For this course,
I chose to read and discuss The Annotated
Mona Lisa by Dr. Carol
Strickland. As I initially browsed
through this book, I was impressed with how much is covered in a single text
book. The book begins with an
explanation of how to look at and analyze art.
This explanation is brief, but it is nice to give beginners at least a
starting point for analysis. From that
point on there is an enormous amount of knowledge contained in this book. Dr. Strickland begins with “The Birth of Art”
in prehistoric times, exploring ancient sculptures and cave art, and continues
through time into “The Twentieth Century and Beyond” where she looks at
post-modern and contemporary art. I
really enjoyed reading this book and seeing the evolution of art through time. Dr. Strickland describes art as “a universal
language” (Strickland)
and I absolutely believe this to be an accurate statement. No matter what
language you speak or where you live in the world, art can cross borders and
barriers to connect humans based on experience.
It’s a beautiful and amazing tool in that way.
Chapter one of
this book begins with what Dr. Strickland refers to as “The Birth of Art”
during Prehistoric times. Strickland indicates that art was born when
Neanderthals evolved into Cro-magnon 25,000 years ago. This evolution brought with it a more intelligent
being, which eventually also lead to the increased presence of an imagination,
as well as a new desire to create images in the form of art. It was during this time period that
paintings, sculptures, and architecture begin to be found in ancient artifacts
during our exploration of the world. Dr.
Strickland indicates that these works of art acted as a way to express the
“ambitions, dreams, and values” of an individual and their culture (Strickland 2) . It is through art that we can learn about
some of the practices of these ancient people.
These prehistoric
people began their exploration into art by creating sculptures from natural
elements, such as bone and stone. They would use these natural resources and carving
or engrave them into the image they desired.
One example of this type of art is the Venus of Willendorf, which was
created somewhere between 25,000 and 20,000 BC.
Later in history, near 15,000 years ago we find cave paintings that
depict animals and hunting scenes (Strickland 4) .
However, these paintings are most often found deep inside of caves, away
from the direct sunlight. This could
indicate that cave paintings existed earlier than this time period, but have
faded through time because of exposure to the sun and other elements.
What I found most
interesting about this section of the book was the explanation of art, and the
role it played in their magical practices.
Not only did these prehistoric people try to interact with natural
forces using their art, but some art pieces, such as their cave paintings,
seemed to play a role in types of sympathetic magic. It is believed that they would paint the
animals on their cave walls, then hurl their spears at these paintings as a way
to try to ensure a successful hunt for their people (Strickland 4) . This type of magical practice not only had
religious connotations, but implies that magic was a part of their daily
survival. I find this detail fascinating
and very useful for my own practices. It
was this section that helped clue me into how art could be used in my own
personal practices as a magical tool. I
had never considered art in that way before, although I probably should
have.
Later in history,
we again see the evolution of art into architecture. This occurred during the Neolithic age when
people began to settle down as farmers instead of nomadic hunters, near 5000 BC
(Strickland 5) .
It is after this transition that we begin to see the development of the
first monumental sculptures and structures.
The most well-known of these types of art is probably Stonehenge, an
accurate astronomical calendar located in England. While we don’t necessarily know exactly how
it was utilized by people during the Neolithic age, Stonehenge is a location
that still holds significance today for many Pagans. This tie to ancient art is captivating and
phenomenal. At the very least,
Stonehenge acts as a direct connection to our ancient ancestors and the art
that they created in their time and space.
The next
evolution of art moves us out of the prehistoric era, which ends the
information this book contains on prehistory.
While the book overall has a vast amount of knowledge on art, styles,
artists, history, etc. there is not a lot of information on pre-history
itself. In fact, the book covers
approximately 25,000 years in only three pages.
What is discussed in this book though shows just how important and
prolific this prehistory art truly is.
Each of the items discussed were items that I have seen utilized in many
modern Pagan practices. These incredibly
ancient works of art still influence our own art and intrigue us with their
religious connotations. In just a few
pages, this book has helped me to connect working with artistic mediums with
both magic and ancestor reverence, both of which are very important in my own
spiritual path.
While the amount
of information about prehistory in this book seems to be a bit underwhelming, the
take away from this portion of the book hints at the idea that art was born,
not only out of imagination, but also out of religious and magical need. Sculptures were made to symbolize
deities. Art was created as part of
magical workings. Architecture was built
to study and track the universe. Admittedly,
tying art into my religious practice was a bit of a challenge for me initially,
but seeing that it was religion that helped to birth art as a whole definitely
motivates and encourages me in a whole new way.
Works Cited:
Strickland, Dr. Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa: A
Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern. Kansas City:
Andrews and McMeel, 1992.
0 comments:
Post a Comment