Проект на тему «Живопись пещерная и современная» Prehistoric Cave Painting and Modern Art
Проект на тему «Живопись пещерная и современная» Prehistoric Cave Painting and Modern Art
Introduction
I have a passion for drawing. All you need are a pen, a piece of paper and some imagination – which I have a lot of – and you can create whatever you want. I have always liked drawing things, painting and colouring. When my mum noticed my interest she took me to the city Art School which I then started attending. It’s been 3 years already since I first went there, and now I’m really good at painting objects. I especially like drawing nature and animals. I have once tried to draw my mother’s portrait. It didn’t come out well but my mother was pleased.
Some of my classmates enjoy painting too and we often talk about our hobby. One day we decided to find out why people started drawing and try to understand if there is any difference between cave painting and spray painting.
Вы уже знаете о суперспособностях современного учителя?
Тратить минимум сил на подготовку и проведение уроков.
Быстро и объективно проверять знания учащихся.
Сделать изучение нового материала максимально понятным.
Избавить себя от подбора заданий и их проверки после уроков.
I have a passion for drawing. All you need are a pen, a piece of paper and some imagination – which I have a lot of – and you can create whatever you want. I have always liked drawing things, painting and colouring. When my mum noticed my interest she took me to the city Art School which I then started attending. It’s been 3 years already since I first went there, and now I’m really good at painting objects. I especially like drawing nature and animals. I have once tried to draw my mother’s portrait. It didn’t come out well but my mother was pleased.
Some of my classmates enjoy painting too and we often talk about our hobby. One day we decided to find out why people started drawing and try to understand if there is any difference between cave painting and spray painting .
Reasons
I have decided to choose this theme because I have always been interested in history of painting and the reasons why we need it.
Aims
To learn something about the first drawings
To compare these first drawings with modern art
To understand the reasons why we need drawing and painting
To broaden our knowledge of the world
To understand this art better
Actuality
This form of Art exists in every community, every culture, and every country. It has been created since time began, evidenced in cave paintings and rock art, and in today’s world we continue to question the worth of art.
Besides, everybody draws. We can scarcely find a person above the age of two who has never make a drawing. And painting is the queen of the arts. Ask ten people to form a quick mental image of ‘art’, nine of them are likely to visualize a painting. And there is a reason for it. Paintings are usually full of colour which is an important visual stimuli.
So, I think the work is actual and may be interesting to my schoolmates.
Research
1.I have asked my friends and my classmates why people paint. What are the reasons?
1. It helps to relax 5%
2. It helps to express their feelings 16%
3. It helps them not feel bored 32%
4. Its fun / interesting 47%
2.Is cave painting art?
1. Yes it is 95%
2. No it isn’t 5%
3.Is spray painting art?
1. Yes it is 45%
2. No it isn’t 55%
History
The earliest known rock paintings are dated to the Upper Paleolithic, 40,000 years ago, while the earliest European cave paintings date to 32,000 years ago.
Cave arts are often in areas of caves that aren’t easily accessed. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of transmitting information, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose.
The most common themes in cave paintings are large wild animals, such as bison, horses, aurochs, and deer, and tracings of human hands.
Historical background
Cave art is the painting or drawing of figures called pictographs and petroglyphs to portray a story or to record known history. It is sometimes even used to design plans for hunting or gathering.
Altimira, Spain
The first cave paintings were found in 1870 in Altimira, Spain by Don Marcelio and his daughter. They were painted by the Magdalenian people between 16,000 – 9,000 BC. This would have been 11,000 -19,000 years ago. These paintings are sometimes called “The Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic Art.”
Lascaux, France
Four boys searching for a lost dog discovered paintings at Lascaux Cave, France in 1940. These paintings were created around 15,000 BC, which would make them about 17,000 years old. There are seven chambers in the Lascaux cave.
Chauvet – Pont – d’Are
Chauvet – Pont – d’Are cave in the South of France is the newest cave painting to be discovered. (1994) Many of the animals were painted over each other. The oldest were probably painted around 30, 000 BC, making them about 32 000 years old.
Artistic characteristics.
- It’s predominant theme was animals.
- It is considered to be an attempt, by Stone Age peoples, to gain some sort of control over their environment whether by magic or ritual. There are three general themes that tend to appear in cave paintings:
Humans
Humans are rarely depicted in caves. When they are shown, they are drawn as a cartoon-like silhouette.
Animals
The most abundant animal depictions are those of horses. A quarter of all the animal images in caves in Western Europe are horses. Images of Bison are also very common. The animals tend to be painted large than the other images.
Signs
Signs are abstract symbols that are difficult to interpret because of their ambiguity. Signs are commonly associated with hunting equipment and the female form.
Factors
Humans didn’t know how to write during the prehistoric time period. So, they communicated through cave paintings.
Prehistoric humans were basically hunters. Thus, most paintings are of animals. Early paintings are believed to be of social and religious significance. The painting of the animal sends a message to its spirit, that great respect is intended and that only those needed for survival will be hunted and killed.
Medium
- Cold, solid rock was their canvas.
- Prehistoric people would have used natural objects to paint the walls of the caves. To etch into the rock, they could have used sharp tools and a spear.
- The paint or colour that they probably used was from berries, clay, soot, charcoal or animal fat.
- The tools used to apply the paint could have been made by attaching straw, leaves, moss, or hair to sticks. They might have used hollow bones or reeds to spray the colour on, similar to an airbrush technique.
Artform
painting
drawing
engraving, and
handprints
So, why did they paint?
This debate continues to this day, with new books and papers being published that advance one idea or the other. All of these hypotheses are probably true to a certain extent. Maybe one cave was a doodle, another was ritualistic, but they weren’t all doodles because there was no universal reason for their manufacture.
As for me, I often paint when I’m sad. Those people had hard life, maybe they drew because they were frightened or stressed. Besides, I’m sure that some of them wanted to preserve their culture and themselves as something great and eternal. And they were right. Their paintings are appreciated even now.
Prehistoric art was present about 25000 years and it was the longest artistic period in our history. After thousands of years and long period of inactivity it changed into religious symbols in Asia and came back to Europe (specially in Mediterranean region).
Modern artists
Modern artists came back to prehistoric painting techniques in XX century. Some expressionists were painting with their hands and Jack Pollock was using paint spraying style.
Jackson Pollock was an American painter. Most of his canvases were either set on the floor, or laid out against a wall. He allowed the paint to drop from the paint can. He also used knives, trowels or sticks. This form of painting was known as “action painting” and as the ‘drip and splash’ style. It was in 1947.
Some people love colours. They see their beauty. They are fond of their combination and contrast. They can tell what the colour wants to say. Colours make life beautiful and enjoyable for us. The best way of making use of these colours is through painting.
If we look at modern paintings now, for example, at the spray painting on the walls of the houses, it raises similar questions:
Why do they do it?
Is it art?
Is it urban ritual?
Will it speak in history to the trails of inner –city life?
Art forms have changes a lot, but they are always influenced by the subject matter occurring in society at that time. Art will never be the same, it is always adapting to the times.
Modern art is different art, no doubt. Time passed and artists started using more modern styles: minimalism, cubism, and impressionism being the more obvious. These styles are extremely different from previous styles practiced before, of course. However, the reasons are the same, I think.
There is a good saying ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. It means that a single image can communicate in a moment something that it takes hours to describe in words. It is a way of telling others about our thoughts, opinions, reactions, and feelings. Most of the time we communicate verbally. But visual images are also a powerful way to communicate. Although people speak and write in many different languages, pictures and images are easily understood almost anywhere in the world. So, we can say that painting is a direct, immediate and universal language.
Let’s look at some wall paintings and compare them.
When people say ‘I could do that’ looking at some wall paintings they may be right. Some of these pictures do not show any idea. When modern art just started to develop, artists worked on one picture for a year and more, and minimalism, cubism, impressionism all these directions had core, an idea, thoughts. Artist worked hard to develop the picture. Nowadays we can see that some young artists create modern art without thoughts and core. They don’t have a deeper meaning. That it why, some people think, the most part of modern art is not art at all. In modern art we see what we want to see but with real art we see what the artist wants us to see and to feel. Though the vibrant colors of a modern painting can be interesting, we could never compare it to the meaning and story hidden behind a Van Gogh. I also agree with those who say modern art can be done by almost anyone. I could throw paint at a canvas and call it art even if it isn't "real" art.
But some of these painting are real masterpieces I think. They make our life more beautiful.
So, where should we put prehistoric cave paintings and spray paintings on the walls of the houses?
People of Paleolithic ages were performing their art on walls in living places. Besides, they survived longer than anything and today they can show us their way of life. And what about modern paintings on the walls? Art or vandalism? Some of these paintings make our city centers look dirty and untidy. Why don’t they beautify their rooms with these ‘masterpieces’?
But working on my project work, in the internet, I found some examples of spray painting that were really beautiful. I think only professionals could create them and it is definitely art.
I believe art is what the artists are thinking or feeling. They try to convey a message to the viewers, who can interpret it in their own way. And if it is a good message it is certainly art.
Why do people draw?
My friends gave me different answers, but all of them are right, I think. People draw for different reasons. Here are five reasons why I believe we need painting:
1. It is a Natural Human Behavior: Every culture has art. Like language and laughter, painting is a human behavior. We need painting because it makes us human beings.
2. It is Communication: Painting, like language, is a medium to express ideas and to share information. It helps us to share thoughts, ideas and visions that may not be able to be articulated any other way. We need it to have a full range of expression.
3. It is Healing: Creating or experiencing painting can relax and sooth us or it may enliven and stimulate us. The process of creating painting engages both the body and the mind and provides us with time to look inward and reflect. Experiencing art also gives us reason to think and be reflective or may inspire us to get up and dance. It provides a release, a place for reflection and away to engage our whole selves. We need painting to keep us healthy.
4. It Tells Our Story: Painting is a history lesson, an historical record, a preservation of culture, and an autobiography all in one. Art documents events and experiences and allows us a richer understanding of history. We need painting to understand and to share our individual and shared history.
5. It is a Shared Experience: The creation of art is a collective activity. Art offers us a reason to come together and share in an experience. We need art to keep us connected.
Conclusion
I have learned a lot of interesting things about painting. I’ve found out that people throughout the history have been painting to express their feelings and to convey a certain message to the viewers. And if it is a good message it is certainly art. I enjoyed doing the project work and I hope I managed to arise your curiosity.
