Week 8 assignment: essay – interrelationships reflection apa format | Applied Sciences homework help
- What does it mean to say that either of these works is ironic? Does irony elevate their value as a work of art? Is either of these, in your estimation, a true work of art?
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that beauty is only one quality of significant art. Much modern art, such as Duane Hansen’s life-size figures, tends to ignore the idea of beauty. Decoration seems to be a universal need. Decorated objects are often very beautiful, but they do not necessarily inform us of anything deeper than the fact that beauty is a human requirement, especially of devel- oped cultures, producing pleasure. From the Egyptians, to the Greeks, Christians, and Muslims, the urge to decorate religious places, objects, and garments is universal. Among the most astounding examples of decoration are the illuminated pages of the Book of Kells, a manuscript book containing the four gospels of the New Testa- ment. With almost 300 folio pages of script and illumination, this book is one of the great treasures of the Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland. It was created by monks in Ireland in the late eighth or early ninth century and apparently buried for safekeeping during a Viking raid. Each illuminated page, such as the Chi-Rho page (Figure 14-10) took sometimes more than a year to complete. The level of detail on this page is such that strong magnification is needed to see all the animals, people, vegetation, and trees that cover almost every surface. The Greek letters Chi-Rho FIGURE 14-10 The Chi-Rho page from the Book of Kells (ca. 800 CE), Trinity College, Dublin. ©PHAS/Universal Images Group/ Rex/Shutterstock jac16871_ch14_352-377.indd 366 12/9/17 10:34 AM 367
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are the first two letters in Christ’s name, and the page is illuminated not just to be beautiful but to be a form of appreciation to the idea of God. Anything less detailed might be an insufficient form of worship. Because Islamic practice generally rules out art that represents animals or people, the decorative arts in Islam are dominant. As in the instance of the great Alhambra in Granada, Spain, buildings are often decorated lavishly with tiles, including writ- ing that echoes the Quran or the sayings of Mohammed in the Kadith (a book of his observations). Beautiful temple lamps, vases, wall hangings, rugs, furniture, gar- ments, and everyday kitchen materials offer extraordinary examples of the Islamic impulse to create art. The fourteenth-century Mihrab from the Madrasa of Imami (Figure 14-11) is described as a prayer nook. It usually forms part of a wall facing Mecca in a mosque, but this example is from a school in Iran. The structure is faced with tiles that contain writing. The text across the top of the doorway is “Said [the Prophet] (on him be blessing and peace): . . . witness that there is no God save Allah and that Muhammad is his Apostle and the Blessed Imam, and in legal almsgiving, and in the pilgrimage, and in the fast of Ramadan, and he said, on him be blessing and peace” [Met Museum]. The function of the decoration is to venerate God while at the same time pleasing the worshipers in the mosque. FIGURE 14-11 Mihrab (1354–1355), Iran, Isfahan. Mosaic of polychrome-glazed cut tiles on stonepaste body; set into mortar, 1,1351⁄6 × 11311⁄16 inches. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1939 jac16871_ch14_352-377.indd 367 12/9/17 10:34 AM 368
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The mid- and late nineteenth century in England produced a wide range of artful decoration when William Morris (1834–1896), poet, painter, designer, and propri- etor of the Kelmscott Press, gave a major lecture called “The Decorative Arts.” Morris was close friends with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and most of the other Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of painters and writers. Morris began to create tapestries, rugs, and wallpaper with distinctive designs usually based on natural forms of trees, flowers, birds, and other animals. His influences were distinctly medieval, with a strong in- terest in Arthurian legend. While not as intensely detailed as the Chi-Rho page, his works covered every space and featured remarkably vivid colors. His wallpapers were much sought after. One of his most revered designs, Jasmine (Figure 14-12), features floral images in a pattern that is more exploratory than simply repetitive, yet it is a distinctive image, subtle, warming, with a constant suggestion of nature. A more modern form of decorative arts is often unwanted and uncelebrated because it is produced anonymously in public spaces, yet a few graffiti artists have become recognized in the last twenty-five years. Keith Haring, Robert McGee, and Jean-Michel Basquiat are the best known because they moved their work into galler- ies where it could be bought. But most graffiti artists work anonymously and scorn the official art world (Figure 14-13). Their mission is to leave a mark, much like FIGURE 14-12 William Morris, Jasmine, 1872. Block-printed wallpaper, 217⁄16 × 221⁄2 inches. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Purchase, Edward C. Moore Jr. Gift, 1923. Accession Number 23.163.4j jac16871_ch14_352-377.indd 368 12/9/17 10:34 AM 369
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some of the paintings in the caves in France and the markings found on stone walls in the American Southwest. The urge of such artists is satisfied by making a state- ment, even if some of the time the statement involves defacing important buildings or illegally painting subway cars, train cars, and commercial trucks. Currently, mo- bile electronic devices, such as tablets and phones, have apps that permit them to make graffiti wallpaper and graffiti designs, demonstrating the public interest in this form of expression. FIGURE 14-13 Anonymous, wall graffiti, circa 2009. London, South Bank. The South Bank Arts Center on the Thames River preserves a space for graffiti artists. This segment of a heavily painted wall is typical of the mix of lettering, forms, and color of the South Bank graffiti. ©Lee A. Jacobus PERCEPTION KEY Decoration 1. Is the Chi-Rho page in the Book of Kells a work of art? If so, describe your partici- pation with it and your understanding of its form-content. 2. What do you see as the relationship between William Morris’s wallpaper, Jasmine, and abstract art? Is Jasmine abstract? 3. What do you see as the relationship between decorative arts and beauty? Which paintings in this book are most beautiful in your opinion? Are they related to dec- orative arts?