Jenna Aiello - African Art, Buddhism, and Hinduism

AFRICAN ART: LEGACY OF OPPRESSION

The world’s greatest collection of African Art was displayed at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, then in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, it will tour Europe and America, then return home to its museum right outside of Brussels, Belgium. There is a huge range to African art styles. The Congo region is home to 250 African cultures. This African art packed an emotional wowing; it’s impact became immediate. You can see this impact in Picasso’s work. It gave an idea about how to give a physiological truth to the human form or to a scene they wished to depict. It allows us to tell a great deal by taking the figure away from the realm of reality. Some art had distortions that inspired modern artists but still had the power to impress. The form that some art takes is a system that can be read by the people in their society. Artists in African society glorified mothers and their effect and chiefs and their “chiefness.” Many art objects were magical. THese figures are what noted anthropologists about cultures. The most common object among them all was masks. Some were designed to scare and to teach, others frightened young candidates for manhood to respect their elders. Some are frightened when looking at them but others look them as there is something else more behind it, more than what meets the eye. Some were meant to intimidate enemies in battle. However, some didn’t work. They were used to scare us westerners. They weren’t good protection against machine gun bullets. Yet, there is no mention of this work in the exhibit. Nothing about the Holocaust was said even though Congo was the country that saw the worst of it. King Leopold bought and conquered chiefs and used this free state, Congo, as his own colony. His private army went into the village to buy slaves and chiefs. They were treated terrible and often raped and not allowed to eat. It was all administered by whip and gun. Disease took a terrible toll. Soldiers had to being back a right hand for every bullet fired. They chopped off and delivered a right hand of a living person just to prove that an expensive bullet wasn’t wasted. The Belgians were also bringing back objects. They set them up living into civilized and uncivilized villages and people came to see. The African people were put on display as they were a part of the zoo. In their art, the cultures of central Africa managed to outlive the horrors they endured. African art is all about the nature of existence and that can be seen once explored. 

BUDDHISM

Buddhism began in India. Buddha was born in 563 BC. He was a man who had everything. Then he stepped into the real world and saw the wasting of old age, the suffering of sickness, and death. This perfect world imploded. He met a monk to answer his question “is that all there is?” Finally, he meditated. He saw the world in a totally different way. The enlightened one arrived in the world and Buddhism was born. A simple red seat marks the seat for meditation. Nearby is the place where Buddha walked. The door to understanding was the Toranah, the gateway to the temple. It is engraved with the teaching of Buddha people thrived for. He spoke firmly against authority, “find your own way.” The key is the extinguishing of desire and of everything that feed the ego. This meant they can be in the world but not of it. This was the middle way, between aestheticism and materials. Above all, he proclaimed a message of love. The Golden Age was when the teachings swept through India and people were in search of the middle way among the eight fold path of living. His final teaching, upon his death, was all compounds are out walk out your own way with diligence. A hundred years later or so, Buddhism split into two groups, the hinayaba and mahanyana. Honoring the works and teachings of Buddha was prominent. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is the finest example of monumental architecture and art. For centuries, pilgrims made their way here from India and beyond. The path begins at one of the gateways. This fortifies them before they climb the stupa. All four gateways show some aspect of the Buddhas life but he isn’t seen in human form at all on any of these stupas. He disappeared into symbolism and refused to be seen as a god. Each gateway has a different design and symbolism on it. Each of the four was built with two posts crowned with lions, elephants, and dwarfs. The walkway winds around the great stupa and every step is one of discover. In the east, the pilgrim must always walk clockwise. The pilgrim lets go of material things in the attainment of virtue. He attains right, truth, and right living. The umbrella at top represents the three levels of heaven, nirvana, which Buddha sought as true bliss. The largest Buddhist shrine in the world is found in Indonesia. It was built with more than 60,000 square meters of lava block. It is in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha. It was intended as a center of pilgrimage and was at a time painted white. Pilgrims made their way here from all over Asia. They were accompanied with 5 kilometers of carvings to the teachings of Buddha. Finally, they would reach the peaks of enlightenment. The summit is a circle, a world of formless in the heavens, where forms dissolve. It was called the temple of the countless buddhas. It took 100 years to build, lasted 30 years, then was buried by a volcano. In 1815, it was rediscovered and restored in the early 1990’s. It is the standing truth of the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia. America has long been characterized as the land of opportunity. New York was the city to make you standard. The Chuang Yen Monastery is in upstate New York. It was completed in 1985. The centerpiece of the shrine is a 6 ft. tall statue of a Buddhist. The pilgrims must leave their shoes at the door as a sign of respect of the place within. There are no internal pillars holding the Great hall up. The focal point is the largest Buddhist statue, in which the building was erected around. Murals can also be seen around the statue as well as 10,000 mini Buddhist statues. The monks maintain the link with Buddha. The monastery is a treasure house of art and architecture. Buddhism flourished in every Asian culture except in India, the place of its birth. It also enriched Hinduism. It stressed kindness to all creatures. It unraveled to the tangled question of the afterlife and evoked art and architecture that is truly heaven on earth. 

HINDUISM

Hinduism seems exotic and mysterious. The oldest inhabited city in the world is Varanasi, which is also the holiest city in the world. The great river Ganges, is a powerful symbol of Hinduism. It is a symbol of great stream of death and reincarnation. Hindus believe life is for millions of years of life, death, and rebirth. Hindus can worship anywhere. On the banks of the Ganges, a priest performs ceremonies. It a ceremony of thanksgiving for life and offerings. “Aarti” means removal of pain. This city is dedicated to mother Ganges, who refreshed the soul to those who bathe in her water. The great number of gods and goddesses is one thing we find difficult about Hinduism. They provide access to Brahma. Hinduism doesn’t focus on temples. Temples reflect the giving up of things for something better. Death belongs to live, as birth does. Both are transition points on the great path of life. In the end, Hindu’s believe that we will all arrive at the same point. THe cremation places are all along the banks of the Ganges. To die here is the wish of all Hindus. This is where they can go straight to heaven. Millions travel here in hopes of passing away on the banks, especially the elderly. The flames liberate the spirit. When the clothes wear out, the body discards them. When the body burns out, the self discards. These rights of passage, to the believer, are full of symbolism. Everything in Hinduism is symbolic. Mamallapuraum is where the Ganges turns to stone. It is carved into the natural cleft of a rock face. Hindus turned the rock formations into cave art. The epic and ordinary and the fantastic and the familiar are aspect of Hindu art. They are finding their way to Brahma. The were a culture that began their artistic life underground. At Panch Rathas, 5 temples can be seen. Using a single boulder, the sculptures techniques were representative of wooden architecture. They were cut from the same rock. The largest of these temples is three stories high. Hinduism respects converters of other religions. The ancient shore temple was recovered from the Bay of Bengal. It is a treasure house of architecture and sculpture. It contains a stone fallice. The Khajuraho temple in India was dedicated to Shiva. It gives the impression of a mountain range but erotic and symbolic figures can be seen around it. To the Hindu, sex represents the creative love of Brahma, who gave love to everyone.  That is why at the heart of a Hindu temple, we find the symbol of life and its regeneration. In the Hindu story, Shiva and another god are fire and water. Worshipers come with offerings to the temple and in return receive food that represent spiritual enlightenment. The Ganges symbolized the begetter of life. The source of all life for Hindus is Brahma. It teaches that there are many ways to Brahma and the many gods are symbols of those ways. While these symbols find their variety of expression of art, it is the deep sense of the spiritual in everyday life that leaves an impression. There is a time for becoming one with the river to attain liberation. 

AFRICAN ART

Art is a part of daily life to the people of Africa. It is seen in the making of everyday utensils. It finds expression in dress and hairstyles. It has always been important in traditional African rituals. Many of the statues, masks, and other objects were once used in ceremonies. Many masks and clothing were made of wood and straw. Most museum pieces are less than 200 years old. They represent much older patterns of expression handed down from generation to generation. Ceremonial art is preserved in sound, color, and movement. Other art forms created in more durable materials, provide a historic depth to its evolution. The oldest exiting art is found in drier regions. Carvings have endured. These rock form represent animals and may have been created to appease the spirits of animals killed for food. There is no mistaking what animals artists portrayed. Humans are also represented in African rock art. Hunting and gathering lifestyle lasted. Farming and herding replaced hunting and gathering. This led to the development along the banks of the Nile. This influenced African expression and beyond. A series of important African empires developed south of the Sahara. Arts splurged. Sculptures glorified rulers who were believed to be divine. Bronze casting was done by guilds. Gold work and carved chairs representing the rulers power also come from this area. Other cultures developed their own artistic styles in south east Africa. Great Zimbabwe was the focus of a political system. A walled enclosure is Zimbabwe’s greatest feature. This represented the authority of rulers who once lived within these walls and ruled the surrounding land. Carved stone birds represented their national emblem. The impact of the site is powerful just as the art of African nations. It was unknown to European nations. It was regarded as primitive and childlike by European nations. Others were searching for an alternative to their realistic tradition. The key to understanding African art lies in the perceptual and conceptual art. Conceptual art flows from the artists imagination. It flows from ideas and most African art lies in the conceptual tradition. Diversity can be seen in art as well as a representation of the diverse cultures in Africa. Figure sculptures are found in West Africa. In other regions, talents are expressed through masks, decorations for homes, and the embellishment of utilitarian objects. Each have a symbolic meaning. Artists grew up with and absorbed the beliefs and styles from their culture groups. Objects were created in a traditional way. They were respected as great community members. African art is intertwined with the realms of magic and religion. Traditional belief systems are rooted in a force or power with dynamic energy, all pervasive in nature. All things, animals, plants, and stones are animated by unseen spirits. Rituals developed that gave humans controls over such elements. Art was believed to intervene in the course of natural life. An art object isn't supposed to represent a human or a living animal. It was used to worship and appease spirits, gods and ancestors. It served as a symbol of authority. Mystic symbols is evident in 3-D African art. Some represent power and wealth of rulers while others symbolize ancestors giving the continuity of life. Dead are present among the living through the statues. Medicines and offerings can be placed on such figures. Ritual and mystic means are strong design elements in African culture. asks intended for dance and rituals contain some of the most spectacular elements of African art. Others are stylized and abstract. Wooden masks are often embellished with feathers and other materials. Dancers move with the rhythm that put them in touch with the universe. Animal masks symbolize relationships between animals and the role of humanity. The mask allows dancers to communicate with gods and spirits. The communicate with the forces of an invisible world of power. They represent war like strength. They prepare for battle or celebrate victory. 

Each of these videos taught me ideas and concepts I didn’t really know about of fully understand. The text allows us to read about certain traditions but the videos allow us to see and better acknowledge the concepts and traditions found in either art or religion.