World off art 8th edtion by henry m sayre chapter 21

WORLD OF ART EIGHTH EDITION CHAPTER 21 Spiritual Belief World of Art, Eighth Edition Henry M Sayre Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc or its affiliates All rights reserved Learning Objectives of Compare the ways that different faiths have attempted to access spiritual states, and describe the role of art in these practices Outline some of the difficulties faced by various religions in giving their deities human form, and describe some strategies for overcoming these problems Learning Objectives of Characterize sacred space Explain why abstraction is particularly suitable for representing spiritual matters Introduction of • In 1768, when Captain James Cook sailed from England one of the most distinctive art forms that Cook and his crew encountered was tattooing • One of the crew captured the tatooed face of a Maori warrior • Tattooing is an aspect of complex sacred and ritual traditions found throughout the Pacific Islands Introduction of • The islanders believed that many individuals, places, and objects were imbued with mana • A person might increase their mana by skillful or courageous acts, or by wearing certain items including tattoos • Among the Maori, the most sacred part of the body was the head, and so it was the most appropriate place for a tattoo Introduction of • Their design mirrors the human form and is meant to celebrate it • The Maori thought of the tattoo as art • Since the earliest times, the artist's ability to create has been associated with Creation itself • Art represents a higher realm of experience that communicates that higher realms might exist Sydney Parkinson, Portrait of a Maori 1769 Wash drawing, 15-1/2 × 11-5/8", later engraved and published as Plate XVI in Parkinson's Journal, 1773 British Library, London © British Library Board, Add 23920, f.55 [Fig 21-1] Connecting with Spirits and the Divine of • The spiritual life of many of the world's peoples is informed by the belief that the forces of nature are inhabited by living spirits—known as animism • Other polytheistic faiths believe that the divine takes multiple forms, represented by multiple gods and goddesses Connecting with Spirits and the Divine of • In the world's monotheistic faiths, one God is the creator and transcendent power of the world • Nontheistic faiths not have deities, but followers cultivate a spiritual practice that will allow them to ultimately experience transcendence Connecting with Spirits and the Divine of • Art plays multiple roles in the attempt to connect with the spirit world and attain spiritual states of being • The ancient San people of Africa attempted to connect with the spirits residing in nature through the rock art that survives in open-air caves The Native American Mission Church of • The decorative program of the Church of San José at Old Laguna Pueblo has the altar and retablo, or altarpiece ensemble, created by an artist known as the Laguna Santero • Pueblo and Christian traditions are unified in the design The Laguna Santero, Retablo and high altar of the Church of San José, Old Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico ca 1780–1810 © Julien McRoberts/DanitaDelimont.com [Fig 21-15] Spirituality and Abstraction of • One of the more powerful scared spaces in the U.S is the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas • It functions both as a nondenominational sanctuary and an all-enveloping work of art • The Rothko Chapel consists of 14 paintings Spirituality and Abstraction of • Rothko had long believed that his paintings offered people something akin to a "religious experience." • He thought of the painting and the chapel as an imaginative space into which the viewer was invited to enter Mark Rothko, Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas Opened 1971 © Arcaid Images/Alamy [Fig 21-16] Spirituality and Abstraction of • The belief that abstraction could offer the viewer a religious experience was first articulated by the painter Wassily Kandinsky • He felt a picture was a sort of sacred space that induced in viewers the same feelings they might experience when entering a church  This can be seen in Composition VII Wassily Kandinsky, Composition VII 1913 Oil on canvas, 6' 6-1/2" × 9' 11-1/8" Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia akg-image/Erich Lessing © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York [Fig 21-17] Spirituality and Abstraction of • In 1985–86, Brice Marden began a series of paintings based on the poems of the ninth-century Buddhist hermit Cold Mountain • He adapted the calligraphic structure to the flow of a kind of restrained Jackson Pollock-like line Brice Marden, Cold Mountain (Bridge) 1989–91 Oil on linen, × 12' San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Purchase through a gift of Phyllis Wattis 99.367 © 2015 Brice Marden/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York [Fig 21-18] Spirituality and Abstraction of • The paintings are meant to reflect something of the spiritual reverence for nature • The painting represents a kind of spiritual quest that may lead to enlightenment The Critical Process Thinking about Art and Spiritual Belief • Bill Viola explained that, in The Reflecting Pool he was trying to get at the original notion of baptism in a way • Viola explores similar themes in his Room for St John of the Cross Bill Viola, The Reflecting Pool 1977–79 Still Video, color, mono sound, Bill Viola Studio LLC Photo: Kira Perov [Fig 21-19] Bill Viola, Room for St John of the Cross 1983 Video/sound installation Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Bill Viola Studio LLC Photo: Kira Perov [Fig 21-20] Thinking Back of Compare the ways that different faiths have attempted to access spiritual states, and describe the role of art in these practices Outline some of the difficulties faced by various religions in giving their deities human form, and describe some strategies for overcoming these problems Thinking Back of Characterize sacred space Explain why abstraction is particularly suitable for representing spiritual matters ... objects were imbued with mana • A person might increase their mana by skillful or courageous acts, or by wearing certain items including tattoos • Among the Maori, the most sacred part of the body... communicate with the divine Kachina doll (Maalo), Hopi culture Late 19th century Wood, pigment, feathers, fiber, and string, height 11-1/2" The Brooklyn Museum of Art Museum Expedition 1904, Museum... Archaeological Museum, Athens Ministry of Culture Archeological Receipt Fund, 15161 © Marie Mauzy [Fig 21- 6] Giving Gods Human Form of • The Christian idea that Jesus was the Son of God made flesh found multiple