Ancient Greece

    Many ancient cultures had contributed many amazing things that have been very influential on ours. We can say that one of those cultures would be Greece. Greeks had contributed in many aspects such as art, architecture, religion, traditions and even with philosophy.  The most highlighted contributions that we can recall would be in art and architecture. They had many techniques and pieces of artwork that were passed through generations till this day.

    In Greek’s perspective beauty and perfection was essential even for the daily lives. For them, everything around them needed to look beautiful in every way, buildings, houses, streets, sidewalks, even the tiniest furniture on their houses and clothes they would wear everyday. Their paintings didn’t survive but, as an example of their skills remained the few sculptures, architecture and pottery that were made by them.

    In sculptures they focused on trying to reflect the beauty of the human body. The first time that the human figures appeared was during the Archaic period.  On the architect side, their inspiration was the Gods. They made and designed stunning pantheons, temples and sculptures of their Gods as a form of adoration and appreciation. Many of their techniques and architectural designs are used nowadays because of how useful, practical and essential are them.

    The pottery was a form to express art and decoration during that time. It was also used as a way to tell stories, carry oils, water, flowers, perfumes and a variety of things aside from the decoration part.  In other words, their works not only were used as attraction but also were useful for many things.

    In conclusion, Ancient Greeks had contributed in many things, above all, in an artistic, sculptural and architectural way. For us, it has been very essential, the same as the Egypt art that has contributed art in a simple and at the same time in a symmetric and geometric way.

Medium: Terracotta

Period:Late Classical 
Date:ca. 360–350 B.C.

Terracotta pot from a Diosphos potter.

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My Own Way of Describing Art

  

Reading # 1

  For some people, the term art may vary because people have different perspective of its meaning. For example, some people consider as art what we do during the daily basis and the surroundings around them. For others may be the way they express themselves, such as emotions. Others consider art as paintings, sculptures, architecture, etc. For me, art would be something that may give pleasure to my eyes and makes me appreciate every tiny bit of its qualities. In the article seeing Out Loud by Jerry Saltz talks about how critics evaluate the sense of art and his own way to describe what art is and its different perspectives.  

  

  As Jerry Saltz states, “no one shouldn’t just look on the first layer, but also look deeper and be able to polish the rough diamond and be able to see its true value.” In other words, people shouldn’t be cliché and look for the same thing over and over but also to look for uniqueness, originality, weirdness, simplicity, creativity, etc. I strongly agree with his idea. One reason why I agree with his idea is because sometimes we look for the things that are precise and accurate; therefore we don’t see the other side of the coin, which can also be beautiful and artistic in its own way. Considering these facts we can say that some people are just superficial, just simple as that.

   Saltz also mentions how important is being able to be and being able to critic nowadays. He conveys how important is to be able to look on different perspectives, to be open-minded and be apt to detach from doubts and beliefs. He also mentions how others are one-dimensional and superficial now these days. They’re frivolous and they just like to stay in their specific field just to stay in their comfort zone.

   Saltz also points that art is a way of learning on how to see better and beyond things and be able of not just to highlight the weak but also to see its strong points. In addition, Saltz says that, “art is a way of getting to know yourself”. It is also a way of relief and to relax and be able to express messages what you cannot do with words. It is also to be able to express the bad and the good things not just for other people’s satisfaction and expectations.   

    In conclusion, art its not just a way to entertain and to be superficial about it, but also to look into it deeply and see what is the artist trying to convey on that piece of art. We should consider how important is to be able to critic and what it truly means to be a CRITIC because it is a way to show at what level you are and if you are suited to be a critic. 

   

                                   The Starry Night By Vincent Van Goh  

I picked this piece by Vincent Van Goh wich was painted in the 1889 with oil on canvas and It's located on the Museum of Modern Art aka as MoMa on Downtown, New York. He painted it during his days while at the asylum and it was said that he painted it under some hallucinations and the mere fact that he was poor. He felt so isolated from the world in that asylum that he began to appreciate the city's horizon and the remembrance of his young life. I picked up this piece of art because for me, it somewhat conveys Vincent feelings while he was painting it. It show the sadness and the solitude in that he was living. The color portrays the dark feelings such as blue and dark brown.