Ethics and Art Collecting

The November 2011 Issue of Smithsonian Magazine's feature article is Journey of a Goddess, A Case Study. This article discusses the decade long attempt by the Italians to get back "one of the world’s most contested pieces of ancient art: a 2,400-year-old statue of a woman believed to be Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love". The sculpture details the legal and archaeological process that was required to bring the sculpture back to Italy.

The article goes beyond this artwork and discusses illegal acquisitions by museums and individual collectors in the USA and around the world. When one thinks of art theft, their first thought probably goes to taking a painting off a wall or a sculpture out of a room. This article changes the readers' perspective. For years art theft has included people being archaeologists and digging up ruins without permits. The found objects are restored by the rogue archaeologists and sold. The objects join private collections or collections in museums around the world.

We do not want to see our museum walls bare like the picture here. We wish to be able to share in cultural heritage of all people through legal means.

Those that study Art History can take a career path in Museum Work, Teaching/Scholarship, Investigating Art Crimes, Restoration and more. Whatever you chose to do, make sure you maintain a high ethical standard!

Why Study Art?

Read the article 10 Salient Studies on the Arts in Education from onlinecolleges.net.

Studies show that studying arts improves performance in literacy and math as well as provides students with more opportunities to connect with the global community.

Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Early Christian Churches

Periodically I look at www.artdaily.com, the First Art Newspaper on the Net (established in 1996). I am glad I looked today, Sunday October 23,2011! Today's story is about Photographs of early christian churches from the Cappadocia Region on exhibit at Penn Museum. What stunning photographs!

Vaults of Heaven: Visions of Byzantium, an exhibition of 13 color photographs by renowned Turkish photographer Ahmet Ertug, is on view October 15, 2011 through February 12, 2012. According to the Penn Museum's website, the exhibition provides "a glimpse into the complex and vivid world of the Byzantine Empire" via "photographs by well-known Turkish photographer Ahmet Ertug". The photographs highlight culturally significant UNESCO heritage sites in present-day Turkey with a focus on the Karanlik, Tokali and Merymana churches located in the dramatic Cappadocian region of central Anatolia. This exhibition was organized by the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan".



Photograph courtesy of www.artdaily.org

Staffordshire Gold Hoard

The November 2011 National Geographic Magazine has an article about this gold hoard from Anglo-Saxon Britain. The weapons and gold came from an era where "mundane events and acts could be suffused with magic" (57). The article explains how the people of the time may have viewed the objects. They believed "the magical properties an object possessed trumped its material worth" (57). These people valued gold not just for being precious but also because it was considered alluring and indestructible.


Hadrian's wall was created to keep out the barbaric Picts and Scotts. After Roman rule ended warfare ensued, and this warfare resulted in the development of Christianity in England as well as the establishment of the Anglo-Saxon dominance in the region. The elaborately decorated weapons and gold from the early days of England mentioned in this story give us yet another glimpse at the past, one we have been relying on the Sutton-Hoo findings to provide for us.

Photo courtesy of the National Geographic Website.

Byzantium

We have been watching ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE GREEK BYZANTIUM. Today's class left off just as PART 5 was starting. Finish watching part 5 and turn in your video reflections on Tuesday 10-25-11. It's just over 8 minutes long.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

We remember the ETRUSCANS for their use of TERRACOTTA, the ROMANS for their STONE MOSAICS and the BYZANTINES for their beautiful, reflective, GLASS MOSAICS.

The use of a gold background in which the other colored glass were placed created not only a DECORATIVE effect inside a church but also the signature http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifFORMAL, FLAT, FRONTAL AND FLOATING. The placement of the pieces of glass created an outline around the figures, thus creating a FLAT appearance.

Byzantine rulers saw themselves as representatives (vicars) of Jesus Christ. They believed their will was God's will. They reigned supreme...think of a Pope + Ceasar combination.

Sam Houston University has a History of the Byzantine Empire to 1095 available to view online if you wish more detailed political information.

Upcoming Assignments

Unit 3: Chapters 11-12-13 and 16

Due Tuesday 10-18-11
Read Chapter 11 and complete workbook pages
111-112 (no need to do #6)
113 #8...both
114

Due Thursday 10-20-11
workbook page 115 Discussion Question #2 uploaded to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM (essay form...start with a THESIS)

Due Friday 10-21-11
Read Chapter 12 and complete (essay form...start with a THESIS) Discussion Question 2 page 124 (uploaded to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM)

Due Sunday 10-23-11
Chapter 12 Complete "Researching...etc." page 125-126 in Essay form. Upload to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM

Due Tuesday 10-25-11 Chapter 12 workbook pages 119-124

Due Thursday 10-27-11
Read Chapter 13 and complete workbook pages page 130-133 (not discussion questions)

Due Friday 10-28-11
Complete discussion question #1 page 133-134 in essay form (start with a thesis). Upload to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM

Due Sunday 10-30-11
Complete discussion question #5 page 134 in essay form (start with a thesis). Upload to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM

Due Thursday 11-3-11
read chapter 16 and complete workbook pages 155-158

Due Saturday 11-5-11
Complete discussion question #2 page 159 in essay form (start with a thesis). Upload to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM

TEST and Museum Catalog Due Thursday 11-10-11. Museum Catalog will be linked here when completed. Look for it by 10-21-11. Linked here (Middle Ages Page of Class Website AND 2011-2012 Key Documents) at 4:37 on 10-21-11.

Starting in November a Discussion Question will be posted each week...even through intersession. The question will start and end on a Saturday. The question will address themes, artistic methods and making connections between cultures and over time. By November we'll have built up enough prior knowledge to start!

San Diego Museum of Art

Fall Semester Bonus Opportunities

The following activities are available at the San Diego Museum of Art. This list is compiled from my membership brochure. Please check with the museum before you attend to confirm the program is still “on” and the content has not changed. Full details about the programs can be found on the museum’s website. This is a skeleton list.

To earn your bonus you must get your admission ticket signed by the employee that runs the activity and bring it with you, along with your notes and anything you make to class the NEXT day. Some activities are free and others have a cost. If you are interested in going to all of them…purchasing a membership may be a reasonable option.

For a BONUS to apply…all work MUST be done and turned in. A BONUS is just that…a BONUS. It is extra above and beyond what is normally expected.

Opportunities include: EACH is worth 20 POINTS. DECEMBER AND JANUARY EVENTS WILL BE APPLIED TO SECOND SEMESTER

OCTOBER
7 First Friday Films and Talk (starts at 7 PM $5.00 members/students)
9 Lecture 3:00-5:00 PM ($20.00 non members) A lecture about Indian Art
16 Family Drop-in Days (1:00-3:00 PM free after museum admission) Theme: Exploring Ruben Ortiz-Torres
19 Seldom Seen (7 PM $10.00 students) Curators bring out seldom seen artwork and discuss with the group
22 Workshop Exploring Color (1:00-4:00)

NOVEMBER
2 Teen Art Café (6-8 PM FREE) Based on Special exhibition Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man: Works by Ruben Ortiz-Torres (for more information email teencafe@sdmart.org)
5 Symposium on Mexican Modern Painting (9 AM – 12:30 PM $10.00 students) In depth presentation by scholars on Mexican Modern Painting from the Andres Blaisten Collection)
20 Family Drop-in Days (1:00-3:00 PM free after museum admission) Theme: Exploring Mexican Modernism
20 TARGET FREE FAMILY DAY AND FESTIVAL 12-5 PM

DECEMBER
18 Family Drop-in Days (1:00-3:00 PM free after museum admission) Theme: Exploring Art of the 20th Century

JANUARY
15 Family Drop-in Days (1:00-3:00 PM free after museum admission) Theme: Exploring California Modern Art

Alexander the Great

finish the Alexander the Great Engineering an Empire video for Monday. Turn in worksheet.

We left off on part 3 (6:00 minutes into the 9:20 segment)
Part 4 is 8:09 and Part 5 is 8:08 ... therefore about 20 minutes left

Engineering was mastered in Greece as well

Today in class we watched Engineering an Empire Greece, a History Chanel Video found on YouTube.com.

We left off at Part 3 (4:00 minutes into this section). Complete watching and turn in your notes on Block Day this week.

Engineering...a ROMAN trait

Classical ROME was known for its engineering innovations. The created aqueducts to transport water to inland communities. The used concrete to develop sturdy structures with a high elevation. They created roads to ease in moving from one section of the empire to another.

In the USA we have taken Classical traditions and adapted them to fit our lifestyles. The George Washington Bridge in NYC is such an example. The "super human" creation was completed 80 years ago. It spans 4,760 feet over the Hudson River. Today it carries 106 million cars annually, more than any other bridge in the world.

Mount Rushmore, An American Connection with Classical Rome

The Romans had a tradition of creating monuments and monumental sculptures to honor past leaders. This was part of their pagan beliefs that, after their death, past rulers were lofted to the state of being a god. One example is the COLUMN OF TRAJAN pictured here.

The United States has many Neo-Classical Elements in its governmental architecture and structure. One example of the United States harking back to Classical traditions is the 14 year long construction of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. The monumental memorial contains 60 foot tall images of past presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. The sculptor Gutzon Borglum's goal of "animating the mountain" was achieved! He infused life into marble and preserved the memory of four past presidents for future generations to see. Like classical sculptors, he chose his material wisely. He picked a durable, yet elegant, material to properly memorialize these men. Other than a natural disaster, the stone sculptures will outlast generations of people.