Strange Beginnings: Ancient America

Prehistoric and Primitive Art

We do not know how art began any more than we know how language started. If we take art to mean such activities as building temples and houses, make pictures and sculptures, or waving patterns, there is no people in the world without art. In the past the attitude to paintings and statues was often similar. The further we go back in history, the more definite and strange are the aims which art was supposed to serve. The same implies if we leave our civilized countries and travel to a place where people still resemble the conditions in which our remote ancestors lived. These people are often known as the ‘primitive’. Among the primitives, there is no difference between building and image-making as far as usefulness in concern. Their huts are there to shelter them from the forces of nature, whereas images are made to protect them against the spirits. Pictures and statues, in other words, are used to work magic. All these strange ideas are important. They may help us to understand the oldest paintings which have come down to us. 

These paintings are as old as any trace of human skill (see image below). They were first discovered on the walls of caves and rocks in Spain and in southern France in the nineteenth century. At first, Archaeologist refused to believe that such vivid and lifelike representations of animals could have been made by men in the Ice Age. Yet they were gradually convinced when the implements of stone and bone were found in these regions. The pictures of bison, mammoth, or reindeer were painted or scratched on top of each other without any apparent order. These primitive hunters believe in the power of picture-making. They only made a picture of their prey and belabored it with their spears. These people believe that way would make the real animals surrender to their power.

Bison, c. 15,000 - 10,000 BC

Cave painting, Altamira, Spain

Horse,  c. 15,000 - 10,000 BC
Cave painting, Lascaux, France

Nowadays, there are still primitive peoples who use nothing but stone implements and who scratch pictures of animals on rock for magic purposes. There are other tribes who have regular festivals; dress up as animals and move like animals in solemn dances. They believe that somehow this will give them power over their prey. Sometimes they even believe that certain animals are related to them in some fairy-tale manner that the whole tribe is a wolf tribe, an eagle tribe or a raven tribe. Many tribes have special ceremonies in which they wear masks with features of these animals. Moreover, they seem to feel that they are transformed, that they have become ravens, or bears. Somehow it looks like they sometimes live in a kind of dream-world in which they can be man and animal at the same time. They have all learned their significance from former generations. They seem to have little chance of stepping outside their world to see their behavior critically.

All this may seem to have little to do with art. However, in fact these conditions influence art in many ways. Many of the artist’s works are meant to play a part in these strange rituals. What matters then is not whether the sculpture or painting is beautiful by our standrds, but whether it ‘works’, that is to say, whether it can perform the required magic. Moreover, the artists work for people of their own tribe who know exactly what each form or color is meant to signify. They are not expected to change these things, but only to apply all their skill and knowledge to the execution of their work.

 Many remote tribes have develop a truly amazing skill in carving, basket work, leather or even in the working of metals. These works are made with simple tools. We can only marvel at the patience and sureness of touch in which these primitive people have done through centuries of specialization.       

                                                                  

Ritual mask from the Papuan Gulf region,
New Guinea, c. 1880
 Wood, bark cloth and vegetable fiber.

Lintel from a Maori chieftain's house, early 19th century
Carved wood, 32 x 82 cm

A 19th century Haida chieftain's house,
Northwest coast Indiana

The native pole illustrates an old legend of this tribe:

"Once there was a young man in the town of Gwais  Kun

who  used to laze about on his bed the whole  day till his 

mother-in-law remarked on it; he felt ashamed, and went 

away. He decided to slay a monster which lived in a lake 

and  fed  on  humans  and whales. With the help of a fairy 

he made a trap of a tree trunk and dangled  two children 

over it as a bait. The monster was caught, the young man

dressed in its skin and caught fishes, which he  regularly

left on  his critical  mother-in-law's doorstep. She was so 

flattered at these  unexpected offerings that  she thought

of  herself  was a  powerful  witch. When  the  young man 

undeceived her at last, she felt so ashamed that she died."

 

Inuit mask from Alaska, c. 1880
Painted wood, 37 x 25.5 cm

Tlaloc, the Aztec rain-god, 14th -  15th century. Stone, height, 40 cm.
A statue from Mexico. 

       

Under certain conditions, tribal artists can produce work which is just as correct in the representation of nature as the most skillful work by a Western master. A number of bronze heads were discovered a few decades ago in Nigeria. They seem to be many centuries old. There is no evidence that the native artists learned their skill from anyone outside.

 

Head of a Negro, representing a ruler (Oni),
from Ife, Nigeria, 12th - 14th century. Bronze, height 16 cm

 There are many great works of this kind dating from the strange beginnings of art. The exact explanation may be lost forever, but which we can still admire. All that remains to us of the great civilizations of ancient America is their ‘art’. The word ‘art’ is put in quotation mark not because these buildings and images lack beauty. More likely because we should not approach them with the idea that they were made for the sake of pleasure or ‘decoration’. If we try to enter the mentality which created the uncanny idols, we may began to understand. Image–making in these early civilizations was not only connected with magic and religion, nevertheless it was the first form of writing. 

Art and Artist

               Art may mean very different things in different times and places. Someone may like a landscape painting because it reminds him of home. Others may like a portrait because it reminds them of a friend, relative or a lover. When we see a painting we are bound to be reminded of a hundred-and-one things which influence our likes and dislikes. As long as these memories help us to enjoy what we see, we need not worry.

                Most people like to see in pictures what they would also like to see in reality. This is quite a natural preference. We all like beauty in nature and are grateful to the artists who have preserved it in their works. In fact, we may discover that the beauty of a picture doesn't really lie in the beauty of its subject matter. The trouble about beauty is that taste and standards of what is beautiful vary so much.

                “What is true of beauty is also true of expression.” It is often the expression of a figure in the painting which makes us like or loathe the work. Some people like an expression which they can easily understand and move them profoundly. Yet others are fond of paintings or sculptures which leave them something to ponder about. Just as some people prefer someone who uses few words and gestures and leave something to be guessed. Even if this intense expression of feeling appeals to us, we should not, for that reason, turn away from works that perhaps less easy to understand.

                In the more ‘primitive’ periods, artists were not as skilled in representing human faces and gestures as they are now. They tried to bring out the feeling they wanted to convey. Great artists of the past have devoted much labor to works. Every tiny detail is carefully recorded. Nowadays what people like the best are paintings which ‘look real?’ They’d admire the artist’s skill in representing the things they’d like to see in everyday life. It is not sketchiness that mainly offends people who like their pictures to look ‘real’. They are more repelled by works which they consider to be ‘incorrectly drawn’.

                Everyone who has ever seen a Disney’s film or a comic strip knows that it is sometimes right to draw things one way or another. Mickey Mouse doesn’t look very much like a real mouse. Yet people don’t write indigent letters to the papers about the length of his tail. What's more, people don’t watch Disney’s films armed with the same prejudices they’d like to take with them when going to an exhibition of modern paintings.

                I have read ‘The Story of Art’ a book written by E.H. Gombrich. On the very first chapter, Gombirch wrote that; “there are two things which we should always ask ourselves if we find ‘fault’ with the accuracy of a picture. One is whether the artist may not have had his reasons for changing the true nature of what he saw. The other is that we should never condemn a work of being ‘incorrectly drawn’ unless we have made quite sure that we are right and the painter is wrong. We have a curious habit of thinking that nature must always look in a way we accustomed to.” Children sometimes think that stars must be star-shaped, though naturally they are not. Those who insist that in a picture the sky must be blue and the grass must be green, are not very different from these children.’ The story illustrates the harm that may be done by those who dislike and criticize works of art for wrong reasons. 

                When it is a matter of matching forms or arranging colors, an artist must always be ‘fussy’ or rather fastidious to the extreme. The artist may see differences in shades and textures in his painting which others may hardly notice. His task is more complex than any other people’s experience in ordinary life. He has not only to balance two or three colors, shapes, or tastes but also balancing the shades and forms till they look ‘right’. He may suffers queries over his problem. He may ponder about it in sleepless nights. He may stand in front of his painting all day trying to add a touch of color here and there; rubbing it out again, though no one would notice the difference either way. Once the artist has succeeded, he has achieved something to which nothing could be added, something which is ‘right’ - an example of perfection in our very imperfect world!

PORTRAIT PAINTING UNMASK: The Process of Making Portraits

Myself in Red

Red colour Pencil &Water basic colour carbon

      In portrait drawing it is very important to create a realistic image with plenty of personality. Moreover, to create a portrait with the eyes that seems as if they are really looking out of the frame. Therefore not least, to paint a likeness of the model. The study of portraiture is by drawing and painting a self-portrait. This is an ideal practice. To start the practice, it is best to use a mirror to begin making a self-portrait. Rembrandt, the master of realistic portraiture used to apply this method to himself. He made his own self-portraits before he finally started to make portrait paintings of other people. Therefore knowing the face in the mirror makes a perfect model for first attempt. Three-quarter views are the best rather than facing straight into a mirror.
In order to gain a perfect image to draw from the mirror, we have to find a comfortable position. It’s either sitting on a chair or standing. If choose to sit on a chair, set it sideways at a comfortable angle in front of a mirror and work on an easel. The same method of positioning is applicable for the standing position. It is hard for a model to be at ease as he/ she are both model and artist.
As I would like begin to draw and paint a portrait, I would start with light outlines and block with simple shades. Charcoal, red chalk and pastel can be use as drawing materials. It’s better to use red chalk for beginners. It focuses on shapes and forms without having to think about detailed colour. Hair, for example, is quite difficult to get right. It requires such a mixture of tone and texture to draw. Furthermore, red chalk gives an effect of a warm portrait. Sienna tone can also add enough warmth to keep the drawing from being too cold. Burnt sienna, and raw sienna, are some of the examples. 

Ben Barnes in Red
Red colour Pencil &Water basic colour carbon

      In the process of making any portrait drawings, it is important to be aware for the highlights. The highlight tones will be contrast with the darker tones. This will help gives the lively effects to the drawing as well as creating the shapes of the figure and moreover to demonstrate the depths. A little white chalk can be used to give the highlight from where the light seems to fall. Side lighting can be a good strong feature. It makes it easy to see the shadows by shaping the features. Starting with lines then smudging them to create whole areas of shadow and light.
We all have two sides to our faces with bumps, surfaces, muscles, texture of our skin and creases, running in slightly different directions. These will capture and differentiate most of the individual features and create personality within the drawing as well as giving the effects of human likeness. The shapes of the mouth, the distance to the nose and chin and the way the muscles in the neck hold up the head are some important features in drawing portraits.  

MY WORK AND THE GAZE

IDENTITY, 2008
(Extra-diegetic gaze)
Medium: Acrylic on cardboard

      I portray myself in a number of my own paintings. I use photographs and mirrors as major tools. After finishing my piece of art, I would sit back and analyse my work. Sometimes I find it quite interesting as I would show half of my face and my gaze would be directly looking out of the canvas. Also I would try to create a mood by looking away. This has influenced my choice of my study project. I have planned to analyse how artist use the gaze in paintings and how it affects the people who are looking at them. When a painting looks back at us it has a very powerful effect. An Extra-diegetic gaze (direct gaze) has been used in several portrait paintings I have made. I believe it helps to create a connection between the audience and the painting itself. A direct gaze is often a sign of confidence.

      In real life it is sometimes difficult to maintain direct eye contact for a long time. There are social rules on the way we look at people, and the rules are different depending on who we are looking at. For example eye contact between friends, might be different than eye contact between strangers. In painting that moment is fixed, however the social rules are taken away. As an audience we are able to look at the subject in the painting without worrying how it feels. We can also look for a longer period of time. The subject in the painting that we are facing won’t be embarrassed by our presence. I feel there’s a certain power when the subject in painting looks back at us.

The Gaze

      Images have the power of giving pleasure to the viewers. They allow viewers to articulate their desire through looking. When we look at images our unconscious desires are motivated. The way we look at paintings involves not only a highly complex range of how we view imagery including the gaze. The concept of gaze is one that deals with how an audience views are presented. 

      I have researched Daniel Chandler’s “Notes on The Gaze”. It provides some knowledge and an understanding on the subject matter throughout my searching process. Daniel Chandler is a British visual semiotician who studies about signs and symbols. Chandler has several key forms of gaze that can be recognized in photographic, filmic or televisual ‘texts’, as well as in figurative graphic art. They are based on who is doing the looking. It starts from when the gaze of the viewer is looking at an image of a person or an object (the readers of the ‘text’). This is called as the Spectators’ gaze. This is followed by the Intra-diegetic gaze, when a character gazes upon an object or another character in the ‘text’. This sort of gaze is what mostly is seen in televisual media by a subjective ‘point-of-view-shot’. The gaze of an audience within the ‘text’ is also counted as part of the Intra-diegetic gaze. An example is typically shown in game shows. This is often includes shots of an audience watching those performing in the ‘text’ within a ‘text’.

      Other key forms of gaze are often associated with gestures and postures are known as the Extra-diegetic gaze. This is when the gaze of a person depicted in the ’text’ looking out at the viewer. Some examples are shown in a drama performance; an aside to the audience. In contrast to the Extra-diegetic gaze, the Averted gaze shows a depicted person’s noticeable avoidance of the gaze of another, or of the camera lens or artist (and thus of the viewer). This may involves looking up, looking down or looking away. Apart from all of the above, the Camera’s gaze (the gaze of photographer) and the Editorial gazes are some other key forms of gaze. The Camera’s gaze represents the way the camera itself appears to look at the people, where as the Editorial gaze shows the whole institutional process by which some portion of the photographer's gaze is chosen for use and emphasis.

      Some theories describe ‘the gaze’ as a social power relation between women and men. It is shown on how men gaze at women, how women gaze at themselves, and how women gaze at other women. Women are often made to appear as objects of desire based on their status as objects of vision (the pose). The female gaze is so regular in advertising that it is taken-for granted. Females are shown offering up their femininity for the pleasure of an absent male spectator (the male gaze). The term ‘the male gaze’ is what Chandler believe has become something of a feminist cliché for referring to the voyeuristic way in which men look at women. However, nowadays, men are also subject to codes of appearance."While many contemporary advertisements continue to sell products through traditional gender codes by portraying women in seductive poses for a possessive male gaze, other advertisements play off these traditions by reversing them and showing both the pleasure of looking at men as objects and the power of women in action."
      The idea of ‘The gaze’ describes how the viewer gazes upon the people are presented and represented. In some cultures, looking people in the eye is assumed to indicate honesty and straightforwardness. In others it is seen as challenging and rude. Most people in Arab cultures share a great deal of eye contact and may regard too little as disrespectful. In English culture, a certain amount of eye contact is required, but too much makes many people uncomfortable. Most English people make eye contact at the beginning and then let their gaze drift to the side periodically to avoid 'staring the other person out'. In South Asian and many other cultures direct eye contact is generally regarded as aggressive and rude. Some cultures and religious groups believe eye contact between men and women is seen as flirtatious or threatening. Men of these communities who do not make eye contact with women are not usually rude or evasive, but respectful.

Spectator’s gaze

Extra-diegetic gaze

Intra-diegetic gaze

Averted Gaze

Camera Gaze  

                                       


                                                              FEMALE GAZE

                                   Women figures are often used for advertising purposes,

                         in a believe they are an effective promotional figure to sell off products.  

MALE GAZE: Changing Concepts of Gaze

Today, men are also subject to codes of appearance.

THE GAZE IN PAINTING: How the gaze of the sitter effects the reading of a painting

Le déjeuner sur l’herbe

Artist : Édouard Manet
Year : 1862 - 1863
Type : Oil on Canvas
Dimensions : 208 cm x 265.5 cm
Location : Musée d’Orsay, Paris

      In relation to the representation of female nudity, Édouard Manet shocked the French public with his master piece painting that broke all the rules and caused one of the biggest art scandals in1863. Le dejeuner sur I’herbe (The lunch on the Grass), is a large oil on canvas painting. Its juxtaposition of a female nude with fully dressed men sparked controversy when the work was first exhibited at the Salon des Refuses.
      What I see in Manet’s painting is just a simply ‘naughty’ disjointed scene. What’s naughty is that, the viewer is faced with an ‘intriguing’ scene. Two clothed men sit engage in conversation with a completely naked woman. There’s a picnic basket beside them that nobody seems to be interested in. Another woman doing something not definite in the background water. There’s no eye contact between these people. However the central naked project figure gazes out towards the viewer in a bold and interested way.
      The most intriguing component of this painting is the expression on the central naked figure; her face and the gaze that she directs at the viewer. The consciousness of seeing coexists with that of being seen. Between the sexes, staring is gender-specific to men, for the aggressive role is reserved for them. Women who do it are not only acting improperly, but contrary to their gender. To a greater extent than even Manet had expected, the public’s opinion was emphatically negative. The public, upon viewing Manet’s painting would experience a range of emotions; arousal, resentment, guilt and embarrassment.
      Manet’s master piece painting is originally called ‘Le Bain’ (The Bathing), which at least explained the woman in the water. Howeverwithin years Manet retitled it Le déjeuner sur l’herbe (The Lunch on the Grass). People like something which tells stories; something that they can understand. In fact, you think that the painting is going to deliver a story thatmakes sense to you, and it doesn’t. It’s a bewildering painting. A painting with nobody understood that provoke ridicule and outrage.
      All three figures in Manet’s painting are in fact well known to Manet. The central man is posed for by his brother in law, Ferdinand Leenhoff who is a sculpture. It believes that both of Manet’s younger brothers, Eugene and Gustave posed for the reclining character on the right. Manet’s wife, Suzanne Leenhoff, and his favorite model, Victorine Meurent both posed for the nude woman. The naked figure has Meurent’s face, but Leenhoff’s plumper body.
      Manet’s ability to reference, adapt and paraphrase earlier works in his paintings is a source of his modernity in thought. Most of Manet’s paintings can be compared in composition and subject to another older painting. Le déjeuner sur l'herbe has been influenced by the old masters. The outlook of the main figures in this painting is originated from Marcantonio Raimondi’s painting, The Judgement of Paris. Furthermore a famous Renaissance painting by Giorgione called The Tempest also shows a full dressed man and a naked nude female in a rural setting. The paintings by the old masters’ are the evidence of the central inspirations of Manet’s Le déjeuner sur l'herbe.
      I find that Manet’s master piece is a staggering painting. It is extraordinary in terms of its scale and ambition and its challenge effectively to the whole history of the nudes before it. It’s new, fresh and visibly defined. What it attempts to do is essentially change all the rules of art. It’s not a realist painting in the social and political sense. However it is a statement in favor of the artist’s individual freedom. Yet the painting has become an icon and an inspiration for generations of artists. Manet’s Le déjeuner sur l’herbe has given me some ideas, and inspired me, to produce a series of paintings showing the figures in picture looking out of the canvas, and gazes directly towards the viewer.

      Based on my research and study, the act of seeing, direct gaze, and eye contact is often characterized as a shocking act of possession, as well as important sign of confidence and giving a large influence on social behavior. It varies generally between cultures, with social religious and social differences often varying greatly in meaning. However, sight is connected through memory to the experience of touch. Therefore, the gaze may symbolically imply physical appropriation of dominance. As an artist, I believe visual communication is the most important form of communication in art.

Prajna Dewantara

Born : August 14, Jakarta 1992
Nationality : Indonesian
Interest : Art & Design

I was born in Jakarta, 14 August 1992. I graduated from Taman Rama School in 2010. I will be starting my Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts in ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology) in 2012.

Art has always been a part of my life. My parents were my first influence. My mother is a painter and an art teacher. My father was a successful photographer before becoming a spiritual teacher. In 2006 my parents divorced and two years later my mother remarried. Oddly my new step-father was also my high school art teacher. He taught me about the history and theory of Art. Through classroom and home discussions my own ideas about painting began to develop as I was introduced to the work of different artists. These high school lectures have helped shape my own concepts.

My technical drawing skills started at an early age. As a young child I was given drawing materials and allowed to play. As I got older I was able to teach myself different techniques from books. At sixteen I started to paint by experimenting with acrylic and water based paint on recycled cardboard. This soon progressed to oil paints and canvas as I challenged myself to improve and try new ways of working. I started to examine the techniques used by professional artists. I attended art exhibitions and met local artists. Talking with them was inspiring and motivating.

My early paintings were portraits of friends and family members or self portraits. I often worked with photographs and mirrors. I was inspired by Rembrandt’s focus on his own portrait and I learned about his technique of drawing portraits.

My current paintings are of people living around me and from my social scene. Friends are portrayed in the number of pictures. In each painting I try to reflect the individual’s nature and personality. I want to show qualities that make that person interesting to me. I paint based on what I see of person’s character as well as their physical characteristics. To create a powerful painting I have to get to know my candidate very well.

Over the past twelve months my work has focused on a theme of the male muse. Traditionally women have been the subject of paintings and with this recognition I have consciously chosen to reverse the role.

The male youths in my paintings give an air of optimism and opportunity while at the same time suggesting an uncertain future. The solitary figures are tranquil and composed. The stereotypical angry young man of youth rebellion has been replaced by a contemplative creative soul. These young men all have a direct personal relationship with me. Our friendship and individuality provides inspiration for me. Like myself, they teeter on the brink of their careers.

I’m a sociable person. It is very important for me to socialize with peers, see the world and meet new people. Through this interaction with others my mind is opened to new ideas. I believe that life itself is full of motivational interest. I find people are very interesting. Each has a unique character and personalities. Many have amazing life stories.. I’m inspired by the remarkable diversity of humankind. Every single line on their faces or mark on their body tells a story.

People, books, magazines, films and exhibitions are my sources of inspiration. I record my ideas and thoughts in a sketchbook and carry it around with me wherever I go. Keeping sketchbook is helpful in terms of developing ideas. Painting is my passion, my spirit and my devotion in life. It will always be a way for me to express and contemplate on my feelings.­­­­