module 8 video blog

More Human Than Human

               I think it’s only natural that art and the human form are connected. Artists are human and therefor it spills onto art. As a culture we are obsessed with it aesthetically as well as functionally.  In art it can be distorted or colorful or blank or exaggerated. And yet it is still identifiable. Even in 1,900 b.c. the Egyptians were drawing the body and it continued over 700 years in their culture and in actuality lasted for over 3,000 years. There was only one way the body was drawn and it descended down the generations. It is thought that the form of the body didn’t change in Egyptian culture because of a grid like structure used to create all of the images. This created the pattern of it being unchanged and uniform for thousands of years.

Cairo Museum

               30 dynasties of Pharaohs. 5,000 years of history.  All housed in one astounding museum! Spectacular isn’t even a good enough word to describe what this museum holds within its walls. I never would have thought about what would be in the basement of the Cairo Museum. The Egyptian Museum contains 160,000 artifacts, but only half of them are actually on display. The rest is stored below in the basement. Many of the artifacts in the basement of the Cairo Museum have been there for 100 years  and still have not been opened! One artifact that was opened up for the first time was an actual human foot fitted with an artificial toe. It is said that the Egyptians were the first to perform a type of plastic surgery. It’s unreal to think that that has been sitting in the basement for years and years and years. It seems almost wrong to me though, to be in possession of such things and they are in boxes.

               I thought the quick view of the queens bracelets were sooo pretty and to get a glimpse of the undone Queen’s throne shows just how much work goes into restoring it. She is devoting a huge part of her life to this. It was also amazing to see Dr. Nadia sitting in her office and then have the camera pan over to a wooden box.  My office is just filled with boxes of paper. I can’t imagine to be in possession of so much history. The jewelry and caskets to be put on display for the centennial celebration were amazing to view. I just wish we had something like this in Buffalo. It was so amazing to view through video I can only imagine what its like in person!!!!

The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure

This was the turning point in that the human form was starting to be displayed in a more realistic way rather than a stylized one. Many of the Greek sculptures are glorifying the human body, most especially that of the female form. Many of the female forms used were representative of actually being pregnant or remnants of giving birth were present. I feel this shows how much the Greeks value life and that it stems from the woman. Eventually this lead to a humanism of the Greek arts according to the narrator. There was a transition from sixth century b.c. in where the Gods were replaced with a more classical theme of where the sculptures were of humans and not Gods.