Art

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Chapter 15

• Art

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What We Will Learn

• How do anthropologists define the arts?
• What are the various functions of art in society?
• How do music and dance reflect other aspects of a
  culture?

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Cross Cultural Definition of Art
Art Should .
The artistic process should be creative, playful, and enjoyable and need not be concerned with the practicality or usefulness of the object being produced. From the perspective of the consumer, art should produce an emotional response. Art should be transformational.
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Cross Cultural Definition of Art
Art Should .
Art should communicate information by being representational. Art implies that the artist has developed a certain level of technical skill not shared equally by all people in a society.
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Art

• This painting, Sea Swing, was one of many
  paintings by artist Jonathan Green which was
  combined with dance and music by the Columbia
  (SC) City Ballet in their 2005 performance
  entitled Off the Wall and Onto the Stage.

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Tattooing

• In parts of Polynesia, full-body tattooing is
  considered a significant form of art.

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Question

• According to the text, art should make a symbolic
  statement about what is being portrayed. In other
  words, art should communicate information
• by being technically skilled.
• by being transformational.
• by being creative.
• by being representational.

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Answer d

• According to the text, art should make a symbolic
  statement about what is being portrayed. In other
  words, art should communicate information by
  being representational.

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Functions of Art

• Emotional Gratification for the Individual
• Contributes to Social Integration
• Social Control
• Preserving or Challenging the Status Quo

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Art and Government

• This bronze head of Lenin, the largest in the
  world, located in the city of Ulan-Ude, Russia,
  is a piece of art commissioned by the communist
  government to evoke positive feelings about one
  of its founders.

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Liberation Theater

• A type of theatrical production using high levels
  of audience participation and aimed at bringing
  about social change.

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Question

• Quite apart from whatever benefits art may have
  for the total society, it is generally agreed
  that art is a source of ________ for both the
  artist and the viewer.
• conversation
• pride
• personal gratification
• embarrassment

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Answer c

• Quite apart from whatever benefits art may have
  for the total society, it is generally agreed
  that art is a source of personal gratification
  for both the artist and the viewer.

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Graphic And Plastic Arts

• The Western notion of graphic and plastic arts
  usually refers to painting, sculpture,
  printmaking, and architecture.
• The anthropological definition also includes such
  art forms as weaving, embroidery, tailoring,
  jewelry making, and tattooing and other forms of
  body decoration.

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Utility and Art

• Art comes in many forms, some utilitarian, others
  not.
• Here a man weaves a rug in Rajasthan, India.

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Ethnomusicology

• Ethnomusicologists would be interested in
  studying both the music of this Ukrainian andura
  player and how that music reflects the wider
  culture of which it is a part.

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Four Major Concerns of Ethnomusicology

• Ideas about music
• How cultures distinguish between music and
  nonmusic.
• The functions music has for the society.
• Whether music is seen as beneficial or harmful to
  the society.
• What constitutes beautiful music?
• On what occasions should music be played?

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Four Major Concerns of Ethnomusicology

• Social structure of music
• The social relationships between musicians.
• How a society distinguishes between musicians on
  the basis of age, gender, race,ethnicity, or
  education.

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Four Major Concerns of Ethnomusicology

• Characteristics of music
• How the style of music in different cultures
  varies (scale, melody, harmony, timing).
• The different musical genres that are found in a
  society (lullaby, sea chantey, hard rock, and so
  on).
• The nature of musical texts (words).
• How music is composed.
• How music is learned and transmitted.

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Four Major Concerns of Ethnomusicology

• Material culture of music
• The nature of the musical instruments found in a
  culture.
• Who makes musical instruments and how are they
  distributed?
• How are musical tastes reflected in the
  instruments used?

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Music Egalitarian Societies and Stratified
Societies
Egalitarian Societies Stratified Societies
Repetitious texts Nonrepetitious texts
Slurred articulation Precise articulation
Little solo singing Solo singing
Wide melodic intervals Narrow melodic intervals
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Music Egalitarian Societies and Stratified
Societies
Egalitarian Societies Stratified Societies
Nonelaborate songs (no embellishments) Elaborate songs (embellishments)
Few instruments Large number of instruments
Singing in unison Singing in simultaneously produced intervals
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Functions of Dance

• Psychological helping people cope more
  effectively with tensions and aggressive
  feelings.
• Political - expressing political values and
  attitudes, showing allegiance to political
  leaders, and controlling behavior.

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Functions of Dance

• Religiously various methods of communicating
  with supernatural forces.
• Socially - articulating and reinforcing
  relationships between members of the society.
• Educationally - passing on the cultural
  traditions, values, and beliefs from one
  generation to the next.

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Capoeira

• A combination of dance, martial arts, and
  acrobatics originating among Brazilian slaves of
  the sixteenth century.

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Verbal Art

• Myths are stories of our search for significance,
  meaning, and truth.
• Legends are told as if they were true, but often
  are only partially true or not at all true. They
  attempt to explain the establishment of local
  customs, the movement of populations from one
  land to another, or the traits of folk heroes.
• Folktales have no particular basis in history and
  exist largely for the purpose of entertainment.

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Film

• The film Atanarjuat The Fast Runner, by Inuit
  filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, was shown in theaters
  around the world and received the award for best
  first feature film at the Cannes Film Festival
  in 2001.

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Glass Art

• A sculpture entitled Wolf Crest Hat, by Preston
  Singletary, a Native American glass artist.