The types of art that I was particularly drawn to were the relief types of art. This type of art work was very interesting to me, because not only were we able to see its progress throughout history, but we could also see how many different cultures used this technique without having contact with one another.
The Stele of Naram-Sin is a relief that was done between 2254-2218 B.C. there is a little weathering that has taken place on the bottom of the piece, but towards the upper portion and center of the art piece there is very little weathering that has happened. This makes it easy to see the depth of detail that the artist put into creating this stele. Although there is little detail that can be seen in the facial features of the individuals, if you look closely you can see there was an attempt to incorporate some facial features on the individuals on the stele. Now, when you look at the relief of Assurnasirpal II killing Lions you can see the progression of skill in the use of relief done on that continent. With the progression of time you can see the detail and possibly the skills that have been passed down or obtain through imitating other’s works within that area of Asia. When you compare the stele that was done of Naram-Sin and other individuals in that art piece with the relief done of Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions you can clearly see what I am talking about. The lions have amazing detail as do the people. With the people the details even extend down to their feet. You can see the detail in their sandals and their toes. Now, when you take a look at the Naram-Sin piece the people are barefoot and it appears as though Naram-Sin could have been wearing sandals, but you have to look very closely to be able to make this out. Nevertheless, it does appear that he is wearing sandals.
Furthermore, what is nice to see when looking back at these reliefs is the material that was used and the tools used on that particular material. When you compare the Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions with Bison relief done in 13,000 B.C. where they used unbaked clay to do complete their art piece. The relief of Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions uses Alabaster, which is a name applied to a variety of two distinct mineral gypsum and calcite. Calcite is the alabaster was probably used during these times. What is very interesting to me though is the fact that even though the one done during 875-860 B.C. (Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions) may have come later the fact that earlier artist could produce such a well developed relief is extremely impressive. To me this makes me not only appreciate the craft, but those who were able to produce these beautiful art pieces during their times.
In conclusion, the creation of reliefs in art is a beautiful craft and by being able to see its progression through history helped me to gain an even greater appreciation for what those whom came later and those who arrived earlier in history and the thoughtful pieces of artwork they were able to produce.
I have done some relief printmaking, for which you don't need a press, (and a lot of intaglio for which you do) in my Printmaking classes at Grays Harbor College. Probably the closest thing to prints we've seen so far are the cylinder seals such as the one on page 33 which was meant to leave a repeatable impression in clay. Lower relief carvings seem like a surface that could be used to make prints- I wonder if anyone from that time ever thought of anything like that. Of course for printmaking we would carve a material softer than stone, usually wood or linoleum (occasionally metal) or anything easier to work with than stone.
ReplyDeleteI think relief carvings are interesting, because for the most part artists are removing the background of an image (so that the figures will "pop out" from the picture plane). It seems like a backward process (to carve the background before figures), but that's what happens!
ReplyDeleteA relief carving done in the opposite technique (where the figures are carved instead of the background) is the "sunken relief" panel of Akhenaten and his family (p. 71).
I'm glad that you have gained a greater appreciation for art during this quarter. I enjoyed having you as a student.
-Prof. Bowen
Relief carvings are one of my favorite kinds of art. I love the different dimensions and contrast between high and low relief within a piece. In my opinion, this type of art feels more alive, it makes me just want to reach out and touch it. It takes a skilled artist to be able to do this type of work. One must constantly be aware of the light source and how the shadows play upon each other when carving something. I made a corbel for Sculpture I, it was very challenging, however it turned out better than I expected.
ReplyDeleteI found the relief carvings really beautiful and engaging as well. It is really interesting to see how things progressed it really causes me to appreciate each stage, and look at the art we do today and how it has developed. Good post!
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