Greek Art

Archaic; 800 - 500 b.c.

During this time sculptures were put on pedestals marking graves, or lining the way to main temple. The typical statue is of a an or woman in a stiff pose, male statues are called kouroi meaning young men andd usually representing an athlete, gods, or warriors. Female statues are called korai and depict clothed priestess, goddesses, or nymphs. They always have a thin lipped smile, echoing the prosperity and peacefulness of the time.

This pottery image of a man wresteling a lion is my favorite from this time period because it's such an akward pose and so unrealistic. It's clearly a warrior and his face doesn't really portray any emotion while the lions face is kind of like the lion knows he's beat. I also like how the pot only has two colors.

Classical; 500 - 323 b.c.

At this time greece reaches the height of economic success and cultural and artistic splendor. Its expansionist foreign policy triggers revolts throughout the Hellenic world and rivalry with Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Syracuse leads to tons of fighting and blood. The dreamy Archaic smile is gone, replaced with a solemn expression. The art of this time is characterized by a joyous freedom of movement and expression. They replace the stiffness of the past sculptures with a free flowing form more life like. The most significant change is the counterbalance. One foot comes forward so that one leg is relaxed and the other bears the weight of the body. In sculptures depicting violent scenes their is no expression however their enemies have dramatic expressions. Ancient Greeks believed that suppression of emotions is a noble thing, public display of emotion is barbarism. This is the period that so greatly influenced the ascendents of the Renaissance, it is considered the golden age for art, literature, philosophy, and politics.

This is my favorite Greek art from this time period because it is exactly how all this time periods art is, one leg forward, no expression on her face, and she's looking for someone or scanning the horizon, maybe even searching for an enemy. I like how you can create a story for this sculpture just by looking at it.

Hellenistic; 3rd - 1st century

This is a time of prosperity that encourages the production of art of a more seculare nature. A new kind of art emerges. Instead of depicting logic, surpressed emotion, and perfect beauty the artist create reality. Artist work with dramatic poses, emotions, sweeping lines, and high contrasts of light and shadow. Arist explore their subjects from a different point of view.

This is my favorite Greek sculpture from this time because it's realistic, he has bandages on his knuckles signifying he just got into a fight. After a fight you'd most likely sit down to chill out and probably think about it, which is what he looks like he's doing. I like how this could be a real person.

My favorite Greek God would have to be Athena because she is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, strength, arts, justice, strategy, skill, and civilization. Athena has a twin brother named Ares the god of violence, opposite of Athena. The city of Athens was named after Athena.
For my pot I plan on doing a scene where Herakles kills the son of Ares. The battle is witnessed by Athena, Ares, and Zues, besides Ares is the mother of his son, a man is holding up his hand to prevent Ares from interfering.

Graffiti & Cave Paintings

Graffiti and cave paintings are similar because they both have a message the artist was trying to get across. Graffiti can be words or distorted images. Cave paintings are usually images meaning something or telling a story. This cave painting tells of a Native American tribe fighting men with guns, who are most likely the European imagrants trying to take over the land and enslave the Native Americans. Cave paintings have a deep meaning and when a person looks at them they can almost always assume what the painting means. Were as when you look at graffiti images you are often left wondering what does that mean? Graffiti images are made up of local gangs tagging buildings, teens writing their names, or that of a mate. On the outskirts of Watertown there's a rock formation called Rattle Snake Mountain where teenagers scurry the mountain and spray paint 'Sean & Susan 4ever' for example. Graffiti like that is especially rememerable because it's there until Susan grows old and she can always drive by the mountain remembering when Sean was alive and all the fun they had.