More Human Than Human

MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN

Images are all around us; they mold us, they describe us. When our ancient ancestors first created images to represent their world, they helped to shape our world today. Humans made art, and art made us humans. Ancient art, dating back thousands of years ago, will help to explain that. No other image dominates our lives than images of the human body, whether it be in television or magazines or the art world. The human form has obsessed some of the worlds greatest artists. The one thing all these images have in common; the worlds most popular images of the human body is being unrealistic. People who lived in the Danube river area thousands of years ago were nomads and the thing to special about them was what they left behind. They lived and hunted in small groups and rarely stayed in one place. Trying to see how they lived is hard because of this. In 1908,  a statue of a woman’s body made 25,000 years earlier was found in Austria by the Danube river. She is a relic of our ancient past. She is our first clue as to why our modern world is so dominated by unrealistic images of the human body. The relic is unrealistic. Her body parts are extremely large and may have been a symbol of motherhood. Her arms and face aren’t shown at all. From Russia to other parts of Europe, statues that were made were exaggerated like the relic found in Austria. Experts wonder what was going on in the artists brain when these statues were created. Why were certain parts emphasized while others of significant importance weren’t? What was going on in the brains of ancestors made them produce exaggerated images of what mattered most. Their brains compelled them to exaggerate parts tied with fertility. Shifts in climate changed how nomads lived. Water was scare and nomads started to dwell along the Nile River because the scarcity of water. Egypt had became a fully settled civilization. The Nile flooded so the egypt could build a stable living environment with government and a strict hierarchy. They were the first civilized people to use humans in their art. In the tomb of Ramses VI, there were so many images of the human body. The bodies don’t have exaggerated features, their arms, legs, and feet were all about the right size. The nomadic way of showing the body was dead and gone. This modern civilization canceled it out. What were these new images being driven by? They were produced by an organized society much like ours. Rather than exaggerating parts of the body, Egyptians shows each parts from its clearest angle. The temple of Karnak is the best way to see how Egyptian art has changed over the years. The way they represented the body hasn’t changed. Their style lasted 3,000 years. A grid found on an ancient tomb wall shows how the images of the human body has not changed. Egyptian society didn’t want the image to change. Cultural values, such as order and hierarchy, were shown in why the style hadn’t changed. Pyramids were designed with absolute precision, reflecting the obsession with permanence and order. Egyptians created images like these because of their culture. Culture is key in the type of society we live in and how we depict the human body. In 1972, an Italian discovered, on his vacation, that culture is definitely key. He saw a human arm sticking out from the sand in the ocean. He revealed the body of a realistic statue. He uncovered two ancient statues. They had been created by one of the most influential cultures in history, ancient Greece. Ancient Greeks were fixated with the body. Bodies were displayed without hesitation or shame, they believed their gods took human form. The most impressive you could make your own body, the more like a god you would seem. Wherever Greeks settled, they built temples. They wanted to see images of their gods that were realistic. Greek worshipers believed that they were actually their gods in their human form, able to watch them in the temple and hear their words. Trading was seen between Greece and Egypt. Greek artists could create statues as tall as a man because of this. Egypt’s style wasn’t good enough for the Greeks. Man had created an image of the body that was fully nude and truly realistic. The effect had such an effect on the Greeks. However, this sculpture was too realistic and didn’t intrigue the mind enough. So realism needed to change to exaggeration. Polyclitus showed physical potential of an athlete, a body that was realized yet appeared ready to move. He captured an athlete posed for action. Ancient Greece created something more human than human. Riace bronzes were what the Italian gentleman found in the bed of the sea. The arrangement oft he limbs and the direction of the head and chest made them seem alive. However, the proportions of this body are impossible to achieve on a real human body. They’re realities being exaggerated. The instincts on the mind of human beings have now been revived and still dominates our world today. 

THE GREEK AWAKENING: ART FROM THE 5TH CENTURY BC

Greece is the birthplace of western civilization. Greeks shape the way we view our history and how we view our world today. They created the sense of thinking and in some ways doing. Many believe that Greeks began to think of themselves more than the gods. This meant sculptures were more realistic. Greeks were always the center of life; socially, religiously, and artistically. Self confidence emerged as Greeks won battles over their city-states. This confidence was seen in statues and structures. The Parthenon was very evident in this sense of confidence. It was the center of the city, both realistically and symbolically. It was what you saw when approaching Athens from the sea. The Parthenon is a icon representing the human and religion. It represents the humanist movement of the 5th century BC. Experts believe that there was another parthenon before the actual Parthenon that stands today based on sculptures and pieces they found from the 6th century BC. Some of these sculptures may have been created by slaves. Pediments on the Parthenon show its dedication to Athena through a dispute. At the other end a sculpture that showed the birth of Athena. At the foot of the Acropolis stands a theater sculpted by the Romans with Greek influence and another theater where tragedy started. Theater was politics on the grand scale. It was a way of exploring the biggest aspects of society. The Great Awakening stemmed from confidence within themselves. 

The title alone of this video was very intriguing. I have a very strong interest in Greek art and architecture so having the chance to watch videos related to it is perfect. Everything has a history and an opinion but seeing this history from a professional standpoint is very worthwhile. I very much enjoyed this film. Although it was short, it contained many important aspect of the history of Greek art and theater. 

BEYOND THE CLASSICAL: BYZANTINE AND LATER GREEK ART

The Greek Orthodox church had a great impact on the art and architecture of the country. Greece stands out as a deeply religious part of the country. Christianity brought new heros to art and stories to tell. Art and culture continued throughout the Byzantine empire. This period lasted around 800 years. The church encouraged the destruction of the Greek sculptures. The Virgin Mary were in and Zeus was out. Byzantine art progressed the field of painting. It contains the same 2D elements with modern expressionistic elements. Mixture of European and Byzantine styles continued to develop in Greece. Greek painters recorded the heroic nature of their battle of freedom. They were styled to adorn public spaces. Hellenistic art began to emerge. Ancient Greek and Byzantine influence were included. Architecture too influenced later art. It has the greatest influence. This is because of the grand tours in which wealthy gentlemen toured Italy and Greece widening their horizons and eventually the Renaissance arose. Buildings and ruins were dug up and this helped to turn their own country into newer versions of ancient Greece. Neoclassical architecture is very apparent in western Europe. Specific buildings, like Athens University, was built to respect ancient Greek architecture without copying it. Ancient Greek architecture was an influence for many cultures. One pediment of Athens University was a tribute to Athena. Art on other university walls was also a tribute to other Greek gods. 

Again, my strong interest in Greek art and architecture caused me to watch this specific video.  This video was also very informative, giving relevant information about the influence of ancient Greece on other cultures and structures. 

CATACLYSM: THE BLACK DEATH VISITS TUSCANY

Tuscan cities were booming, buildings and public squares were being built, new houses were going up quickly, paintings and literature flourished and more gold was being circulated more than ever in history. Peace between Florence and Sienna had been achieved. City walls were being expanded for a continuous growing civilization. The walls were how a city made its first impression. When visitors arrived, the walls were noticed first and were a positive reflection on the city council. As walls expanded so did construction within them. However, Florence and Sienna remained enemies. In 1296, Florence began construction of its own cathedral. Bad weather and harvests were taking a toll on the city, as well as the economy. Demographics played a major role in that; expansion couldn’t be supported and there was a lack of food. The Bubonic plague was fatal and soon to crush the city. Before it hits, you find that the population is in serious trouble and kills people that were already in a weakened state. People weren’t well off and the banks were crashing because of the sums they allowed to the king of England and took down the economy. The plague reached Tuscany in 1348. It spared no one. 1/3 to 1/2 of the population in Europe died. The plague affected every aspect of life. The population would never grow to the expanded city walls. Before the plague, the building was constant. After, it came to a halt. One one temple was built, a thanksgiving to Mary for having driven the plague away. At the beginning of the 20th century, Sienna’s population was half of what it was before the plague. Many decisions were taken to stop the plague. People didn’t understand how the plague spread. Old documents told stories of actions that were taken. Justice had gone missing, you couldn’t escape the plague. No one knew what could cure it or what had caused it. Suspicion turned to the small Jewish population of Europe. Their practices led to the rumor that Jews weren’t using wells in order to kill Christians. This spread and consequences were extremely bad. Jews were butchered and burnt. Cities that welcomed travelers feared outsiders. Anger spread. Flagellants thought that punishing themselves would escape the effects of the plague. Thousands of people took place in the flagellants sessions of beating to free themselves from the plague. The Pope banned them in 1349.  This plague also affected the arts. WIth the decline of revenues, there were no public commissions for artists. Artists now show us a different world. We can see 3 different views of the world. Bodies were less realistic. Doubting Thomas became very popular in art when people began to doubt God. The most powerful medium in the 1200’s and 1300’s was painting. Art was an understanding of a service to man and involved a human’s feelings. Emotion was seen. The artist should be able to show his feelings in a way that involves others. This was the beginning oft he Renaissance and Giotto was completely involved with that. The dawn of the Renaissance continues to the present. Structures and buildings are still very apparent. A foundation was created. Techniques used in the Renaissance are still used today. 

The dawn of the Renaissance helped shape modern art and lifestyles helped to shape different cultures after cultures. Legacies were carried on and weren’t forgotten. A new style arose through out the Renaissance, a beauty so unique. I chose this video because of that. The Renaissance is something so unique in the past. I also did not know much about the plague that spread through Tuscany, another reason why I chose this video over the others. It was definitely very interesting learning about what happened and how all these situations led to another.