Discussion ART 101a:

Assignment: Have a classmate utilize the following questions when they analyze their chosen artwork:

  • Is what you are describing the subject, or is it style?  Why?  Stay with the subject matter here.  There is not always a clear-cut division between subject and style.
  • How is the work reflective of its culture, and what purpose did it serve in its original context?
  • Consider, if the artwork is taken from its site without a record of its original location, what do we lose in terms of historic knowledge?

Respond to two or more peers. When responding, take a peer’s subject analysis, and provide the style analysis for his/her work.  This is a discussion, so feel free to contribute brief subject and style observations to multiple posts.  Many eyes produce more insights.

Is there depth? Is there clarity and order, or is the image chaotic? Think about whether the style conforms to conventions of the time period. Much can be said about style, but it takes some looking.

 

Classmate 1 post (Heather)

  • Title: Cave Painting of a Rainbow Serpent

Culture: Aboriginal (Australia)

Date: 6000 BCE

Material/Medium: Rock, white ochre, red ochre

Present Location: Mount Borradaile, Western Arnhem Land, Australia

The above work depicts a rainbow serpent, a renown creature in Aboriginal mythology associated with their stories of creation. It is about 6 meters long, the largest of many snakes like it in the region, (National Museums Scotland, n.d.). Its serpentine body is white, outlined in red ochre with well defined body segments, one of which sports a fin-like appendage. Its imposing head with open mouth displays large teeth while another set of fin-like structures connect the head to the rest of the body. In Aboriginal mythology the rainbow serpent is thought to be associated with human creation and the creation of the earth during the Dreamtime, the mythological period of the creation of the natural world (Encycolpedia Britannica, 2020). As one rainbow serpent story goes, the world during the Dreamtime (or the Dreaming) was frigid and featureless, void of life and when the time came the rainbow serpent came up out of the ground creating all the features of the earth like mountains and valleys and perhaps most importantly, water (Linklater, 2022). The rainbow serpent is a deity commonly associated with life-giving waters and rain, but also with floods and storms (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018). Rainbows are said to be the serpent moving from one water source to the next (Taçon et al., 1996).

Images of the rainbow serpent begin to emerge in 6000 BCE (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018) after the end of the last Ice Age when the climate stabilized and sea levels rose (Taçon et al., 1996). The earliest rainbow serpents are thought to have been modeled after ribboned pipefish that begun to appear in the coastal waters of Australia around this time (Linklater, 2022). The appearance of this previously unknown animal with the change in climate may have indeed fueled the first rainbow serpent stories. While there are many different depictions of rainbow serpents in Aboriginal art, some with more crocodilian and even dragon-like features, the pipefish as a reference for the rainbow serpent art may also explain the segmented body frequently depicted and perhaps even the fin-like appendages.

The purpose of the rainbow serpent at Mount Borradaile may have been ceremonial in nature as the serpent takes center stage in rituals concerning fertility, abundance, death and regeneration. It is also located in a site which was (and remained) uninhabited, yet easily accessible and close to habitated surrounding areas (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018), suggesting special placement separate from daily life. As with most prehistoric art, the true nature and purpose of this particular rainbow serpent may be beyond us, but the rainbow serpent continues to be revered in Aboriginal culture and their meanings and stories may be the closest we get to the truth.

 

References: 

Dozier, M. (n.d.) Cave painting of a rainbow serpent [Photograph]. Art History.

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2020). The dreaming: Australian Aboriginal mythology. In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Dreaming-Australian-Aboriginal-mythology)

Linklater, S. (2022, May 19). Rainbow serpent in aboriginal art & culture. Artlandish Aboriginal Art. Retrieved from https://www.aboriginal-art-australia.com/aboriginal-art-library/rainbow-serpent/

National Museums Scotland. (n.d.). Australia’s rainbow serpent. Retrieved from https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/global-arts-cultures-and-design/mythical-creatures/mythical-creatures/australias-rainbow-serpent/

Stokstad, M. & Cothren, M.W. (2018). Art History (6th ed.). Pearson.

Taçon, Paul S. C., Wilson, M. & Chippindale, C. (1996). Birth of the rainbow serpent in Arnhem Land rock art and oral history. Archaeology in Oceania, 31(3), 103-124. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4453.1996.tb00355.x

 

Classmate 2 post (Andrew)

Hello class,

The title of the work I discovered when researching on line is Winged Human-Headed Bull. The culture of the piece is Assyrian and the date is 883-859 BC. The material of the piece is gypsum alabaster and its current location is at the Louvre, Richelieu wing, Ground floor, Mesopotamia, Room 4.

The Winged Human-Headed Bull is a large statue carved from a single block, standing and impressive 13 ft tall and 4m wide. It depicts a human headed winged bull, with express eyes, thick eyebrows and a long beard. The creature has five legs, to show a solid stance from the front but portray a stride when looked at from the side with large outstretching wings on each side. They had horned caps to signify divinity and belts that signified power. These statues were placed at gates and doorways at the palace of Dur Sharrukin (present day Khorsabad). They were meant to be guardians of the palace and had inscriptions that threatened to put a curse on anyone who wanted to do the King harm. The theme of this piece portrays is protection, strength, and power. There is no mystery about the purpose or meaning of this work, they were created to be guardians and protectors. It’s impressive size and stature were built so large to intimidate and bring fear to anyone entering the palace. They were also meant to display the greatness of the king.