ART HISTORY DISCUSSION

Instructions

Based on your reading in Chapters 14-15 in Living with Art, respond to all THREE of the questions below. Your responses should be “mini-essays” ranging from 175-300 words per question.

  Question 1 is asking you to make specific comparisions; aspects of questions 2 and 3 include comparisons.

In responding to the questions for each discussion board, you are encouraged select specific examples of art works from the text book to illustrate and support your points—these supporting examples of art works should be different from those that the author of the course text uses when discussing similar themes or issues. Include the artist, title and page number of the each work of art you use. You may also find images of art works on the internet. If you do so, include the link and source information.

Try looking in other chapters of the course text, even those that are not assigned; you will find a wealth of images throughout the book. It should be part of your learning experience in this course to learn to LOOK at works of art and to see not only what the experts see, but also to experience a work of art for yourself and to discover what you find there.

Also, remember that if you copy or paraphrase word or ideas from the text or other sources, make sure that you follow appropriate procedures for crediting those sources with quotation marks and citations. You must cite your sources in MLA format at the end of each response.

Finally, please note that responses that merely report back information from the text or that do little more than repeat other students’ posts will not receive high marks. Originality and critical thought are the goals here.

Question 1

1. Distinguish between the Paleolithic and Neolithic Periods in terms of time and cultural developments. Compare and contrast specific examples of artifacts, practices, and systems of belief. Discuss why art survives or does not. Include the four reasons Getlein cites for how art survives, giving an example of art work from both the Paleolithic and Neolithic Periods that meet one of these requirements. What types of art work or materials would not likely survive? How might this affect our opinion of a culture?

Question 2

1. First, describe the shift in the Roman Empire that created Byzantium in the East and what would eventually become Europe in the West and explain the impact of this political, religious, and social split on the art produced in these regions in this era. Provide specific examples of particular works of art or architecture to illustrate your points. Second, trace the subsequent development of art in the East and the West from the Early through the High and Late Middle Ages by citing specific works of art or architecture and describing characteristic features these works exemplify. Be sure to include the each of the following terms in your discussion:
   • animal style
   • Carolingian
   • Romanesque
   • Gothic

Question 3

1. Write a comparison of two art works, each from a different culture or time period within a culture, that you have studied in these two chapters, 14 and 15. Place each work in historical context. Include what role the art work might have fulfilled in the culture, (the six roles of art, designated by Getlein in Chapter 1 will assist you), and what you see as the theme of each art work. (Review the nine themes of art discussed by Getlein in Chapter 3.) Use at least 5 terms from the Visual Elements and Principles of Design, from Chapters 4 and 5. Before you begin, be sure to review the Power Point, “How to Write a Comparison“.

Be sure to look outside the chapters for other art works from these cultures that you might use. Here are some examples of art works that lend themselves to intriguing comparisons:

1. These two vases: 14.21 Krater, p.365 with 14.23 Andokides, p. 367
2. These two paintings: 15.10 Icon, p. 383 and 15.26, The Lamentation, p. 392
3. These two sculptures: 3.10 Marcus Aurelius, p.58 and 11.15 Menakaure and Khamerenebty, p.276

(In all your responses, remember to include page and illustration number if from the course text or appropriate citation, i.e. the web link, if taken from an outside source).