I feel the artist was interpreting
the cycle of life in the form of animals.
The fact that the different species of animals were depicted in the time
of their mating rituals (spring, summer, and fall) led me to believe that the
artist was either inspired or purposely depicted the animals during this time.
I furthermore think that the artist was providing this as a roadmap or story to
guide future generations.
This leads me to think that this
is the reason that not as many people were included. Because the informational
art would not be as resourceful for the future human generations humans were
not depicted as often
Difficulties that I think early
humans may have navigated in order to paint the pictures depicted in the caves
are light and time. Among other difficulties time was probably a major issue
due to the fact agriculture was not quite in full effect. Utilizing times when
hunting and gathering food would mean that they were painting using a basic
form of a torch. Since electricity had not been invented light and the fuel
that provided light was a resource not to be wasted (especially since the light
was probably also the source of heat in those times).
Things that I feel are possible
functions of early art are storytelling, a record of the history (visual forms
of language), or possibly a way to persuade or influence the soon to be masses
of people. Storytelling has a prominent pastime is a sort of all-encompassing
function. It somewhat includes a record of history although storytelling in my
eyes is not as subjective. Art used to create a general consensus I feel could
have been purposely distorted towards one side to help persuade people to favor
the artist opinion.
Modern
art I feel generally has the same function. Modern art similar to the art of
the Lascaux Caves may provide future generations into what was occurring at the
time. If dated, modern art could show why the artist or what influenced the
artist to create their art.
I like many forms of art, but the pain and time (devotion) someone endures to receive a tattoo makes it one of my favorites. The artist that create tattoos perform a service.
Tattoos provide many functions which include memorials, self-expression, something
meaningful that a person wants to share with the world, a story, a brand that
may mark someone as part of something larger or just the opposite provideing uniqueness. There are many examples of
tattoos in different cultures. A few examples are Polynesians, Yakuza (Japanese),
even Egyptians had tattoos. The main repercussions
of tattoos is that they are painful to remove and some see it in a negative
light even sinful.
Great post :), I enjoyed the train of thought that you carried with the concept of tattoos. How it can be a way of self expression or a way of demonstrating to others that you belong to a certain group. Regretfully somewhere along the line peoples narrow minds and lack of willingness to accept other points of views have take a beautiful art form and attributed sinful characteristics. Great post and connections between the Egyptians and the Yakuza
ReplyDeleteGreat opening discussion on the "calendar-like" function of the paintings. I agree that this may offer an explanation for the absence of humans in the images.
ReplyDeleteMissing a section on the other cultural aspects you can learn from the paintings?
I'm glad you raised the art of tattooing! That is a very unique form of art. It also has a unique culture to it and I would have liked you to have gone into that here. Another possible detriment, though of course this is to the individual, is the negative attitude people tend to have toward body tattooing. Good tie-in with past cultures.
Other than a couple of missing sections, very interesting post.
Your comment about the art providing a roadmap for future generations was insightful....much like writing a book of information . I had not thought about it like that. Enjoyed the info on tattooing as well. I had to look twice at the tattooed hand. Good post:-)
ReplyDelete