Topic: Prehistoric and Egyptian Art
Big Idea(s): What does the way that ancient people represented humans say about them? What can our modern day representations say about us?
What concepts or overarching themes will you use to structure your lesson? Limit this to 1-2.
Reading Selection:
More Human Than Human. Films Media Group, 2005. Films On Demand. Web. 15 January 2013. <http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=18783&xtid=40674 >.
https://lib.byu.edu/remoteauth/?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=18783&xtid=40674
Watch segments 2-5 and 13-18
Interactive Attention Activity: Play pictionary. Have students draw items that would have been recognizable to Paleolithic peoples. When they have played several rounds on the white board, have everyone look at the images together. Talk about how we were able to recognize certain objects or creatures, even though they didn’t bear any real resemblance to what they actually were.
Information and images:
-Paelolithic period is also called the Old Stone age (from Greek “paleo”, or “old” and lithos, or “stone”) Artifacts from this time period date from between 30,0000 to 9,000 BCE
-In Europe at this time, it was the tail end of the ice age. It would have been cold and survival difficult
-The people were hunter-gatherers. There is not evidence of food storage--it appears that people had to survive the winter on food caught. During the warm months when animals had some fat storage, it paid to catch and gorge on everything one could get and then to share the rest with other tribes (in exchange for future favors)
-In the Paleolithic time period, we see the first preserved artworks. They range from small jewelry to large carvings to monumental paintings and sculptures.
-Images were drawn on the cave walls with red and yellow ocher and charcoal. Here we see the first versions of spray paint (hands) Sometimes they were also inscribed with sharp implements. In some cases, people used clay pushed against rock formations to create images.
-It’s been theorized that much of the art was created by adolescent boys because the men would be out hunting and women, girls, and small children would be at home.
-there are also theories that the art was used for magical or religious purposes (or more practically, for target practice)
-But because there is no written language, we really don’t have any idea why it was made.
-A lot of the art created involved animals
-Also a lot of women, most prodigiously fat
-The Venus of Willendorf (jokingly named after where she was found) is one of the oldest examples we have of sculpture. There are lots of other figures from the same time period that share similar features.
-Egyptian Art: Unlike the Paleolithic art, there are no exaggerated or stylized features.
-All is almost proportional, but in a weird way. We see every feature from its most recognizable side.
-They had a better grasp of artistry and technique, using more and better materials to create objects of beauty
-As part of a larger society, art would be commissioned by leaders and moneyed people (in contrast to Paleolithic art that we don’t really know why it was made.
-Karnak was built over hundreds of years, but the human figures displayed throughout it from different time periods all remain the same proportions
-In 3,000 years, there were no stylistic change in body representation in Egyptian art
-In an unfinished temple, archaologists found a painted string line on plaster.
-They realized that the bodies were gridded
-19 squares tall, feet are 2.5 squares long, pupil of the eye one square off the center-line.
-When they applied this grid to all forms of Egyptian representations of the figure, they found that it still held true.
For slideshow: Images of cave paintings, schematics of multiple images, cave sculptures, Venus figurines, Egyptian paintings and sculptures from book sources and online searches
Foundational Knowlege-based Questions:
When was the Paleolithic time period? What types of art were created then?
Who (what) was the Venus of Willendorf?
What was unique about the way that the figure was represented in Egyptian art?
Discussion Questions:
Why do you think that Paleolithic artist would feel compelled to paint and carve in deep caves?
What does their style and they things they represent tell us about them?
Which elements are exaggerated in Paleolithic figures? Which are ignored?
Why would fat be attractive or considered beautiful to Paleolithic artists?
Why would Egyptian artists stick to such a narrow way of portraying figures for so long?
Where does artistry come in when the format is completely prescribed?
What does the way that they depicted humans say about them as a society?
Artistic Prompt: Create a new systematic way of drawing human figures. Think about exaggerations--what details of the form will you choose to highlight---and which will you choose to subdue or ignore? Think about how you structure your image. Will the people be on some sort of grid, a conceptual flow chart, a symbolic structure, etc? Write down in detail what your system will be. Then draw or paint several figures (at least 4) that are created using your system on your 11x11 paper using any media.
For example: In my system, eyes will be exaggerated, with all other facial features both smaller and less distinct. Hands and feet will also be more important, with the rest of the body shrunken. The concept behind all of this is that how we see and do are the representation for who we are as humans (eyes, hands, feet).
Resources:
More Human Than Human. Films Media Group, 2005. Films On Demand. Web. 15 January 2013. <http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=18783&xtid=40674 >
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Concise Western History. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. pgs. 17-45
Guthrie, R. Dale. The Nature of Paleolithic Art. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2005. Print.
Málek, Jaromír. Egyptian Art. London [England: Phaidon, 1999. Print.
"How Art Made the World." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/howartmadetheworld/episodes/human/>.
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