This essay will examine the role public sculpture plays in the constructing notion of national identity. I will present a selection of public sculptures to demonstrate and critically analyze this statement, looking at the awareness of national identity as it is both influenced by art and influences art itself. Overall the artists that I shall be discussing, in particular to their mentioned works which when cross referenced form an interrelated group not just in context but also in their approach, shall give a three-dimensional insight to the true affect public sculpture plays in the ever-changing notion of national identity.
Firstly we have to question, how do we define national identity? There is a long and complicated history of nationalism in Britain, which is still present today, that has lent a charged significance to the concept of national identity. An article by Migrant Voice gives a rather perfect definition of what it means to British, it says: “There are varying definitions of what it means to be British. For some, [being British comes] down to your heritage, [the belief that if you were born in England and if you were raised in England then you must be British, but] to others it’s your passport that counts.” If we consider this as fact then we must consider ourselves British if we apply to any of the following; owning a British passport, speaking English as a first language, attending a British school or university, successfully holding a British job, having been born in England. However, in the end it’s all a social and cultural construct that we give to ourselves. In some cases it is as easy as saying I am British. To say, “I live in Britain, I go to school in Britain, I work in Britain, and therefor I am British.”...
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...s a British sculpture right down to materials used to sculpt it. Its effect on society is…
Works Cited
1. (no author), (no date), ‘What really makes you British?’ Migrant Voice. Available at: http://www.migrantvoice.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101:what-really-makes-you-british&catid=34:archive
2. Linnea West, 2012-13, ‘Context & Identity in Contemporary Hungarian Art’ Wordpress. Available at: http://contextandidentity.wordpress.com/essay/
3. (no author), 2008, ‘Royal Artillery Memorial’ Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Artillery_Memorial#Design_and_symbolism
4. (no author), 2007, ‘Portland Stone’ Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_stone#Geological_information
5. (no author), 2007, ‘Charles Sargeant Jagger’ Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sargeant_Jagger
Art is trapped in the cage of society, constantly being judged and interpreted regardless of the artist’s intent. There is no escaping it, however, there are ways to manage and manipulate the cage. Two such examples are Kandinsky 's Little Pleasures, and Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain. Both pieces were very controversial and judged for being so different in their time, but they also had very specific ways of handling the criticism and even used it to their advantage. We will be looking at the motivations for each artwork, what made the art so outrageous, and the public’s reaction to the pieces.
In my examination of the works, I came across a particular sculpture that portrayed both beauty and craftsmanship. A 15th century sculpture (1490), made in Venice, Italy by Tullio Lombardo, shows a life-size figure of Adam. Titled Adam, the work is the most prominent in the gallery mostly because of its 6-foot standing. It immediately caught my attention and gave me a very realistic impression. One beige color and made of marble, Adam is depicted simply, yet the statue has intense emotions. His meaningful glance is seen in the upward and tilted head position. Adam has almost lifeless looking eyes and seems to be staring into the distance. With these sagging eyes, parted lips, and lacking posture I feel Adam’s guilt is displayed in this figure.
When beginning my sketch, I took a moment to analyze the work of art and found that the statue illuminated a sense of serenity. Like most viewers my initial reaction was to explore the statue from head to toe as I sought out the different elements and principles of art. The statue was close to life-size and just about my height, so looking straightforward we were eye to eye. I noticed the softness gathered about the facial structure, but all the same time the depth and complexity that was engulfed around the muscularity of the body. The rigorous symmetry was accounte...
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
“Art Museums and the Ritual of Citizenship” by Carol Duncan: A Response to Western Cultural Imperialism and the “Ritual” of Modernity in European/American Museums
The works of art from the Archaic Period, Classical Period, and Hellenic Period developed physically and mentally, and the study of their aesthetic differences from period to period allow for a decided contrast and comparability. This interpretation has had a profound effect on the art world and that continues even in today’s world. The importance of Greek sculptures is evident in the storytelling of the gods, the people, and the culture. We use these sculptures as a tool to go back into the past of the Greek people, letting us admire how far mankind has truly come, whether it is in art or intelligence. Generation after generation has been and will continue to be able to see for themselves the society, culture and uniqueness of these periods through the wonderful sculptures that came out of ancient
Jane Golden demonstrates the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Mural Art Program that has changed the appearance of the city in a positive way and that gives people a way to embrace how they feel. While Harriet F. Senie in Reframing Public Art and is stating that most public art is being ignored by people and is slipping away into urban-scape. Public art is often ignored art, we don’t know how those pieces of art are actually successful. Public art such as sculptures
Nationalism is regarded the pride of place and of the many traditions that have evolved in the geographies. One way of visually capturing this phenomenon is through the architecture, which will boast features that are unique to the culture’s identity in either form, technological innovations or in function. All of the three examples that were explored in this paper express a sense of national pride through their individual technological advances that lead to the greatest possible representation of their philosophical and cultural ideologies.
Art movement’s characteristics vary from nation to nation, but painting can be used as a critique of the socio-political reality in a given nation. It is a creative way to communicate with a population about economic, education and social issues. Therefore, The History of Cuernavaca and Morelos: Crossing the Barranca (ravine) Detail (1929-30) Fresco by Diego Rivera is a good example of how an artist uses his creativity to connect with people in relation to Mexican history. Art is an inspired way to share the complexity and challenge of a community. It can be used a way to respond to them likewise. Therefore, the concept of accessibility takes ingenuity. With his deepen knowledge of European and ancient Mexican art, it was not a documentation
...was created with an innovative production method for bronze sculptures. (Lee, p. 57) The advancements in technology could explain the massive differences in size, as well as the level of intricacy in regards to the motifs on both sculptures.
The use of art forms and sculpture as a means of conveying a message to its viewers has been rooted deep into culture throughout human history. Imagery has carved political views and depictions of society’s circumstances into permanent marks of antiquity. From the Ancient Roman architecture and sculpture to the 1900’s emergence of media in politics, we have continued to express our views, hardships, and culture in permanent ways, and use art as an intricate form of manipulation and persuasion. In the ancient times, the Romans used sculpture to portray individuals of power, such as Augustus, to mark a political ideology by making powerful figures look more pristine and perfect on a godly level. They would portray the unattainable perfection
This artwork remains relevant today with the depiction of a Roman love story and the architecture. The structural work that went into this sculpture is inspiring because I feel that even with modern technology, knowledge can be gained from how this piece was constructed and designed. The story this artwork tells, of Cupid rescuing Psyche, despite insatiable curiosity, can also be inspiring.
In 2008 a group of archaeologist unearthed what could now be the world’s oldest statue. This larger than life statuette stands at whopping 2 ½ inches tall with an estimated carving date from 35,000 to 40,000 years ago from a mammoth tusk. The form of the statuette is that of female figure missing her head and feet with a primary focus on reproductive organs. Due to the pornographic nature of the statue archaeologist believe that the statue’s purpose and function is to represent longevity and fertility. No matter if you believe man crawled from primordial ooze or if a being of higher authority created man, humans have continued to express emotion, experiences and values through the artistic expression of statues. Over the millennia statues have continued to progress and reflect those human characteristics and values that are reflective of the era they were created. At times they are used to share stories that express victories to tragedies, life and death, religious beliefs, gods and goddesses. One other aspect that humans use statues is to convey values that are important to that society’s social structure. For some statues those human values are shared in a rather large way by reaching new heights and overcoming natural limitations. One might also state that with such a rich history of mankind’s creative appetite for statues it can be difficult to decide which ones to review. That being the case one cannot begin to discuss statues and the human values they represent without starting off with one close to the shores of the United States who expresses liberty for all the huddled masses yearning to be free.
“In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. Moreover, unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it.” This quote by Ernst Fischer, a German composer, means that truth in art exposes the parts of society, and of life, that no one wants to see. In order for art to change society, it must first reflect the fears and failures of its people. The artist can change how people think of themselves and the world by using less conventional methods of creating art. The artist, in doing this, introduces new ideas of human placement in time and space, new frontiers of thought, that are furthered by the disciplines of science and philosophy. The artist works to introduces unique- and sometimes offensive- ideas so that society will be exposed to new ways of thinking and understanding the world. The artist does this through experimentation with color, style, and form. Therefore, the purpose of the artist should be to challenge how individuals perceive themselves and the offensive aspects of society reflected in art to bring about innovations in the greater society.
The debate about British Identity has been prominently featured in recent years as a public concern. The foundation of British Identity was based on the act of union in 1801 between England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland that created Great Britain. Heath and Roberts describe this identity as “a relatively recent construct and was gradually superimposed on earlier national identities of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish” (2008:4). The four nations were unified mainly because of the political and economic project of the British Empire that developed a shared agenda and The Second World War which melted the distinctive differences between the constituent nations (Ward, 2004). According to Colley, the interests that unified the nations do not exist and even if they do” they are less distinctive” (1992). Although there is identification with Britishness, it is noticeable that Britons hold a stronger allegiance to their primary nation. The British Identity is decreasing as many writers suggested, and this is due to many different trends and influences such as globalization, immigration and communication (Heath and Roberts, 2008). This essay highlights some of the reasons of the decline in the British national identity and the rise of the consentient nation’s sentiment. This is approached by firstly considering the internal factors of the devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, and secondly the external factor of immigration and will analyze the relationship between age and identification with a nation.