Art is interpreted in many different ways and that depends on the interpreter. Art historians have a certain way they interpret artwork and throughout the subjects of medium, artists and objects, the interpretations of art has remained consistent. I noticed two different fields of interpretation from the each presenter. In this essay, I argue that art historians interpret works of art in connection to history or culture. The medium of art is a defining characteristic because it isn’t just what the art is made out of but it becomes a part of the art as well. A medium can carry a long history of how it came to be and what it means for artists when they use it. One lecture that stood out as focusing on history of the medium was Jason Cytacki’s
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Art is a way that cultures can be unique from others and have something that is solely theirs. It also acts as a bridge for religion, which can cause the art to be done in a certain way. In the reading entitled West African Sculpture: Sacred Space, Spirit, and Power by John W. Nunley, he argues that African art “acquires a spiritual and aesthetic life of its own” (p. 1) implying that this art makes its own spiritual significance when it is created. The artists who do these African sculptures have a process that is key in the importance of each and every single sculpture. According to the lecture by Bala Saho, African wood sculptors have to find a tree that the spirits accept and only then can they get wood from it. These societies in Africa who do these wood sculptures demonstrate how important a group’s culture is in the …show more content…
A photograph’s purpose is to capture a moment so it can be kept and looked back on in reminiscence. Photographs are objects that are rooted in history. In Todd Stewart’s lecture, he talks about how photographs are usually personal in nature because the photographer attaches personal narratives to the photos they take. Objects in art can make the interpretation of them skewed in that most people will just see the object for what it is but others might have a personal connection with them. The reading entitled Remembrance had a section by Jenny Pachucki that talked about the wallet from a victim of the attacks on 9/11. The wife of the man who died decided to donate his wallet and its belongings to the 9/11 Museum. Now it might just look like a tattered, old wallet to someone who doesn’t know its story but to others, it’s a symbol of someone’s life, a life that was lost. This is the narrative that has been attached to this object and this object’s history is what gives it meaning and makes it
Art is a way that cultures can be unique from others and have something that is solely theirs. It also acts as a bridge for religion, which can cause the art to be done in a certain way. In the reading entitled West African Sculpture: Sacred Space, Spirit, and Power by John W. Nunley, he argues that African art “acquires a spiritual and aesthetic life of its own” (p. 1) implying that this art makes its own spiritual significance when it is created. The artists who do these African sculptures have a process that is key in the importance of each and every single sculpture. According to the lecture by Bala Saho, African wood sculptors have to find a tree that the spirits accept and only then can they get wood from it. These societies in Africa who do these wood sculptures demonstrate how important a group’s culture is in the …show more content…
A photograph’s purpose is to capture a moment so it can be kept and looked back on in reminiscence. Photographs are objects that are rooted in history. In Todd Stewart’s lecture, he talks about how photographs are usually personal in nature because the photographer attaches personal narratives to the photos they take. Objects in art can make the interpretation of them skewed in that most people will just see the object for what it is but others might have a personal connection with them. The reading entitled Remembrance had a section by Jenny Pachucki that talked about the wallet from a victim of the attacks on 9/11. The wife of the man who died decided to donate his wallet and its belongings to the 9/11 Museum. Now it might just look like a tattered, old wallet to someone who doesn’t know its story but to others, it’s a symbol of someone’s life, a life that was lost. This is the narrative that has been attached to this object and this object’s history is what gives it meaning and makes it