Transcript Art and design The human form Portraits and Adornment We want to give a form to a god or spiritual being We want.

Art and design
The human form
Portraits and Adornment
We want to give a form to a god or spiritual being
We want to represent ourselves
We want to commemorate an ancestor
We want to define our own identity
We want to experiment with our bodies
Why do we create objects in human form?
We want to entertain
We are interested in ourselves
We want to portray emotions and feelings
We want to communicate the power of an individual
We try to understand and record unfamiliar or new peoples
We want to depict the people we admire – heroes,
heroines, idols
We strive to create a perfect human
We wish to celebrate and remember a person
We want to give our children something to play with
Art and design: the human form
Portraits
Portraits on objects
What is a portrait?
What objects might a portrait be displayed on?
Portraits can be made for many purposes.
What purposes can you think of?
to display and celebrate someone living
to honour someone
to legitimise power and authority
to spread the image of a leader to create a sense of group
identity
Portraits may be for private or for public display.
How might this affect the image?
to remember what someone looked like
Portraits for the afterlife
• Both these masks are from Egypt and were
placed over the face of the mummy of a dead
person.
• What is similar and what is different about
these portraits?
• Think about where they would be displayed.
How do you think this influences the portrait?
Portraits for the afterlife
• This mask of Satdjehuty dates from about 1500 BC.
• Satdjehuty was the wife of king Ahmose I. She was therefore very
important and received a lavish burial for her journey to the afterlife.
• Her mask is decorated with lapis lazuli and gold leaf, both very valuable
materials. The crest may suggest protection by a deity.
•The almond-shaped eyes seem to dominate the mask.
Portraits for the afterlife
We don’t know the name of this woman who died around AD 120 – over
1500 years after Satdjehuty – when Egypt was ruled by the Romans.
Cultural influence from Greece and Rome led to this style of depicting
people.
Artists used this new style while continuing the traditional Egyptian practice
of placing a portrait panel over the face at burial.
Examine how the flesh has been created with dark and light areas on the
face. Where is the source of light? Which part of her face is your eye drawn
to most? Why is this?
Portraits and power
What is the name of this view of the human face?
Where else do you commonly see this view?
• Where do you think this object comes from?
• What kind of object do you think it is?
• How has the face been given prominence?
• What might the colours indicate?
Portraits and
powerpower
Portraits
and
Mao Zedong (1893-1976), was leader of the Chinese Communist
Party.
This is a badge from the 1960s when they were worn by almost
all Chinese people to show allegiance to the Party.
The face of Mao, in profile like on a coin, stands out in silver
against the red background, with barely visible golden rays
coming from his face.
'Respectfully wishing Chairman
Mao a long life without obstruction'
'Long live
Chairman Mao'
Art and design: the human form
Adornment
The human form can be altered by the addition of different forms of adornment – think of
as many ways of adorning the body as possible.
jewellery
piercing
wigs
make-up
body paint
scarification
footwear
headgear and hats
masks
Why do we do this?
tattooing
clothing
What kind of adornment can you see on this figure?
What effect does this have?
Describe the form and style of the object.
Where do you think this object is from and why?
This figure is nearly 1 metre tall - what might it have been
used for?
Did you find:
• hair in a topknot?
• the facial markings?
• necklace?
Tattooing occurs all over the world and has a wide variety of meanings and symbols. Moko
(facial tattoos in Maori) uses various techniques, such as chisels to make grooves or points
to puncture the skin.
For Maori, moko:
• adds a protective layer to the body
• shows family and ancestry
• denotes status and role in society
The designs are considered taonga (treasures) and belong to certain families and their
ancestors. This figure of an ancestor was a central housepost in a Maori meeting house.
What kind of adornment can you see on these figures?
What are the figures made from? What are the challenges of working with this material?
What are the figures doing?
How does the drapery help to show us?
Discuss whether these bodies look
realistic.
These famous sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens are considered very fine examples of
naturalistic drapery carved in marble. Examine how the sculptor shows the anatomy of the
body through the fabric.
Compare these figures with the figure on the right from a Greek monument in Turkey –
how is the drapery different? What effect does this have? How is movement suggested?
The human form: art and design
Additional images
Painting on paper of a lady standing by a
flowering tree
India
Late 18th century
The Chinese warrior Yan Qing
Colour woodblock print
by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
Japan
About1827-1830
Loaned by Professor Arthur R. Miller
Ceramic tile showing a
female figure holding a
bottle
Iran
About1700
Self-portrait
William Alexander (17671816) Watercolour and
grey wash over graphite
England
About 1792-4
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