#1 Prehistoric Art Text: Art Across Time Chapter One
Context:
-the role of written language as a source for understanding the past
-the importance of understanding the relationship of context and function when studying art
-Alberti’s theory of Image by Chance “I believe that the arts of those who attempt to create images and likenesses…originated in the following way. They probably observed in a tree trunk or clod of earth and other similar inanimate objects certain outlines in which, with slight alterations, something very similar to …nature was represented. They began …[to] take away or otherwise supply whatever seemed lacking to effect and complete the true likeness.
Many of the sculptures reveal what was important at the time, life, fertility, birth, animals for food and warmth. The appearance of each sculpture allows us to identify an artist’s interpretation of people and animal forms of the time.
Works of Art:
Venus of Willendorf, Austria, statuette c. 25,000 BCE
Cave Paintings of Lascaux, France c. 15,000 BCE Paintings
Cave paintings at Altamira, Spain c. 12,000 BCE
Clay Bison at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France c. 12,000 BCE
Stonehenge- Neolithic construction, England c. c. 2,000 BCE Architecture
Assignment: Vocabulary
( Define from the glossary in your text or dictionary)
Paleolithic Neolithic animism undulation shaman/shamanism/shamanistic Techniques:
(art making techniques and terms in the text glossary)
Architecture: post and lintel construction megalith triilthon sarsen bluestones
Two Dimensional art work: silhouette vs. frontal view contour/contour line aerial view twisted perspective/composite view
Three dimensional art work: additive vs. subtractive method in sculptures statuette or figurine relief (sculpture
Ideas and Concepts: (Make clear but brief notes on the following questions)
1. Origins of art making: Discuss how the quote by Alberti (above), fits the Venus of Willendorf.
2. Image making concepts/ideas
i. Where is twisted perspective found in prehistoric art?
ii. What is the difference between silhouette and contour?
iii. Why did they use real view instead of side view of a figure/animal?
iv. what is the difference between optical vs. descriptive in two dimensional representational art?
3. How does animation/animism relate to undulating surfaces of caves at Lascaux
4. Why is context important including original site/circumstances of art work?
5. What is abstraction and why is it used?
6. Why is the Venus of Willendorf important?
7. Which elements tie this work to the Paleolithic time period?
8. Discuss which function this statuette may represent:
Worship or veneration; Inspire or be revered; An event or person; An aesthetic ideal
Context:
-the role of written language as a source for understanding the past
-the importance of understanding the relationship of context and function when studying art
-Alberti’s theory of Image by Chance “I believe that the arts of those who attempt to create images and likenesses…originated in the following way. They probably observed in a tree trunk or clod of earth and other similar inanimate objects certain outlines in which, with slight alterations, something very similar to …nature was represented. They began …[to] take away or otherwise supply whatever seemed lacking to effect and complete the true likeness.
Many of the sculptures reveal what was important at the time, life, fertility, birth, animals for food and warmth. The appearance of each sculpture allows us to identify an artist’s interpretation of people and animal forms of the time.
Works of Art:
Venus of Willendorf, Austria, statuette c. 25,000 BCE
Cave Paintings of Lascaux, France c. 15,000 BCE Paintings
Cave paintings at Altamira, Spain c. 12,000 BCE
Clay Bison at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France c. 12,000 BCE
Stonehenge- Neolithic construction, England c. c. 2,000 BCE Architecture
Assignment:
Vocabulary
( Define from the glossary in your text or dictionary)
Paleolithic Neolithic animism undulation shaman/shamanism/shamanistic
Techniques:
(art making techniques and terms in the text glossary)
Architecture: post and lintel construction megalith triilthon sarsen bluestones
Two Dimensional art work: silhouette vs. frontal view contour/contour line aerial view twisted perspective/composite view
Three dimensional art work: additive vs. subtractive method in sculptures statuette or figurine relief (sculpture
Ideas and Concepts: (Make clear but brief notes on the following questions)
1. Origins of art making: Discuss how the quote by Alberti (above), fits the Venus of Willendorf.
2. Image making concepts/ideas
i. Where is twisted perspective found in prehistoric art?
ii. What is the difference between silhouette and contour?
iii. Why did they use real view instead of side view of a figure/animal?
iv. what is the difference between optical vs. descriptive in two dimensional representational art?
3. How does animation/animism relate to undulating surfaces of caves at Lascaux
4. Why is context important including original site/circumstances of art work?
5. What is abstraction and why is it used?
6. Why is the Venus of Willendorf important?
7. Which elements tie this work to the Paleolithic time period?
8. Discuss which function this statuette may represent:
Worship or veneration; Inspire or be revered; An event or person; An aesthetic ideal
Due Date: __August 25, 2010_