the Italian Museums and American Museums are seemingly pitted against one another as if to hold their nation's pride and strength in the very minute detail of a single issue.
She was a symbol,” he said. “And she died for others.
Seems a bit harsh!? If this curator did knowingly partake in a stolen-art ring, her 'punishment' does not seem equatable to death or martyrdom.
“To reject it so rapidly comes across as a something of a kneejerk rejection of any efforts by the previous administration rather than something that has been fully considered,”
Perhaps there needs to be even more of a specialized department in politics in order to serve on the receiving end of someone like Matthew Taylor's proposals.
The legal study suggested that Athens make a formal request for the marbles’ repatriation before submitting a legal claim to the international court at The Hague if the request was turned down as expected.
The consultation given seemingly to 'Athens' as a whole is a way of trying to ensure that the mentioned marble work was repatriated either way. The value that lies in the artworks here is great, as it is "an irrefutable part of Greek identity, history and culture" and seems to be heavily involved in the law as shown by this excerpt.
"They are now museum objects. They are objects of world art. And as such, there is no problem in terms of them being divided between two different museums and telling two different, but complementary stories," she says.
This change in perspective is interesting. The meaning of an object, once taken out of context. can tell a similar story to that of its origins, but will never hold completely the same meaning. In this case, once lifted from its source, it almost does not matter which museum the object it lives in, but rather the very fact that it lives in a museum.
Thanks to wraparound glass windows, the exhibits bask in the same natural light surrounding the original temple, which was built for the goddess Athena, the protector of the city of Athens below.
It's interesting to learn of the curatorial senses that went into the museum that were paired with the architecture of Bernard Tschumi. The detail about the original temple built for the goddess Athena is one that contributes to the museum-goer's all-around experience.
You can see the monument and at the same time the sculptures from the monument,"
This seems to be a very key point in the pride and the utility of this museum. The fact that the monument is in view through the window when standing with the pieces inside of the top 'crown' of the structure is pivotal.
“It is very interesting to investigate how these ancient people coped with the then climate change and can be a lesson for today’s impending disaster of climate change,”
I wish it was as simple as this. The idea that we might be able to learn from former cultures' ways of coping with climatic issues seems solid, but reality does not agree. In the current day, we have changed our lifestyle and our relationship to the Earth so drastically that previous cultures' coping mechanisms would not stand a chance in repairing the damage we do to the climate today.
The findings come from a major excavated site of Bhirrana in Haryana that shows preservation of all cultural levels of this ancient civilisation from the pre-Harappan Hakra phase through the Early Mature Harappan to the Mature Harappan time.
It is so exciting to realize that excavated sites show preservation of certain objects or patterns that lead us to gain insight into a culture's habits or lifestyle. We are potentially able to read into a society's value system through looking at what they preserved.
“They’re arguing that it was history turned into myth,” she says. “I’m arguing that it’s myth turned into history.”
This statement is similar to the approach one takes when considering the theory of 'Sympathetic Magic.' If the history, in that case, is the future happening, and the myth is the cave painting, then it would indeed be considered 'myth turned into history.'
The main evidence comes from stories written down centuries after their rule, and no archaeologically recovered writings have been concretely tied to the Xia.
It is difficult to take the Xia stories as concrete evidence when coming from a historical or scientific standpoint. However, as Art Historians, the value placed on what story was created at the time of the event seems of greater significance; one can more easily trust the interpretation of current events through art.
a good example of the way the simple presence of things together in a room can outpace, not to say render faintly ridiculous, the best efforts of experts to make sense of them.
I quite enjoy the range of Clark's perspective. From the littlest details of cracked knees on a figure to the grand scheme of the curation of the room itself demonstrates just how many aspects there are to observing art. He reminds us of the 'faintly ridiculous' nature by which curatorial work is executed.
Another fat woman in limestone has legs missing and the marks of a stone hammer trying time and again, in the end successfully, to smash through her torso at breast level.
It is interesting that the observer chooses to judge each piece on its tattered state rather than attempting to fill in the blanks, so to speak. The statue of the 'fat woman in limestone' might have had an entirely different affect were the observer critiquing its original stature.
the long moment in which a woman’s body became other to itself in order that another might issue from it would have been thought of – this is the hypothesis – as fearful, astonishing, ominous.
This is the type of subjective assessment of the female form in art that I believe to be vital in critique. The words 'fearful, astonishing, [and] ominous' are incredibly powerful, emotional terms that give us as readers of the article an insight into the impact that a piece can have on a viewer standing before it.
false object that impressed him while he was being deluded.
This could imply that we should perhaps be hesitant in sticking to our initial impressions of art. I would disagree with this theory, because although the giants may not have been harmful, that intimidation was the emotion first recounted by the viewer, and therefore the most significant.