AP Art History Study

Ancient Mediterranean (Etruscans & Greek)

🖼 1. Sarcophagus of the Spouses (#29)

• Culture: Etruscan
  
  

• Date: c. 520 BCE
  
  

• Material: Terracotta
  
  

• Form: Life-sized sarcophagus showing a reclining man and woman on a banqueting couch; stylized, idealized bodies; archaic smiles and elongated proportions
  
  

• Content: A married couple reclining as if at a feast, in a tender and relaxed pose. The woman may have once held perfume or a pomegranate (symbols of rebirth), while the man gestured expressively.
  
  

• Context: Found in a tomb in Cerveteri (Italy). Unusual in the ancient Mediterranean for showing a man and woman together affectionately in funerary art. Reflects the high status of Etruscan women in society.
  
  

🖼 2. Anavysos Kouros (#27)

• Culture: Archaic Greek
  
  

• Date: c. 530 BCE
  
  

• Material: Marble with remnants of paint
  
  

• Form: Freestanding sculpture of a nude young male; stiff posture, one foot forward (Egyptian influence), stylized muscles, and the Archaic smile.
  
  

• Content: A funerary statue of a young warrior named Kroisos. Though idealized, it was meant to honor a specific person.
  
  

• Context: Reflects Greek focus on ideal human form and the shift toward naturalism. Placed as a grave marker in a cemetery near Athens.
  
  

🏛 3. Temple of Minerva and sculpture of Apollo (#31)

• Culture: Etruscan
  
  

• Date: c. 510–500 BCE
  
  

• Materials: Temple made of wood, mud brick, and tufa (volcanic stone); terracotta sculpture
  
  

• Form: Deep front porch, high podium, triple cella (three rooms for three gods), widely spaced Tuscan columns. Apollo sculpture is dynamic, clothed, with an Archaic smile.
  
  

• Content: Dedicated to Minerva (Roman Athena) and possibly part of a narrative of Apollo and Hercules. The Apollo figure stood on the temple’s roof.
  
  

• Context: Unlike Greek temples, Etruscan temples were frontal and meant to be approached from the front. Their temples were temporary due to materials, but they reflect civic religion and mythological storytelling.
  
  

🧱 MATERIAL USE & CULTURAL CONTEXT:

• Etruscans (Sarcophagus, Temple) used terracotta, tufa, and wood due to the abundant natural resources in central Italy. Their materials were more perishable, so fewer structures survive—but the emphasis was on vibrant, lively, and approachable art that reflected their funerary beliefs and importance of family and the afterlife.
  
  

• Greeks (Kouros) used marble, a durable and prestigious material, especially in Athens. It reflected their values of perfection, permanence, and humanism. Art was a means of honoring the individual and elevating the ideal human form.
  
  

🎭 THEMES:

• Funerary Practices: Both the Kouros and Sarcophagus are funerary objects but show different values—the Greek kouros focuses on individual heroism and idealism, while the Etruscan sarcophagus celebrates relationships and the afterlife.
  
  

• Divine/Mythological Storytelling: The Temple of Minerva shows how the Etruscans adopted and adapted Greek deities and myths, but with distinct materials and temple formats. Religion and myth were part of daily civic life.
  
  

• Material Reflects Beliefs: Etruscans valued movement, emotion, and accessibility, hence their use of terracotta and lively poses. Greeks valued rational order and ideal proportions, reflected in the stone and stance of their kouroi.

European & Later Colonial Art

Artwork 1: 99 - Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

• Form: Oil on canvas; symmetrical composition; Sor Juana sits confidently at her writing desk.
  
  

• Content: Sor Juana, a nun and intellectual, is portrayed in her religious habit with scholarly tools—books, paper, and quill—indicating her erudition. Her direct gaze challenges typical passive portrayals of nuns.
  
  

• Context: Painted during the Spanish colonial era in Mexico (New Spain). Sor Juana was a self-taught scholar, poet, and early advocate for women’s education. This painting breaks gender norms and asserts female intellectual agency.
  
  

• Materials: Oil on canvas, typical of Spanish Baroque-influenced portraiture.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Miguel Cabrera, a mestizo painter in New Spain. His works often depicted religious subjects with European stylistic influence.
  
  

Artwork 2: 108 - Liberty Leading the People

• Form: Oil on canvas; strong diagonal composition with allegorical central figure.
  
  

• Content: Liberty, personified as a woman (Marianne), leads revolutionaries of various social classes over the barricades during the July Revolution of 1830. She holds the French tricolor flag and a musket.
  
  

• Context: Painted in Romantic France by Delacroix to celebrate revolutionary spirit. It highlights emotion, individual sacrifice, and the power of the people.
  
  

• Materials: Oil on canvas, expressive brushwork to evoke movement, chaos, and passion.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: French Romanticism, artist Eugène Delacroix. Commissioned privately, later purchased by the French state.
  
  

Architecture: 102 - Monticello

• Form: Symmetrical structure with central dome, classical porticos, and restrained ornamentation. Low-profile with visual balance and horizontal emphasis.
  
  

• Content: A personal estate designed to reflect Enlightenment values—rational planning, balance, and harmony.
  
  

• Context: Built by Thomas Jefferson, third U.S. president, in Virginia. It served as a private home, laboratory of innovation, and political symbol. Inspired by Roman Republican ideals, reflecting Jefferson's belief in civic virtue and classical education.
  
  

• Materials: Locally sourced brick, wood, and stone; stucco used to mimic marble.
  
  

• Culture/Architect: American Neoclassicism. Jefferson was deeply influenced by Palladio and the Roman Republic, using architecture to reflect Enlightenment ideals and American identity.
  
  

Synthesis:

Why these cultures used the materials they did:

• New Spain (Cabrera): Oil on canvas was a European import. It allowed detailed, lasting portraits and reinforced the Spanish colonial goal of aligning their colonies with European aesthetics and religious authority.
  
  

• France (Delacroix): Oil paint allowed dynamic brushwork and vivid color contrasts—ideal for capturing the emotional turbulence of revolution.
  
  

• United States (Jefferson): Locally sourced materials reflect American independence and practicality, while using forms that mimicked ancient Rome linked the young republic to classical virtues.
  
  

Themes these cultures' arts showcase and why:

• New Spain: Intellectual and religious devotion, often merging Catholic piety with cultural pride (Sor Juana as both nun and scholar).
  
  

• Romantic France: Nationalism, revolution, and the emotional power of collective action (Liberty as a symbol of people’s triumph).
  
  

• Early America: Rationality, democracy, Enlightenment ideals. Monticello symbolizes liberty and learned leadership grounded in classical heritage.
  
  

Context of these art pieces:

• Sor Juana’s portrait reflects the colonial Latin American society’s tension between hierarchy and humanism, using art to validate female intellect in a patriarchal and religious world.
  
  

• Liberty Leading the People encapsulates the Romantic era’s embrace of emotion and rebellion, visualizing political ideals as allegorical power.
  
  

• Monticello stands as a testament to Enlightenment rationalism and the American founding myth—order, liberty, and civic virtue, albeit paradoxically built by enslaved laborers.
  
  

✅ SOUTH ASIA

1. Art Piece: Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja)

• Form: Cast bronze sculpture, dynamic pose within a ring of fire, with multiple arms showing rhythmic movement.
  
  

• Content: Depicts Shiva performing the cosmic dance of destruction and creation, one hand raises in “abhaya mudra” (no fear), another holds a drum (creation), one foot crushes a demon of ignorance.
  
  

• Context: Chola dynasty, ca. 11th century CE, Tamil Nadu, Hindu devotional object used in temple rituals.
  
  

• Materials: Bronze — lost-wax casting technique.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Tamil Hindu culture; artist unknown.
  
  

Why bronze?
Bronze was used for its durability and shine, ideal for ritual processions, and its connection to divine luminosity.

Theme: Divine cosmology, dharma (sacred order), cyclical time. Art serves as a bridge to the divine.

2. Art Piece: Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings

• Form: Watercolor, gold, and ink miniature painting on paper.
  
  

• Content: Mughal emperor Jahangir seated on an hourglass throne, giving attention to a Sufi mystic over worldly rulers like an Ottoman sultan and King James I.
  
  

• Context: 1620 CE, part of Mughal court culture, likely painted by Bichitr, a Mughal court artist.
  
  

• Materials: Opaque watercolor, gold leaf, ink on paper.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Mughal India, blending Persian and Indian aesthetics.
  
  

Why these materials?
Used in illuminated manuscripts to showcase royal authority and luxury.

Theme: Spiritual hierarchy over political power, divine favor, ideal kingship.

3. Architecture: Taj Mahal

• Form: White marble mausoleum with a central dome, four minarets, symmetrical gardens.
  
  

• Content: A tomb for Mumtaz Mahal, commissioned by Shah Jahan. Combines Islamic, Persian, and Indian elements.
  
  

• Context: 1632–53 CE, Agra, India. Part of the Mughal dynasty’s imperial architecture.
  
  

• Materials: White marble, inlaid with semi-precious stones.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Mughal (Islamic-Indian hybrid culture); architect: Ustad Ahmad Lahori (attributed).
  
  

Why marble?
Marble symbolizes purity and permanence; its reflective qualities evoke divine beauty.

Theme: Love, paradise, afterlife, imperial power.

✅ EAST ASIA

1. Art Piece: Travelers Among Mountains and Streams (Fan Kuan)

• Form: Tall hanging scroll in ink on silk, monumental mountains, tiny human figures.
  
  

• Content: Daoist/Confucian harmony between man and nature, landscape dominates.
  
  

• Context: c. 1000 CE, Northern Song Dynasty, China.
  
  

• Materials: Ink on silk, using brush techniques for texture and layering.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Fan Kuan, a Chinese scholar-artist.
  
  

Why ink on silk?
Silk = refined surface; ink = emphasis on natural spontaneity, central to Daoist values.

Theme: Nature’s supremacy, spiritual contemplation, philosophical harmony.

2. Art Piece: The David Vases

• Form: Two blue-and-white porcelain vases with dragon motifs and floral patterns.
  
  

• Content: Made as an offering to a Daoist temple; includes dedicatory inscription.
  
  

• Context: Yuan Dynasty, 1351 CE; one of the earliest dated blue-and-white porcelains.
  
  

• Materials: Porcelain with cobalt-blue glaze.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Chinese artisans during Mongol Yuan rule.
  
  

Why porcelain?
Porcelain was a prized Chinese innovation, exported widely. Cobalt came from Iran, showing international trade.

Theme: Religious piety, luxury, global exchange.

3. Architecture: Todai-ji

• Form: Massive Buddhist temple complex, wooden structure with huge bronze Buddha inside.
  
  

• Content: Houses the Great Buddha (Daibutsu), used for state rituals and religious gatherings.
  
  

• Context: Nara, Japan; 743 CE (rebuilt multiple times), imperial Buddhism.
  
  

• Materials: Wood (cypress), bronze for the Buddha.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Japanese, supported by Emperor Shōmu.
  
  

Why wood?
Japan’s abundant forests and traditional carpentry made wood preferred. Also symbolizes impermanence, a Buddhist concept.

Theme: Imperial power fused with Buddhism, cosmic order, ritual unity.

✅ SOUTHEAST ASIA

1. Art Piece: Buddha from Bamiyan

• Form: Colossal carved sculptures in high relief from cliffside, originally painted and gilded.
  
  

• Content: Standing Buddha, possibly representing Vairocana (Cosmic Buddha).
  
  

• Context: Bamiyan, Afghanistan; 400–800 CE; destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
  
  

• Materials: Stone, stucco, paint.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Gandharan Buddhist community (Greco-Buddhist fusion).
  
  

Why these materials?
Local rock + stucco allowed for monumental scale. Reflects hybrid Hellenistic-Buddhist aesthetics.

Theme: Divine presence in the landscape, Buddhist missionary reach, impermanence (ironic due to later destruction).

2. Art Piece: Borobudur Temple (reliefs)

• Form: Massive stone reliefs wrap around circular terraces forming a mandala layout.
  
  

• Content: Depicts Jataka tales (Buddha’s past lives), spiritual journey upward.
  
  

• Context: 750–842 CE, Central Java, Indonesia; Sailendra Dynasty.
  
  

• Materials: Volcanic stone (andesite).
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Mahayana Buddhist culture in Java.
  
  

Why volcanic stone?
Abundant and durable; local material shaped with intricate carvings to form pilgrimage experience.

Theme: Enlightenment journey, cosmic structure, devotional movement.

3. Architecture: Angkor Wat

• Form: Vast stone temple with tiered towers resembling lotus buds, bas-reliefs lining galleries.
  
  

• Content: Originally Hindu (Vishnu), later adapted to Buddhism. Depicts churning of the ocean of milk, kingship.
  
  

• Context: 12th century CE, Khmer Empire, Cambodia. King Suryavarman II built it as a state temple.
  
  

• Materials: Sandstone.
  
  

• Culture/Artist: Khmer civilization.
  
  

Why sandstone?
Carved precisely and durable; ideal for large-scale reliefs and monumental architecture.

Theme: Sacred kingship, cosmic order, religion intertwined with rule.

✍ Final Synthesis

❓Why do these cultures use their materials?

• South Asia: Bronze and marble were tied to ritual, imperial splendor, and spiritual radiance. Mughal use of luxury materials reflects political legitimacy.
  
  

• East Asia: Ink and porcelain reflect naturalism, discipline, and aesthetic refinement; wood ties to impermanence in Buddhism.
  
  

• Southeast Asia: Volcanic stone and sandstone were local and enduring, used to reflect cosmic and religious structures.
  
  

🎯 Shared and Unique Themes

• Shared Themes:
  
  

  • Spiritual power
    
    

  • Rulership tied to divinity
    
    

  • Harmony between earthly and divine
    
    

• Unique to South Asia:
  
  

  • Dance, movement as divine acts (e.g., Shiva)
    
    

  • Integration of Islamic and Hindu visual culture (e.g., Mughal art)
    
    

• Unique to East Asia:
  
  

  • Nature as spiritual philosophy (Daoism, Confucianism)
    
    

  • Scholar-artist ideals, refined minimalism
    
    

• Unique to Southeast Asia:
  
  

  • Sacred mountains, mandalas, and temple-as-universe (Borobudur, Angkor Wat)
    
    

  • Local adaptation of Indian religions and architectural ideas
    
    

🎨 Artwork 1: Pyxis of al-Mughira (Work 57)

Form:

• Small cylindrical container with intricate low-relief carving.
  
  

• Highly detailed scenes framed in roundels, with vegetal and animal motifs.
  
  

• Emphasis on symmetry and balanced composition, typical of Islamic decorative arts.
  
  

Content:

• Shows princely court scenes: falconry, music, and hunting.
  
  

• Features four medallions with scenes possibly referencing power, succession, and moral values.
  
  

• Likely carried symbolic and didactic meaning for a young prince.
  
  

Context:

• Created in 968 CE in Umayyad Spain (al-Andalus) during a period of political prosperity and cultural flowering.
  
  

• Gifted to the son of Caliph al-Hakam II, likely as a coming-of-age present.
  
  

Materials Used:

• Carved ivory.
  
  

Culture/Artist:

• Islamic (Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus). Artist is unknown.
  
  

Early Europe/Colonial Americas

🎨 Artwork 2: Lindisfarne Gospels – St. Luke Portrait Page (Work 55c)

Form:

• Illuminated manuscript page, highly stylized.
  
  

• Bold outlines, linear abstraction, interlace patterns.
  
  

• Use of saturated color and geometric organization.
  
  

Content:

• St. Luke, author of one of the Gospels, shown seated with his symbol (a winged ox).
  
  

• Classical pose (inspiration from Roman manuscripts), but flattened and stylized.
  
  

• No illusion of depth—focus is on symbolic meaning rather than realism.
  
  

Context:

• Created around 700 CE in a monastic setting on Lindisfarne Island (England).
  
  

• Made by Bishop Eadfrith as an act of devotion.
  
  

• Meant to glorify God and affirm Christian doctrine through visual and textual beauty.
  
  

Materials Used:

• Tempera on vellum (calfskin).
  
  

Culture/Artist:

• Hiberno-Saxon (Insular) culture; artist: Eadfrith of Lindisfarne.
  
  

🏛 Architecture: Church of Sainte-Foy (Work 58)

Form:

• Romanesque pilgrimage church with cruciform (cross-shaped) layout.
  
  

• Barrel vaults, rounded arches, thick stone walls.
  
  

• Sculptural tympanum above the entrance (Last Judgment scene).
  
  

Content:

• Housed relics of Saint Faith (Sainte-Foy), a young Christian martyr.
  
  

• Tympanum sculpture reminds viewers of heaven vs. hell.
  
  

• Interior design supports movement of large groups of pilgrims.
  
  

Context:

• Located in Conques, France, built c. 1050–1130 CE.
  
  

• Served as a key stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
  
  

• Pilgrimages were acts of faith and ways to earn spiritual merit.
  
  

Materials Used:

• Cut stone and timber roof structures.
  
  

Culture/Artist:

• Romanesque Christian culture in medieval France; architects are anonymous.
  
  

✨ Synthesis and Deeper Context

Why Each Culture Uses These Materials:

• Islamic Spain (Pyxis): Ivory was a luxury material, imported and associated with wealth and prestige. Easy to carve in detail, it was perfect for intimate, royal gifts.
  
  

• Insular Britain (Lindisfarne): Vellum (animal skin) was used for religious manuscripts because of its durability and sacred associations. Manuscripts were rare and precious.
  
  

• Romanesque France (Sainte-Foy): Stone was necessary for large pilgrimage churches. Its strength allowed for fire-resistant, monumental structures to hold many visitors.
  
  

What Themes Do These Cultures’ Arts Showcase and Why:

• Islamic: Courtly life, dynastic power, and moral lessons in secular objects. Avoidance of figural representation in religious settings led to figural art in courtly contexts.
  
  

• Hiberno-Saxon Christian: Evangelization, divine authority, and artistic devotion. Emphasis on word and image to spread the Christian faith in newly converted lands.
  
  

• Romanesque Christian: Salvation, pilgrimage, and divine judgment. Architecture guides religious experience and reinforces Christian doctrine physically and visually.
  
  

Shared Context:

All three reflect a deep link between belief, identity, and power:

• The Pyxis represents dynastic pride and Islamic courtly culture.
  
  

• The Gospel page spreads and reinforces Christian scripture visually for a monastic and missionary audience.
  
  

• The church manifests the physical journey of faith and houses relics—connecting believers to divine intercession.
  
  

Each work ties artistic materials to cultural function—luxury for royalty, durability for devotion, and monumentality for spiritual awe.

African Art

🎨 1. Female (Pwo) Mask

• Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo
  
  

• Artist/Culture: Chokwe peoples
  
  

• Time Period: Late 19th to early 20th century C.E
  
  

• Materials: Wood, fiber, pigment, and metal
  
  

• Form:
  
  

  • Smooth, symmetrical carved face with idealized feminine features: narrow chin, high forehead, almond-shaped eyes, and delicately incised patterns on the cheeks and forehead.
    
    

  • Often worn with a full costume made of raffia during performance.
    
    

• Content:
  
  

  • Represents a revered female ancestor, embodying ideal womanhood and maternal wisdom.
    
    

  • Used in masquerade dances to honor the role of women in society and to bring fertility and prosperity.
    
    

• Context:
  
  

  • Performed by male dancers to honor Chokwe matrilineal lineage.
    
    

  • Masks like Pwo reinforce social values, especially the respect for women as life-givers and cultural bearers.
    
    

  • The stylization reflects Chokwe ideals of beauty, morality, and cultural continuity.
    
    

🎨 2. Sika Dwa Kofi (Golden Stool)

• Location: South Central Ghana
  
  

• Artist/Culture: Ashanti peoples
  
  

• Time Period: 1700 C.E
  
  

• Materials: Gold over wood and cast-gold attachments
  
  

• Form:
  
  

  • Elevated, curved stool shape; gold-covered wooden form never meant for human use.
    
    

  • Bells and small golden enemies attached below the seat signify sacred presence and political dominance.
    
    

• Content:
  
  

  • Embodies the soul of the Ashanti people; represents the unity and vitality of the Ashanti kingdom.
    
    

  • Not to be sat upon—even by the king—it is revered as a living spiritual being.
    
    

• Context:
  
  

  • Central to Ashanti state rituals and royal ceremonies.
    
    

  • Believed to have descended from the heavens, reinforcing divine authority and cosmic legitimacy of the monarchy.
    
    

🏛 3. Great Mosque of Djenné

• Location: Djenné, Mali
  
  

• Artist/Culture: Sudano-Sahelian, Mali
  
  

• Time Period: Founded c. 1200 C.E, rebuilt in 1906–1907
  
  

• Materials: Adobe (mudbrick), palm wood, and plaster
  
  

• Form:
  
  

  • Monumental prayer hall with three prominent minarets topped by ostrich eggs (symbolizing fertility and purity).
    
    

  • Wooden torons project from the walls—used both as decoration and scaffolding for annual replastering.
    
    

• Content:
  
  

  • Serves as a mosque, community center, and symbol of Mali’s Islamic faith and cultural achievement.
    
    

  • Blends African building traditions with Islamic religious function.
    
    

• Context:
  
  

  • Center of Islamic scholarship and trade in West Africa for centuries.
    
    

  • Its annual maintenance festival (with the community coming together to replaster it) reflects cultural resilience and unity.
    
    

🔍 Deeper Analysis

✳ Why Each Culture Uses These Materials:

• Chokwe (Wood, Pigment, Fiber):
  Wood is abundant, workable, and spiritually resonant. Pigments and raffia create beauty and realism in performance. These materials allow for dynamic, symbolic storytelling during masked dances.
  
  

• Ashanti (Gold over Wood):
  Gold represents wealth, divinity, and the presence of the ancestors. It reinforces the sacred nature of the stool. Wood provides a base rooted in earthly human life, transformed into a sacred object by gold.
  
  

• Mali (Adobe, Palm Wood):
  Mudbrick is readily available and regulates heat in the desert climate. It also allows for annual renewal through community involvement. Palm wood reinforces the structure and gives visual rhythm to the exterior.
  
  

🧭 Shared Themes:

• Ancestral Power and Spiritual Continuity:
  
  

  • Pwo Mask honors founding mothers; Golden Stool houses the soul of a nation.
    
    

• Ritual and Sacred Use:
  
  

  • All three are used in ceremonial, spiritual, or communal events—never simply as decorative art.
    
    

• Cultural Identity and Legacy:
  
  

  • Each piece reflects the identity and values of its culture—Chokwe respect for motherhood, Ashanti kingship and unity, and Mali’s Islamic scholarship and cooperation.
    
    

🌍 Cultural Context Summary:

These pieces come from distinct African regions (Central, West, and West-Central) but share a focus on:

• Ritualized performance and community engagement
  
  

• Symbolic materials and aesthetics
  
  

• Deep spiritual and political meaning
  
  

They reflect non-Western worldviews where art is not separate from life—it is sacred, functional, communal, and often tied to the cosmic and ancestral order.

Global Contemporary 

1. Summer Trees by Song Su-Nam

• Form:
  Vertical brush strokes of ink dominate the piece, creating exaggeratedly tall trees with small trunks. The brushstrokes blend and bleed on the paper due to the wet medium used, giving a fluid, organic look. The piece is dominated by grayscale with small yellow and red dots in each corner, which add contrast and life.
  
  

• Content:
  The artwork is a depiction of pine trees, which are traditionally symbolic of longevity, endurance, and resilience. In the context of Sumukhwa, or "Oriental Ink Movement," this painting alludes to the literati class of Korean scholars and artists, who often used ink painting as a way to express personal, intellectual, and philosophical views.
  
  

• Context:
  Created during the 1980s in South Korea, a time when the country was under heavy tension due to the ongoing division with North Korea and the presence of American soldiers. It reflects a period of cultural nationalism, where artists like Song were reevaluating and rediscovering traditional values. While some criticized the use of calligraphy ink as outdated compared to Western oil paints, Song pushed for a modern reinterpretation of Korean traditions.
  
  

• Materials:
  Traditional calligraphy ink and paper were used. The wet ink wash technique allowed for the blending of the strokes, creating a sense of movement and connection in the trees.
  
  

• Culture/Artist:
  Song Su-Nam was a South Korean artist leading the Sumukhwa movement, which is deeply rooted in Korean traditions and focused on reviving calligraphy-based painting in modern times. His work navigated the tension between Western and Eastern art forms.
  
  

2. Horn Players by Jean-Michel Basquiat

• Form:
  This triptych consists of three joined panels, with abstract depictions of jazz musicians Charlie Parker (saxophonist) and Dizzy Gillespie (trumpeter). The central panel contains fragmented, geometric patterns and bulging forms that refer to Picasso’s Three Musicians. Words, numbers, and sketches are scattered across the piece, highlighting Basquiat's signature style of combining text and imagery. The paint is thick and layered, with bold, expressive strokes.
  
  

• Content:
  The painting is an homage to jazz music and its key figures. The scribbled words and text reference titles of jazz compositions by Parker and Gillespie. The abstracted forms of the musicians seem to symbolize the energetic improvisation of jazz music, as well as the chaotic and fragmented experience of the African American cultural struggle. It’s also a reflection on how art and music are interconnected.
  
  

• Context:
  Painted in the early 1980s, Basquiat’s "Horn Players" represents his engagement with the Afro-American cultural scene, particularly jazz, which he saw as a model for artistic freedom. Basquiat, having risen to fame from graffiti roots, often explored themes of racial identity, the art world, and societal norms. The work also plays on the tension between abstraction and figuration, drawing from both African American culture and European modernism.
  
  

• Materials:
  Oil paint and acrylic on canvas. The use of layers of paint, rough texture, and written words are typical of Basquiat's urban, expressive style.
  
  

• Culture/Artist:
  Jean-Michel Basquiat, an African American artist, was part of the postmodern neo-expressionism movement. His works were deeply rooted in African American culture and often addressed race, identity, and social issues. Basquiat’s graffiti-style art was a direct challenge to the exclusivity of the high art world, giving voice to marginalized communities.
  
  

3. Shibboleth by Doris Salcedo

• Form:
  A large crack runs through the floor of the Tate Modern, measuring 548 feet long and varying in depth. The crack is lined with white mesh and stretches across the entire floor. The intervention is dramatic and confrontational, making the viewer consider the impact of the divide. After the exhibition, the crack was filled, leaving a permanent scar on the floor as a reminder of the intervention.
  
  

• Content:
  "Shibboleth" symbolizes the cultural divide between immigrants and native populations. The crack, which physically separates the gallery space, represents the deep social and psychological divisions that immigrants often face. The crack is a metaphor for the feeling of "otherness" and alienation. Its permanence in the space after the exhibition symbolized an enduring social issue.
  
  

• Context:
  Doris Salcedo, a Colombian artist, created this installation to highlight the experience of marginalized and displaced communities. The work came at a time when the immigrant experience in Europe was a contentious issue. Salcedo’s intervention allowed for a physical manifestation of the invisible yet significant divide between people who belong to a nation and those who don’t. It also reflects the growing global concern about migration and human rights.
  
  

• Materials:
  Concrete, mesh, and the space itself, which was altered to create the crack. The materials are stark and industrial, reinforcing the harsh realities of societal divides and the oppressive systems that create them.
  
  

• Culture/Artist:
  Salcedo is a Colombian artist whose work often addresses trauma, memory, and the human cost of political violence. "Shibboleth" is part of her broader body of work that deals with the history of violence in Colombia and the broader immigrant experience, focusing on issues of exclusion, marginalization, and displacement.
  
  

Why These Cultures Use the Materials They Do:

• Song Su-Nam used traditional Korean ink and calligraphy techniques as a way to reconnect with Korea’s past during a time of political and cultural tension. His use of ink was a defiant act against the Westernization of South Korean art, emphasizing national pride and the value of traditional methods in a modern context. The use of ink wash painting, a centuries-old medium, speaks to Korea's desire to maintain cultural continuity while adapting to the modern world.
  
  

• Jean-Michel Basquiat used materials like oil paint and acrylic in bold, expressive ways to convey the raw energy of African American culture and jazz music. His use of graffiti-style marks, written words, and aggressive brushstrokes was a reflection of his personal background in street art and his desire to disrupt traditional notions of what "fine art" should be. The materials and style challenged the dominant art world, and through his work, Basquiat made statements about race, identity, and social exclusion.
  
  

• Doris Salcedo used the raw, industrial materials of concrete and mesh to create "Shibboleth" as a poignant reminder of the alienation immigrants face. The starkness of the materials reflects the harsh reality of societal divides and is intended to make the audience confront the uncomfortable truths about exclusion and marginalization. The permanency of the crack left in the gallery space serves as a reminder of the lasting effects of these divisions.
  
  

Themes and Cultural Insights:

• Themes in Song Su-Nam’s work: Resilience, tradition, and the modern reinterpretation of cultural identity. Song’s painting speaks to Korea's struggle to assert its identity in a rapidly Westernizing world.
  
  

• Themes in Basquiat's work: Identity, race, culture, and the intersection of African American history with the broader art world. Basquiat's focus on jazz connects the cultural heritage of African Americans with broader artistic expression, and his use of street art techniques questions the legitimacy and exclusivity of the high art world.
  
  

• Themes in Salcedo's work: Immigration, displacement, trauma, and social divisions. The permanent crack in the floor is a powerful metaphor for the invisible yet deeply felt divides that exist in societies, particularly those that marginalize certain groups.
  
  

Context of All the Artworks:

These pieces were created during moments of cultural, political, and social tension. Song Su-Nam’s work came during a time when Korea was wrestling with modernization and Western influence. Basquiat’s art, made in 1983, was a commentary on the racial and social issues of the time, highlighting the intersection of African American culture with the mainstream art world. Salcedo’s "Shibboleth," created in 2007-08, reflected the growing global discussion about immigration and the social stigmas that immigrants face. Together, these works confront identity, culture, and societal struggles, pushing the boundaries of art to provoke thought and conversation about the pressing issues of their time.