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Body art introduction
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For a long time now body art and decoration has been a custom in many cultural groups. Through research we have learned about the different types of body art and ornamentation such as permanent and nonpermanent tattooing, scarification, and piercings. These forms of body art and ornamentation are done for a variety of reasons, ranging from identification purposes to religious rituals. “Skin, as a visible way of defining individual identity and cultural difference, is not only a highly elaborated preoccupation in many cultures; it is also the subject of wide-ranging and evolving scholarly discourse in the humanities and social sciences” (Schildkrout, 2004). The process of ornamentation and body art is usually a painful experience, but it is a way to signify a person’s self-discovery and their place in society. In this paper, I will explore the different aspects of body art and ornamentation in two different cultures; the Maori people of New Zealand and the Yoruba’s of West Africa and explain the cultural importance of their art.
Throughout West Africa it is not uncommon to come across people that have scar stripe patterns on their cheeks. The facial stripes that they wear are not produced by paint or tattoos, like many other cultures, but only by scarification. However, in his article, Orie explains that not all of the Yoruba people have the facial stripes. Okola is a term used for describing someone whose face is scarred, it means ‘the one with facial stripes’. People that do not have the stripes are referred to as oboro, or ‘plain, not striped face’ (Orie, 2011). While there are many different patterns of stripes worn by the Yoruba people in West Africa, it is always both cheeks that are striped. Most of the time, the stripes...
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...m it is their culture and a sacred tradition of their people.
Works Cited
Nikora, L. W., Rua, M., & Te Awekotuku, N. (2007). Renewal and resistance: moko in contemporary New Zealand. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 17(6), 477-489. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Orie, O. O. (2011). The structure and function of Yoruba facial scarification. Anthropological Linguistics, 53(1), 15-33. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Palmer, C., & Tano, M. L. (2004). Mokomokai: Commercialization and Desacralization. Significance of Moko and Mokomokai in Maori Culture. International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management. Retrieved from http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-PalMoko-t1-body-d1-d2.html Schildkrout, E. (2004). Inscribing the body. Annual Review of Anthropology, 33(1), 319-344. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Many African cultures see life as a cycle we are born, we grow and mature, enter adulthood, and one day we will eventually die but the cycle continues long after death. In Africa art is used as a way to express many things in their society, in this paper I will focus on different ways traditional African art are used to describe the cycle of one’s life. Since Africa is such a large continent it is important to keep in mind that every country and tribe has different rituals and views when it comes to the cycle of life. It is estimated to be well over a thousand different ethnic groups and cultures in Africa today. Thousands of cultures in Africa see the stages of life bound together in a continuous cycle; a cycle of birth, growth, maturity,
“Body Art as Visual Language” by Enid Schildkrout talks about the different forms of body modifications, and their meanings within different cultures. For example, Schildkrout says “Head shaping may be a sign of high status in one culture and low status in another, but to a total outsider, these practices may appear to be simply mutilation.” In this quote, the author talks about how one body
Another way that body art is expressive in other countries are the use of henna tattoos in Indian weddings. Weddings are a wonderful and beautiful time for two families to come together in love and happiness. Typically when you think of a wedding in the US you think of the bride wearing the gorgeous white dress all dolled up walking down the aisle. That is not the case in different countries. As I stated above, Indian brides are decorated with henna tattoos on their hands and feet for their big day. The tattoos are symbolic because they represent the bride’s beauty, hey are also to give the bride good fortune.
This question focuses on the introduction of Russian Constructivism, the Mexican. Mural movement which was mainly affected by the ideology of Marxism. How they are different from each other, aesthetically, ideologically, conceptually. Russian Constructivism began right after the Bolshevik revolution against Russia. Empire.
There is some debate about the purpose of The Broighter Horde, in which The Broighter Boat was found. Originally thought to be a votive offering uncovered on the English coast, the courts were quick to dismiss this argument in order to take possession of the find and donate them to the Royal Irish Academy. The sculptor of the boat is unknown but it stands out as a prime example of artisans' skill during the La Tène period of Celtic craftsmanship and artistry. The La Tène period defined the Celts as a viable culture. Their civilization was such that it was able to acquire the day-to-day needs of the people giving them time to perfect various forms of metal working and other refined forms of art. The La Tène style spanned approximately 400 years between 500 and 100 BCE. La Tène represents the first pinnacle of achievement or prosperity of Celtic art, illustrating the flourishing and expanding growth of the Celtic empire. Coincidentally, during this period the Celts stopped cremation of the dead and began to bury the bodies of their dead. The resultant increase of burial sites with hoards of personal possessions and household items buried with the dead person in order to facilitate one's enjoyment of the afterlife, has provided a cache of artifacts that contributes to understanding this Celtic civilization.
Body modification is defined as any deliberate alteration to ones’ physical appearance. Most people think that only tattoos and piercings fall into this classification, but this is barely grazing the surface of the extents that body modification can lead to. Anything from a simple ear lobe piercing to breast implants, or tattoos and scarifications are all considered as some form of modification. In western cultures, modifications are made for aesthetics and self-expression, but every culture is different. Native American tribes find spiritual clarity or vision in body suspension, where the body is literally hung on hooks, and in Imperial China's practice of binding the feet of women to represent wealth and beauty. In this paper we will not only look into different piercings, but the history behind them and tattoos as well, also the different modifications that various cultures practice, and why. I will explore tribes such as the Mursi tribe in Ethiopia and the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India. By the end you will have learned about various cultures and traditions, and have a whole new perspective of the art of body modification.
Tattoos in Ancient Polynesian traditions marked the various ranks and statuses of people (Losch). This is the case with anything; we assign meaning to different things. An example of this is a suit. Traditionally, suits are associated with people who have positions of power. Hoodies, on the other hand, can be worn by anyone. It traditionally means comfort and is in no way associated with power or professionalism. But what if a CEO, such as Mark Zuckerberg, wears a hoodie? Contrary to popular belief, people violate norms…seem powerful (Hutson). There is power is breaking social norms. Therefore, although tattoos are traditionally associated with criminals in Western culture, this nonconformity and breaking of rules will actually make the person seem more powerful. Tattoos are a powerful symbol. Although each tattoo is unique in design, overall, the person who wears them is seen as rebellious. The trick to changing society’s mind about this is to accept the fact that tattoos are rebellious; but this does not have to necessarily mean that they are bad. What makes a tattoo bad is the person underneath the tattoo. The parts of the body are quite distinguishable from the self (Mead). This means that the body is a separate entity from a person’s true self. Therefore, in order to change someone’s mind about tattoos they must get to know a portion of a person’s self before deeming them to be bad. They cannot just judge a person as being bad based on their body. Once they get to know a person’s self, then their previously held ideas about the person will be deconstructed along with the reality that tattoos are inherently
In this paper, I will express the thought and feeling that Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Bank of the Oise at Auvers, Oil on canvas, 1890, gives me. Bank of the Oise at Auvers depicts eleven small boats on the bank of the river Oise in France. A woman is seated in one boat and a man and woman are standing on the shore. I did not wonder into the Detroit Institute of Arts trying to find a painting to write about for an assignment, I entered the museum though, hoping for a painting to notice me and speak to me. That is exactly what this work accomplished. The work caught my eye in a noticeable fashion. What I noticed the most were the boldness of the brush strokes, and how the colors expressed do not blend carefully with each other, but rather they all individually stand out. You can notice very easily the direction in which the strokes are heading, and what message they are trying to convey. There are many reasons that I chose this painting, and I will go into fine detail throughout the course of the paper of exactly what I mean.
A common aspect of African culture is our mediating of deities, ancestors, and spirits, by performing rituals and contacting ancestors or historical ideals. This spiritual combination creates a non-Western idea of movement in art. I enjoy this part of our culture, where we create a less static environment. We become other beings, through our usage of art, dance, and costume with mask and headwear. Our artistic creators are forgotten. Our original artwork are eventually forgotten. The work goes back to the Earth, for the only true matter is how the spirits are manifested in the objects at the current time; eventually even this wears out. At the time of the spiritual manifestation in the objects, they are some of the most powerful aspects in our society.
Hunt, Lynn, et al. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. Boston, New York:
It isn 't uncommon to see people walking around with tattoos permanently stained on their body. It is also uncommon to know that they usually have a meaning. From Chinese symbols to images devoted to the flying spaghetti monster, people love to keep these tattoos to remind them of a message or a special someone. According to the World Book Advanced Dictionary, a tattoo is "to mark (the skin) with designs or patterns by pricking a line of holes and putting in colors. ' ' And the meaning of an individual 's tattoo can vary depending on where you are. In this essay, I will discuss contrasting elements in prison and in tribal tattoos. This will be done by doing a cross sectional study of their history, meaning and methods. Are prison and tribal tattoos similar or different?
When analyzing artwork, in any form, there are often times social contexts in which can be interpreted. Not always does the history behind the painting need to be revealed to fully understand the concept of the artwork, yet it is helpful in determining if the artwork is truthful in its representation. Although in analyzing artwork it is likely that there are drawbacks to considering the social context. To illustrate this point, I'm going to use the visual arts as my medium of choice. Understanding the social context can be an important tool. An advantage of knowing the history of the painting or sculpture can really enrich our knowledge, being in the 21st century, about some of the social periods from previous times. It can demonstrate how traditions were carried out, how they had an impact on the different social classes. It's a visual teaching aid of a sort. Even in the time period of which the artwork was created can be used as a tool to show how the life was in different parts of the world. It was also used as a hammer in the realist movement to show the upper classes that life for the poor was horrible. The visual arts is the only medium in which the pictorial image creates a universal language in which anyone, regardless of nationality or social class can interpret. The text which is created by this language often creates a context which is left open to interpretation. Contexts are created by the artist, critics, judges, the public, essentially, any one who views the work and forms an opinion relating to it. The contexts stem from subject or content of an artwork, and are usually facts regarding the content. Yet, the contexts almost always have backgrounds themselves, therefore making the original contexts, texts. This will be more clearly illustrated later. The chain is seeming to be a never ending process. There are always more conditions to the previous ones. All context, therefore, is in itself, textual. This concept of all context in itself textual is a post-structuralist strategy. A man named Derrida is a man who has developed this idea that the post-structuralist concept of every statement made, can be interpreted in infinite ways, with each interpretation triggering a range of subjective associations. Every statement has an association, therefore it's a sort of domino effect.
The tattooing ritual had much more significance in the village than in the city life, following the conflict that erupted between the girl’s parents. Moreover, living in town limited the family’s exposure to the ‘Ta tatau’ culture causing them to lack essential elements to take care of a tattooed subject successfully (Ellis, 2006). As illustrate by the girl in the narrative, due to their adoption of their European way of life their house wasn’t cold enough for their father’s condition forcing him to relocate to the village. In close contemplation of these remarks, it can be derived that the houses in the village were cooler than the houses built in the
Feminism has been an extremely controversial and significant subject over the centuries. The issue of equality between men and women have been questioned and exceedingly debated upon, why men were treated and considered the ‘superior’ gender. During the 1960’s, civil rights, protests against war and gay and lesbian movements were at its peak. It was the period of time, which the Feminist art movement had emerged, also known as the “second-wave” of feminism, shifting away from modernism. Women wanted to gain equal rights as men within the art world. Feminist artists such as Cindy Sherman, Carolee Schneemann and Hannah Wilke pursued to change the world and perspectives on women through their artworks, specifically in body art. Their goal was to “influence cultural attitudes and transform stereotypes.” (DiTolla. T, 2013)
There are many cultural differences of body modification in the Eastern world because the Eastern world’s views and ways of self expression are different to those in the Western world.