Palma de Mallorca Gothic Cathedral

When I was in middle school I remember my mom talking about how she would like to go to Spain one day and maybe even visit the gothic cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. So it was a big deal, but I guess I didn't care at the time.

Now that our class has studied gothic art, I decided to go back and research this cathedral and make my research a little more meaningful.

Construction started around the year 1300. 

In 1329 the stained glass windows created by Matteo di Giovanni were installed.

Construction was brought to a halt in 1498 as an incomplete project.

Towards the end of the XV century, construction was reinitiated. During the 17 and 18 centuries, the interior was influenced by the Baroque style, with painting and sculptures that appealed to those times.

 Even up to 1902, the Cathedral continued to be remodeled and maintained up to the necessary codes
 of the time. For example, several forms of light sources were added in the inside in order to better illuminate the interior.

The red thing at the top of the picture is actually a person! This just gave me a good idea of scale, I'm sure that if I were to walk in there the enormous open space would be overwhelming.

After having read the story and having looked at the pictures, I would very much enjoy visiting the Cathedral. I think it's interesting how buildings like these were constantly going under renovations or influenced by different architectural and artistic movements. These buildings hold so much history within its walls that all of a sudden they're not just churches anymore, but museums and the heritage of humanity. 

Sources:

Images retrieved from: http://catedraldemallorca.info/principal/es/multimedia/imagenes

Facts retrieved from: http://catedraldemallorca.info/principal/es/patrimonio/historia/2530-la-catedral-de-mallorca-historia

Chartres Cathedral

In the video, they mentioned that damaged glass pieces are replaced in stained windows, do they keep the pieces?

I loved the concept of placing the apocalyptic stained glass windows on the west side of the building. I enjoy christian thinking when it comes to art.

Relics and Reliquaries

I am very fascinated by Christian art. The stories of the bible and its characters were the source of inspiration to many artists, and so many forms of art were used such as stained glass, sculpture, painting, and architecture. Christianity made art take a different direction, and it continues to influence art today.

I had never heard of relics and reliquaries until last spring. The concept of it was kind of odd to me, but I love how these relics were stored in sculptural containers, making the whole concept of a relic more spiritual.

These are some examples:

Chasse of Champagnat, ca. 1150
French; Made in Limoges
Gilded copper and champlevé enamel

4 7/8 x 7 1/16 x 3 3/8 in. (12.4 x 18.9 x 8.5 cm)

Arm Reliquary, 13th century, with 15th-century additions
French
Silver, silver-gilt, glass and rock-crystal cabochons over wood core

20 5/16 x 6 1/4 x 2 15/16 in. (51.6 x 15.8 x 7.4 cm)

Reliquary of Mary Magdalene, 14th and 15th century
Made in Tuscany, Italy
Gilded copper, gilded silver, rock crystal, verre églomisé

Overall 22 x 9 3/8 x 7 15/16 in. (55.9 x 23.8 x 20.2 cm), roundel 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm)

Relics are pieces of bone or garment of a saint. A reliquary is the container that holds the relic. Reliquaries took different forms. Some would be pendants, elegant shrines, body forms or specific body parts. The earlier ones were made in the form of caskets with decoration of the saint's story.

 

During the time of Charlemagne, it was obligatory that every altar contained a relic.The purpose of relics was to sit on the altar and be of spiritual prescence during a mass. Those reliquaries in the shape of an arm were also used to bless people or heal the sick. 

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/47.101.33

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/17.190.685

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/17.190.504

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/17.190.353

Vezelay Church

When was it built? how long did it take?

This building has a great aesthetic from both the outside and the inside, instead of just being plain on the outside.

Plaque with the Crucifixion and the Defeat of Hades

Byzantine; Probably made in Constantinople
Ivory

5 x 3 1/2 in. (12.7 x 8.9 cm)

When I took Introduction to Catholicism last year, we talked about how images of Christ changed throughout the years and in different cultures. Images of Jesus started being depicted as a divine being, wearing purple attire and showing no sign of suffering. With time, these images became to take on a more human form, such as weight on the body, a simple robe for attire, and an appearance of suffering. And with time, the crown of thorns was added to the images.

So when I look at this piece, I can take some of what I learned in my theology courses and apply it into the piece. For example, Jesus' cross stabs the torso of Hades, the God of the underworld. Being a Byzantine piece, it would make sense why Hades is depicted here, so as to appeal to the Greek-influenced society of the time. This piece shows us a very human Jesus, with Mary and the Apostle John standing by his sides.

It would make sense why John is standing by him, since the scene depicted is John's version of the crucifixion of Jesus (the soldiers gambling to see who would keep Jesus' purple garment)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/17.190.44

Hagia Sophia

I had seen pictures of this building before, but I had never had a chance to read what this place is all about. I am amazed at the architecture and the traces of history it carries with it.

I just wonder if the muslims actually plastered all of the mosaics or if they left some unplastered? while watching the video, there were some mosaics that looked intact to me.

Pompeii's history through masonry

The city of Pompeii has been an archeological site in excavation since 1784. The volcanic disaster dated on August 24, A.D. 79, covered the entire city in ash and killed all those who could not escape. The ashes preserved the structures though, allowing archeologists to make several findings of this place. 

While the transpired events of that day are of much interest to many, some choose to go further back in time. A group of archeologists in 1977 decided to dig down even further to reveal Pompeii's past through its masonry works. 

Pompeii was settled by different cultures, and each brought a different mason influence. For example, when the Samnites occupied the town, they built buildings with larger rooms built with limestone in an Opus Quadratum style. This is a very basic style, with squared stones placed going across the wall.

ca 425 BC-290BC

In 290 B.C, the Samnites were deafeated by the romans, and a new style of masonry came along called Opus Africanum. It consists of of squared stone blocks filled with rubble in between, and they're placed in a loom work manner with stones moving across and down the wall.

290 BC-200BC

Around 200BC, Volcanic tuff replaced limestone and the construction method changed  to Opus Incertum, a collection of irregular shaped rocks inserted into concrete walls.

200 BC-90 BC

In 90 BC, in an attempt to break away from the Romans, Pompeii joined the Italian League. In 80 BC however, Pompeii was once again invaded by the Romans. This new invasion led to new architecture and construction methods. Tuff was replaced with pyramidal block of Gray Lava; these were placed in a diagonal checkerboard pattern.

90 BC-79AD

And finally, the last evidence of masonry work was the Opus Vittatum, a combination of narrow rectangular stones along with larger blocks of rectangles. 

27 BC-79AD

The city of Pompeii was hit by an earthquake in AD 62, destroying most of its buildings. Pompeians put a lot of effort into rebuilding their homes, but seventeen years later the city was covered in the ashes of the Vesivius volcanic eruption.

Slayman, Andrew. "The New Pompeii." Archeology Magazine. November/December 1997: 26-36,  

              Print.

Pont du gard

It's amazing how long this aqueduct has remained intact, specially after all these wars and climate changes and such.

However, I wonder if experts are doing anything to keep it from collapsing?

Ancient Greek views on death

    
Having examined different ancient cultures, a lot of them seem to share something in common, elaborate funerary practices. For example, we talked about the ice maiden who was buried with luxuries such as horses and jewelry. The Egyptian pharaohs prepared for their death years in advance by building pyramids decorated with burial artifacts and hieroglyphics. However, I believe we did not have an opportunity to discuss Ancient Greek views and funerary practices.

Funerary plaque, ca. 520–510 b.c.; Archaic, black-figure
Greek, Attic
Terracotta

H. 10 1/4 in. (26.04 cm)

The plaque  above depicts a very expressive funeral scene. The arms of the subjects are stretched out in different directions, leading the eyes back and forth through the image. The decorative pattern at the top of the image along with the chariots illustrated at the bottom all run towards the right of the image, leading the eye out. Plaques like these were made to decorate the interior of tombs. What is interesting to me is that it reminds me of Egyptian imagery, with the profile view feet and faces, and the front view torsos, as well as the horses with multiple legs aligned either off the ground or on the ground in a group.The chariot race is a popular theme in Attic funerary art. It may be a reference to funerary games held in honor of the deceased who was a war hero.

 Upon death, the body is bathed, clothed and laid out on a bier. The feet face the door and two pillows are placed below the head in order to keep the person's mouth closed. This is called A prothesis, or laying out of the dead.

I find the expression of the figures to be a little exaggerated, but according to an article I read, in ancient Greek culture, mourning and wailing were (and still are today) an obligation to the dead.
Greek funeral traditions today are a blend of ancient Greek traditions and Christian Orthodox traditions.


"Funerary plaque [Greek, Attic] (54.11.5)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/54.11.5 (October 2006)

Lambros Vlahos, et al. "A Greek Perspective On Concepts Of Death And Expression Of Grief, With Implications For Practice." International Journal Of Palliative Nursing 9.12 (2003): 534-537. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

Secrets of the Parthenon

The ending was very confusing...so is the parthenon being remodeled or not?

I enjoyed watching this video, it was very informational but at the same time confusing in some archeological terms.

At first I was hesitant to agree to have the parthenon reconstructed because it carries so much history with it such as humankind always striving for perfection as well as the wars it has experienced. However, the fact that a group of experts came together and are taking their work very seriously is comforting to me. They went back and fixed the mistakes and tried to fit each piece perfectly. The way they problem solve is genius too.

I just hate how these so called experts don't even know how to use the word "literally" correctly. 

Persepolis

I've always wondered how scholars figure out what is written on old tablets?

It's interesting to me how similar the work and artifacts are compared to the tombs of Ur, but still holds a uniqueness to it.

Greek Sculpture

I had never thought of these realistic sculptures as exaggerated, but now that I watched the video I see that! the postures, the muscles, and the structure overall looks so natural even though it really is not. The accomplishment of naturalism and distortion at the same time is successful.

When the Greek created sculptures of women, how were they portrayed? we know that men were meant to be athletic symbols, were women meant to be symbols of beauty?

Ancient Aegean

• I think It's great that the archeologist chose to restore the ruins, and the use of modern material is a good idea so that we can get an idea of how much of it took creativity to restore.

• I wonder how long it took to restore.

Japanese folding screens

Last summer I visited the World's Fair exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins and came across this interesting Japenese folding wall, and it was so great to look at because the waves moved as you moved from side to side and it was all hand embroidered. 

Hashio Kiyoshi created a gold-medal winning embroidered screen titled Morning Sea. This piece was first exhibited at the 1915 San Francisco World's Fair. 250 shades of blue silk were used to embroider this panel.

http://www.themagazineantiques.com/articles/inventing-the-modern-world/

While Kiyoshi's work is contemporary, it is clearly true to his culture. 
Japanese embroidery has been around for over a thousand years. It was initially used for decorating items that were used for religious ceremonies. With time it became a more artistic skill, and it is now more widely available than it initially was.

http://www.japaneseembroidery.com/nuido/index.html

Folding Screens

                                                             Watch up to minute 3:48

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVnQvhS4vRs&NR=1&feature=endscreen

These folding panels were functional furniture as well as decoration. The content of some of these had a lot to symbolize about the owner, for example, hawks and pines were military representations, while plum trees could represent Zen abbots. It depended on the artist and how they interpreted the profession of the owner. 

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/fold/hd_fold.htm


So to start off on the background information of Japanese folding screens, these images show japanese screens that were painted with ink and covered in gold leaf. 

The Battles of Hogen and Heiji, Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Japanese
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper

Each 60 15/16 in. x 11 ft. 8 in. (154.8 x 355.6 cm)

Landscape and Chinese Figures
Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754–1799)
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink on gilded paper

Each 67 3/8 x 146 3/4 in. (171.1 x 372.7 cm)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/edop/hd_edop.htm

With time, panels started to be decorated with embroidery rather than ink.

Art Therapy and Alzheimer's

Looking at this article was really interesting to me.

William Utermohlen, an American artist living in London, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1995. In a span of 5 years, Utermohlen created self-portraits which significantly reflected his progression of Alzheimer's. Slowly, his subject matter began to get closer to his face, and his face began to lose certain features. The quality of his lines became less precise, and his face became more abstracted. His work was probably a resemblance to his reality becoming abstracted.

 This type of activity would be very interesting to perform with patients suffering of dementia, this way the patient and the family members of the patient would visually experience the stages of the disease. It would also be a keepsake once the patient was gone. 


http://www.technologyreview.com/photogallery/429486/dementia-the-self-portraits-of-william-utermohlen/?a=f

Art Therapy--Drawing faces of the living and the dead

Faces from China's Past: Paintings for Entertainment & Remembrance

I came across this current exhibition on the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Although I have not seen it yet, I found the description to be very interesting. During the earlier ages of China, artists would paint faces of the living to honor them, for they meant a lot to them in some way. They would also paint portraits of the ones who were no longer in our physical world, with the intentions of commemorating their lives. These portraits were not meant to be high works of art, they were more for families to enjoy. 

Visitors of this exhibition were asked to draw portraits of someone who means or meant a lot to them, I think this would be a great activity for art therapy patients to cope with grief by commemorating a loved one who passed away, and honoring another significant person who is still with them. 

 I should go see this exhibition some time! :)

 http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/exhibitions/faces-from-chinas-past.cfm

Art of Asia

I love how the house setting transitions smoothly into nature, unlike western culture which clearly divides the outside from the inside.

It was kind of odd to me that there would be different chairs depending on one's importance, I wonder if this is still practiced today?

Videos of china

New Discoveries in Chinese Archaeology 

* Interesting how they dig with levels, makes it easier to excavate I guess.

* Did they not use silver? 

 

Bronze Age

*What type of things did the ritual vessels hold?

*Do we have specific music notes for the bronze bells?

*Seems that there was an abundance of bronze 

*They made the most out of bronze for many areas of life. 

 

China-- Painting on silk and mounting techniques

How silk is prepared (basic way)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_OpFgQ4HTk&feature=related 

 How painting is done

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kfTQXD6iJU 

Mounting

Hinduism

Despite its antiquity, Hinduism has over 900 million adherents worldwide, and the majority is in India and Nepal. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism does not have a founder or one specific god. It is more of a collaboration of philosophies, so people refer to Hinduism as “a way of life” or “a family of religions” rather than a single, fixed religion.The basic sacred scripture is the Vedic, this collection of books are a source for Hindus to understanding the universe.  The part “Hindu” comes from the name of a river called, the Sindhu.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/ataglance/glance.shtml   Classic Hinduism promotes four different goals: Dharma (virtue), Artha (success), Kama (pleasure), and moksha (release). Dharma, Artha and Kama are considered goals that can be achieved all at once or at different stages in life, while moksha is a goal that strives to reject the material life in order to realize the true nature of the cosmos and one's place in it.

The Code of Manu is the various stages to accomplish in order to have a successful life:1.) Be a student.2.)Become a householder and marry a proper person from one's own caste.3.)Hermit once reached and old age.4.) Wandering beggar.This is to be performed by males only, women are to stay at home and take care of the children.  There are four types of yoga exercises that help hindu individuals understand one’s own soul separate from the body. (Note: The yoga practiced in Western culture for fitness is not considered a spiritual yoga.) 


http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/hinduism/HRLIFE.HTM   


- stratified caste system       
      
   1.  Brahmans (priests)   2.  warriors   3.  farmers, merchants, artisans   4.  laborers, servants, slaves



In modern times, a popular icon of Hinduism would be Mahatma Ghandi.

Indus Valley Civilization: Mohenjo-daro

Very civilized community. The layout of the buildings was interesting and the fact that it sits on top of a  platform is nice.

Did people actually have houses on that platform or was it more for use of the vendors, religious and political leaders?

Raphael drawings

 

 

 

How do they add value?  What variety of line quality do they use?

What techniques are used to enhance three-dimensionality?

More burial artifacts

These chairs in Tutankhamun's tomb got my attention because they look so modern, and just by looking at them they just look like they had a lot of work and thought put into them. 

They look comfy too, I'd love to have something similar!

Egyptian Burial Artifact

In Tutankhamun's tomb, one of the burial artifacts found was a bed with sides in form of a cow. Archeologists think that it is probable that the purpose of this bed was to carry Tutankhamun to the solar heaven. According to legend, when the sun god ended his reign on earth, he ascended to the sky on the back of a cow goddess named Mehturt.

Research Outline

Article: Pompeii's Hidden Past

Country: China = Painting on silk and mounting techniques.

Religion: Hinduism from India

Egypt

The use of layers (in a mummy, or in a death grave) seems to be repetitive, I wonder if it has a meaning behind it?

I thought it was interesting that the archeologists could prove that the people who built the pyramids were not slaves.

Tombs of Ur Artifacts

 

Headdress of the Lady Puabi,
ca. 2650-2550 B.C.
Gold, lapis lazuli and carnelian

Hammered gold sheets
(14 inches height of comb, 1 inch diameter of
hair rings, 4 inches diameter of earrings)

Sumerian ostrich egg shaped vessel - c. 2600 to 2500 B.C

 Gold, lapis lazuli, red limestone, shell and bitumen.
Single sheet of gold hammered from the inside.
H. 5.7 inches
Dm. 5.11 inches
 

Cylinder Seal

Lapis lazuli
Carved image
H. 1.65 inches
Dm. 1.02

http://www.historywiz.com/galleries/sumerianegg.html

http://www.penn.museum/collections/object/246532

http://arthistory.about.com/library/weekly/bl_urrev.htm

Royal Tombs of Ur

It's a shame that, as compared to the ice maiden, the clothing of the body of the woman were no longer on her. However, it's great that the other artifacts remained because they have so much to tell us about the people buried in the pit.

I wonder what the bull head object was used for? was it just a burial accessory?

Altamira Cave Paintings

 

1. The cave paintings are well preserved thanks to the deepness of the cave which isolates the paintings from weather damage.
2. The paintings, however, have been slightly damaged due to mass tourism from the 60's to the 70s. The visits increased temperature levels, carbon dioxide, and humidity, causing increased condensation and rock corrosion, that damaged the paintings.
3. The Altamira Cave was first discovered in 1897 by amateur archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola.
   
4. There is no evidence of cave art later than 11,000 BP. (Not relevant to Altamira, but I thought that was interesting!)

I feel that shamanism would be a possible theory for this cave, because we tend to see animals on the horizon line and not over our heads. This cave has paintings on the walls and on the "ceiling" part of the cave.

Looking at the images, there is a repetitive use of images such as bison, but they all vary in size. Most images have a hard, black outline to them, an element that seems to repeat itself through the cave paintings.Some of the animals have implied texture to them, such as dots or lines indicating hair.

Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/7814327/Spain-to-reopen-Altamira-Caves-despite-risk-of-destroying-prehistoric-paintings.html

http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/september-2011/article/saving-altamira-cave

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/310/

Ice Maiden

Watching this video made me realize how much work and patience there is put on an excavation. It must be a tough job to be an archeologist, one is just never certain of what one may find (if anything) and how important it can be.

I wonder what are experts doing to preserve the body now that it is no longer in ice?

Advanced Art Studio (Art Therapy Concentration) Goals

         * To prepare myself for grad school by:

o   Making myself aware of what needs to be done in terms of required classes, GRE and extracurricular activities.

o   Plan out when these must happen (i.e. volunteering in the summer).

o   Build my resume:

§  AATA Student Membership.

§  Find possible conferences to attend.

§  Find volunteering or job opportunities in the counseling field.

·        *   Explore art therapy techniques and create my own.

·         * Inform myself about the basics of art therapy.

·         * Explore a personal social issue through a body of work (i.e. Bullying, roles, cultural identity, etc…)

·         * Writing assignments:

o   Goals for the course.

o   Description of each piece.

o   Population of interest.

o   Personal social issue of interest.

·         * Interview art therapist.

·         * Shadow art therapist.