chiascura

technique to represent light shadow on 2d surface

Sfumato

tones/colour blend

Texture

>surface quality

>visual or implied

Colour

>hue

colour types

Monochromatic

>one colour

Polychromatic

>random use of colours and their variations

analogous

>three colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel

warm/cool colours

>affect emotion

>depth

• warm means closer

• cold means further

Line

how do they convey emotion

• horizontal - calm

• vertical - power/imtimidation

• diagonal - restlessness

they guide eyes

Subject Matter

what is it depicting

>be able to talk about it and differentiatie between different types

Style

how was it depicted

• Naturalism - realistically

• Figuratively - modern, strong refrence to real world

• Abstract - not accurate to life, only make out line, tone and colour

• Expressionism - image of reality is distorted to convey emotion, play on colour

• Stylized - moves away natural form/shape by altering colour, shape, line, texture (similiar natural more dramatic/abstract

• Decorative - patterns

San Rock Art

terminlogy

• therianthropy - humans with animal features

• pictograph - rock painting

• petroglyph - rock engraving

• monochrome - one colour

• biochrome - two colours

• polychrome - use of several colours

• ungulates - large mammals with hooves

• entoptic - phenoma were visual effects happen inside eyes itself

• shaman - tribe healer

  location

  • South Africa

  • Namibia

  • Botswana

  • Lesotho

Visual Cues

• Woman - Large calves and buttocks (genetically desirable)

• Men - Long legs

• People often distorted

• Animals (ungulates) were drawn naturalistically due to respect

  • Animals depicted differed between frequency in region

  • fine-line painting - rendered with thin brush

Materials and Techniques

pigments and binders

• Red/yellow ochre (most common) - plant juice

• maroon - blood

• yellow - fat

• black and white - egg

Fine Line Paintings

• brush/fine instrument

  • outline with single line

  • interior filled with same colour

  • or image filled with slight different colour

    • monochrome

• biochrome - two blocks same image

• polychrome - three or more

• Finger painting/broad brush

• hand prints

Subject matter/function

• Elands

  • most important - rendered polychrome

  • white fades so appear headless/legless

• horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, baboons

  • lesser importance - rendered red/black

• People

  • monochrome (red)

  • most naked, few clear indiciation to gender but uncommon

  • bending forward, contorted to show trance dance

• draw from memory

Trance Dance

woman clap, shaman/men circle. Shaman go into trance, entopic hallucinations. When they start sweating and keeling over it begins and when the nose bleeds they have entered the spirit realm. They touch the person that they are go to heal and they follow them in the circle.

African Tribal Art

• african art/craft object had great valuie in precdonial times

• politcal/ideological significance, ritual context, aesthetic

• showed great skill

  • depicted rulers of the time or practical functions/performances

• most was simplistic. idealized for

Nok Head

• earliest was found nok (close Nigeria)

Head of Ife

• naturalistic

• made of brass (lost wax/brass cast sculpting method)

• proved that African civilisations were just as skilled if not more than their european counterparts as they could produce aesthetically pleasing art

• lines down face → scarification

Queen Mother Idia (16th Century)

• naturalistic

• city of Benin → southern Nigeria

  • thinness of metal and lifelikeness

• high peaked/parrot beak hairstyle

• eyes half lowered and cast downward

Nkisi (spirit) Figures

• sacred substances that are activated by supernatural forces

• ingredients

  • parts of animals, nails, various fibres, herbal medicines

• nails placed in everytime used → get stronger

• Kongo → large kingdom of the time

• Nganga → Sangoma of the time

  • abdomen holds everything

  • they would heal, record agreements, go after people that they are paid to curse

    • they would use dogs teeth and elements of birds to activate this

Stuff i missed

• Ways of dating prehistoric findings

  • carbon 14 dating → testing carbon 14

  • Statigraphy

  • Paleography

  • Typology

• Periods

  • Paleolithic period

    • caves

    • simple tools

  • Mesolithic period

    • hunting, fishing, food gathering, domesticated

  • Neolithic period

    • stone tools, settlements etc

Venus Van Willendorf

• 30000BC - 20000BC

• small statue

• carved out of limestine, not found in discovered region

• stylized female form

• fertility or earth mother → abundance

• symbol of fertility

  • may have been used to ensure prosperity of a community

Walter Batiss

• january 6, 1906 → somerset east

  • one of south africas greatest artists

  • fascinated with san rock art

• William fowler introduced him to rock art in mines close by

• early was impressionist landscapes

• moved onto more abstract

• work incorporated symbols and messages that related to ancient culture of san

• own visual language

  • adopting calligraphic forms of animals and humans → abstracts found in heiroglyphics and rock art

• key as he broke away from european art and embraced a south africa indentity inspired by san rock art

• modern twist

  • highlighted the deeper meanings of rock art

The early man, 1948, oil on canvas

• merge moderism with rock art

• travelled then came back and mixed

• abstract 2d approach

• simplified → elongated form and lack of detail

• front lazing, back in fetal position

• sense of depth → despite large areas of flat colour

• earthy tones for males

  • no clothes as if part of a tribe, surrounded nature

  • nature → flat bright contrasting colours

• mans closeness to nature → absent of any worldy things

• despite simplified, manages to capture natural posture of male figures

Symbol of life

• clear link to rock art, symbolic motifs scattered around canvas

• keeps background one colour so symbols can be understood

• first impressions → numerous organic shapes → closely you see symbols

• batiss attempt to make a visual language of his own

• horizontal band breaks flow

• could represent rock/mountain → earthly colours combined with rock pattern reinforces connection

Cecil Skotnes

• inspired european moderism and west african art

• wood blocks → earthy colours

• mostly still life or landscapes

• mentor for many black south african artists → polly street art centre

• Egon Guenther introduced him to traditional sculptors from west/north africa

• influenced by picasso and cezanna and collected african art

• simplified and stylized

• woodcuts

• mask like faces

• raw pigment into wood blocks