Hello all,
I decided to watch the African and Hinduism videos this week. I decided to watch the African video, because in past assignments the African art culture intrigued me. Also, I chose the Hinduism video, because I do not really know much about the Hindu culture.
In the African video I learned that they use art as a way to communicate with the spirits. They do this in the form of rock paintings, but most of all in masks. They use art in personal expression through pottery, clothing, and even their homes. I was very interested to learn that the masks they used in their rituals were not considered representations, but the mask itself was considered a spirit. It was also interesting that the art is within the last 200 years, because it was made from materials such as wood that decompose and wither faster than if they were to use rocks.
In the Hinduism video I learned a lot on how art was used in the every day lives of the culture. There was a large amount of representational sculptures of Gods and Godesses. Hinduism is has a strong belief in reincarnation and the judgement of Brahma. There were also realistic representations of people of all ways of life in the same wall sculptures as a particular God or Godess to indicate that each person was being judged based on their personal actions in their specific life circumstances. Often the poor and rich were demonstrated in the same sculpture.
Overall the videos were great in furthering the understanding of the culture and how art was involved in the people's every day lives. It was nice to have a different perspective and a more interactive visual experience. It was a further explanation of the material in the book and went into much more detail. It was a nice tool and both videos did a good job in further describing the impact art had on the Hindu and African culture and way of life.
Thank you,
---Michael Ushman
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