Student 6

 

 

Color is the eye's perception of light.  As there are many different colors in the spectrum, there are many different meaning for these colors in different cultures.  For example, in Asian cultures, white is a symbol of death and would be worn to funerals, yet in Western cultures, white is a symbol for purity and is worn to weddings.  Thus, it would be very inappropriate to wear white if you are attending an Asian wedding.  This example shows how in different cultures and societies, different colors fulfill different purposes.

 

In the Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen, color is used to express the divine visions of Hildegard.  In "The Choir of Angels", the contrast between the calming blues, bold reds and oranges, and white expresses how the universe is dynamic and flowing with energy.  In "Sophia", the red has a variety of meanings.  Red is a reminder of the cardinals of the Church and also the wine and blood of Christ.  Red also reminds one of the end times and also of the beginning of time.  The ocean and fish, blues symbolize life and Christians.  This illumination expresses that the Church is nurturing and life giving, and this is expressed through the use of various colors.

 

In Yoruba cultures, there are three main categories of color.  One is Fun-Fun which consists of white or icy, cold colors.  This category of color expresses cool, aloof, sort of cold personalities.  Pupa is another color category and consists of hot fiery colors like orange, gold, black-yellow, and reds.  These are colors that have passionate hot characteristics.  Dudu is the final color category.  It consists of down to earth colors like brown, green, and moss green.  Dudu colors are earthly tones.  The Yoruba culture is well known for the beautiful bead work that is created.  They use these color categories to create very spiritual works that also have very useful purposes. For example: would be slippers, bags, crowns, flasks, and even king's thrones created or decorated with these elaborate bead creations.

 

Color can also be heard in music.  Different sounds can very effectively express different colors.  Much like an artist, a composer uses different combinations of sounds to show different feelings in his or her work.  Consonance in the musical world can be effectively compared to analogous colors, those that are beside one another on the color wheel, and Triad harmonies, three colors that are separated by one color between each on the color wheel.  Consonance can be shown in major tonality in Chopin's "Harp Etude".  It can also be shown in minor tonality in Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and Chopin's "Funeral March".  :The Funeral March" gives the sound of dark, black color.

 

Dissonance in the musical world can be compared to complementary colors in the visual arts.  Complimentary colors are those that are directly across from one another on the color wheel.  These colors seem to clash and can be expressed in Beethoven's "Piano Sonata Opus III" and Ginastera's "Piano Sonata".  Through the musical arts, color can be expressed as effectively as in the visual arts.

 

Group II Essay

 

In Functionalism, a work of art is appraised on the amount of skill that was needed to create it and how effectively it fulfills its purpose.  A work is considered more or less beautiful on how well it fulfills its purpose.

 

The Cro Magnon culture are considered the first artists of this world.  They created works of art that served a purpose.  The Laurel Leaf Flint Knife is an example of this.  It was skillfully decorated and still served a very useful purpose as a knife.  Another example of this culture's art work can be seen in the caves of Laucasx in France.  Huge paintings of large animals of the Cro Magnon time adorn the walls of the caves.  The true purpose of the beautiful paintings is not 100% known, but many believe these were a kind of sympathetic magic.  Some believe that these painting were drawn so that the people would have a control over them and thus allowing them to have much more successful hunts.  It is also believed that the reason these paintings are on the walls of the caves so deep within the earth is that the places were thought to be good luck or sacred.  This would also help explain the layers of the paintings.  The use of spit as a solvent of the paint (charcoal) also leads some to believe that they were spiritually putting part of themselves on the walls.  If this is true, then these beautiful works would surely be considered beautiful works of art in functionalism.

 

The Egyptian people also gave us quite a few examples of art with a purpose.  One of their greats being the Great Pyramids.  The Great Pyramids of Giza were built during the Old Kingdom during the 4th through the 6th dynasties.  They were built as tombs for the Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops) and Mycerinus.  These huge structures are believed to have had several different purposes in Egyptian society.  They were great symbols of the power of the Egyptian empire.  The pyramids were once covered with casings that glistened in the sun.  These great monuments would have mesmerized enemies and more than likely keep down the chances of the Egyptians being attacked.

 

The pyramid of Cheops has a grand gallery and this is believed to have been a sort of observatory.  It has been compared to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.  This observatory would have helped to observe the movement of the stars and to help more accurately predict the flooding of the Nile.  These might have also been places were rites and rituals were done like the opening of the pharaoh's mouth to allow Isis to fertilize the lands.  The pyramids are also thought to have been a project to give the farmers something to do while their fields were flooded by the Nile.  The great amount of skill and labor needed could have certainly been obtained from the farmers.

It is known that these huge monuments were built to hold the body of the pharaoh for all eternity and his ka would always have a place to dwell.  Even though these tombs were plundered years later, these monuments certainly performed their function well and also took a great amount of skill to create.  To this day, they still serve the purpose of allowing us to know more about Egyptian society, so they would be considered works of art in a functionalistic view point.

 

The Yoruba culture also created functional art.  Their elaborate bead work was not only beautiful but also served a purpose.  The great amount of time and skill put into these works created bead works that served a purpose.  Even with elaborate decoration; the slippers, bags, crown, and even thrones still effectively fulfilled the purpose they were created for and so would be considered art.

 

The Illuminations of Hildegard also fulfilled their purpose.  They were created to express her divine visions and did so.  So, they too would be considered art.

 

In the Islamic world, they too created beautiful works of art that required a great amount of skill and craftsmanship and performed a specific function.  For example, the Dome of the Rock is a monument that was constructed to be a shrine for the rock that Muhammed is believed to have ascended into heaven from.  This shrine is elaborately decorated with beautiful calligraphy because in Islam images are not to be used.  This shrine certainly fulfills its purpose and was very skillfully created and has a very important purpose.  The mosques of the Islamic faith could also be considered works of art.  Mosques are houses of prayer for Islamic people.  Every part of the mosque has a purpose.  For example, the roof that is dome shaped to create a sort of heaven like place for the prayers of the people.  Also, the mosques are square shapes to show stability.  The mosques are also very open which has a lot to do with what they believe.  The walls are elaborately decorated with beautiful calligraphy that reads scriptures from the Qu=ran.  These beautiful house of prayer effectively perform their function in the Islamic faith and are considered works of art.