Artistic Motifs Research Articles

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The article is devoted to the connection of the famous English poet, prose writer and preacher John Donne�s (1572�1631) works with the Petrarchan discourse of the European literature. The purpose of the investigation is to reveal and interpret the elements of Petrarchism in spiritual lyrics of the author on the basis of systematic approach with the use of the genealogical and comparative typological methods. The most prominent cases of the traditional Petrarchan themes, motives and images usage in John Donne�s religious texts and the specifity of their functioning have been examined in this article. Our attention has been paid to the genetic interconnection between the courtly rhetoric, which had been inherited by Francesco Petrarch and his numerous followers from the Provencal troubadours, and the traditions of the European mysticism that causes the harmony of the Petrarchan interpretive contexts according to the spiritual lyrics of the writer. Already in his earliest works, in particular in the book �Songs and Sonnets�, John Donne did not avoid mixing the sacred and the profane, quite intensively using religious images and motifs in love poetry. But his Petrarchism is most notable in his �Holly Sonnets�. The poetry of this cycle is not about God at all, but about the author himself in his relationship with Lord. In these sonnets the writer describes his feelings for God in almost the same way as Francesco Petrarch described his love for Laura. In general, if we talk about Petrarchism in relation to the spiritual lyrics of John Donne, it should be noted that for the writer it was not only a convenient source of the �ready� artistic images, motifs or means of expression but a kind of a perfect artistic technique for expressing secret, deeply personal thoughts and emotions. The conclusion has been done that such typically Petrarchan ideas such as: the dedicated service to the object of feelings, slavish adoration, obedience and dependence on its inconstant wishes John Donne has managed to adapt to the special needs of the sacred genres in such a way that his texts look surprisingly attractive, interesting and clear to different readers. Despite his worldwide fame John Donne is still one of the least researched literary figures in Ukrainian science. The article is directed to study only one of many aspects of his many-sided artistic heritage which needs the comprehensive professional analysis of the literary theorists and historians. So this article can be used for the further investigation of the problems, connected with the Petrarchan discourse generally in English literature and particularly in John Donne�s works and the scientific results proposed in it can be used in writing course works, graduation works and thesis on the related themes.

Słowo i obraz – teksty i związane z nimi motywy ikoniczne na nagrobkach kobiet na cmentarzach żydowskich na historycznych obszarach Rzeczypospolitej

Word and Image: Texts and Related Iconic Motifs on Women’s Gravestones in Jewish Cemeteries in the Historical Areas of The Republic of Poland The research material in the article covers the period from the earliest gravestones from the fourteenth century to contemporary ones of the twenty-first century. Among iconic motifs taken into account are those which are specific for women’s gravestones, and from texts in inscriptions—those corresponding to artistic motifs. The aims of this study are the following: to distinguish thematic groups, determine the range of iconic motifs used and the chronology and frequency of their occurrence, as well as to juxtapose them with normative content from religious writings of Judaism and with rites and customs. The following conclusions emerge from the research: In the early period (until the fourth quarter of the eighteenth century), there was no differentiation on tombstones between separate motifs ascribed to men (except for the Kohanim and Levites) and separate motifs ascribed to women. Among the common motifs, the bird motif dominated on women’s gravestones, while the crown motif acquired its specific character. In the fourth quarter of the eighteenth century, the motif of a candlestick appeared on women’s gravestones; it spread very quickly and became a visual identification feature. In the nineteenth century, with the introduction of vanitas motifs on gravestones, they began to be used on women’s gravestones. The connection of motifs with the names of the deceased is also noticeable (e.g. Feigl–bird, Rachel–fairy, Royza–rose, or scenes related to biblical namesakes). The contents of women’s epitaphs presented as praise or description of virtues largely concern traditional female duties toward the home, husband, and children. Women’s gravestones contain no attributes or references to the study of Torah and scholarship, or else to activities in the public sphere—to professions, both religious and later secular—which obviously results from the position and role of women in the patriarchal community. Such information does not appear until the interwar period on the tombstones of women from families assimilated into the surrounding culture which is also evidenced by non-traditional tombstone forms and inscriptions in non-Jewish languages.

Echi Danteschi nel Romanticismo Polacco

The presented article deals with the specifics of the impact of the artistic motives of Dante Alighieri’s literary achievement on Polish romanticism. The particular attention was focused on the undeniable significance of the ideological component of the “Divine Comedy”, the lyrical motives of which were creatively rethought by the Polish romanticists and proposed in their author’s adaptation according to the historical and social realities of the time. It was stated that the culmination of Dante’s success in the Polish literary environment actually coincided with a difficult period in the history of the state: namely, with the national tragedy of 1795, when the third and the final Partition of Poland occured. It was then that the prominent Florentine artist played for the Polish romanticists the role of a special spiritual guide and teacher, who demostrated the captives some ways to confront the painful reality and to achieve the future liberation of the nation. Dante’s patriotic ideals and hopes for a better future were reflected in the original romantic works of the Polish writers. It was noted that in the context of the growing interest towards the religious issues during the Romantic era, the apocalyptic motives and millenarian vision of the world in Dante’s works served to strengthen the messianic ideas of the Polish romanticists, most of whom put an emphasis on the prophetic and eschatological character of the “Divine Comedy”. It was found that for the authors of the time, the figure of the great Italian was associated with Catholicism or Protestantism. It was accentuated that the creative achievement of Dante Alighieri became one of the greatest sources of artistic inspiration for Polish writers of the Romantic movement. In fact Dante echoes were invented in the works of Adam Asnyk, Zygmunt Krasiński, Adam Mickiewicz, Cyprian Norwid, Juliusz Słowacki, Adam Jerzy Czartoryski and others. At the same time it was underlined that the consideration of the Polish romantic literature as a result of the blind imitation of Dante’s lyrical motives is incorrect. In contrast to the Florentine artist, who represented his own reality in the afterlife, the romanticists aimed to find the afterlife in their everyday life. It is the peculiarity of the establishment of the locus horridus to be a characteristic feature by which Dante can be distinguished from the Polish writers.

Roman Artistic Motifs Found on the Sculpture of Eastern Frontispiece of Abhay

Ancient art is neither compact nor concise. It inspires and is inspired incessantly. Ancient Sri Lankan Art does not escape this truth. The presence of Indian influences such as Andhra, Gandhara, Mathura, Amaravati in Sri Lankan art has been discussed extensively. This paper discusses the Roman artistic influences on sculpture found at Eastern Vahalkada/frontispiece/Aika or Frontispiece of Abhayagiriya, Anuradhapura. The Roman motifs of candelabrum, cupids and griffins found at Abhayagiriya which is also composed of Acanthus foliage reminds us of ancient Roman art. This paper will analyze the said motifs extensively and it will compare each of the above motifs with the original forms and iconography to show the intended inspiration from the Roman artistic tradition. The analysis of the artistic motifs would then prove a possibility of cultural exchange between Ancient Sri Lanka and Rome which have rarely been discussed. This presence could not be missed, when it is supported by the historical proof of the presence of trade and political links between Sri Lanka and Rome. Hence, this paper will be studying a single case that will study Roman influences in Ancient Sri Lankan art and it will suffice to show that no form of art is exclusive but open and inspirational.

Educar la mirada: Un proyecto de creación audiovisual para sujetos no productivos.

Multiscreen society bombards us with images about which we can not think, to this is added a technological development that is hast urned us as a issues – receivers of pictures / images in our daily lives. Thus arises a need to deepen the possibilities of emancipation that the current socio-historical landscape can have. “Educar la mirada” we are a group of professionals in education and audiovisual communication that pretend, through film- art and new audiovisual creation devices, to encourage literacy and audiovisual creation for life. We start from work with collectives whose artistic motive has no lucrative interest, such as the public school; hence our interest in non-productive subjects. This project arises from the work carried out by the Trabenco Educational Community ( Public School ) in relation to the environment that exists between childhood and the audiovisual media.Theories of reflection on audiovisual literacy and ways of doing creative people who have a clearer meaning for our approach are: F.P.R Bergala, work CineSinAutor, proposals for Medvedkin, language patterns Alxander and creative crystallizations by authors such as Trier, Rossellini, Rodari, Vigotsky or Svankmajer.This project aims at a careful attention to the audiovisual with the intention of giving it a use beyond stagnant paradigms, where the possibilities we seek are those that make effective the needs and purposes that are given by the collectives themselves.

TWISTING THE ARM OF MICHAEL MAIERHOF: COMPOSER, PERFORMER, CONCERT ORGANISER

AbstractThe German composer Michael Maierhof took a curious and unusual path to becoming a professional composer, performer and concert organiser, one that gives him a unique perspective on the German art music scene. This interview with Maierhof took place on 17 January 2020 in Maierhof's apartment in Hamburg, Germany and forms part of my research into the artistic and socio-economic motivations that composers and artistic directors employ when utilizing a conductor. The interview explores his personal history, compositional techniques, and perspective on the course of contemporary musical history before going on to consider his views on conductor's responsibilities and their role in contemporary music.

Formas tecnológicas e formas da comunicação nos artefactos e nos media

O senso comum dá-nos motivos para acreditar que a identidade dos seres vivos naturais é diferente da identidade dos artefactos. Alegadamente, a identidade dos artefactos está dependente da forma que lhes é atribuída pelos seus criadores e não lhes vem de dentro, não é imanente. Digamos que é esta a distinção que, em geral, se presume entre “corpos vivos organizados” e “corpos artificiais organizados”. Ao presumir um ato construtivo humano, o corpo organizado artificial recebe de fora o seu princípio organizador e o que define o seu uso. As obras de arte contam-se entre estes objetos assim como os instrumentos. No século XIX, algumas descrições sobre as manufaturas tinham chegado a uma definição de máquina como um corpo organizado dotado de moção interna, colocando assim o problema do estatuto das máquinas entre os artefactos. Não se estranha que um dos problemas recorrentes nas discussões filosóficas atuais sobre a técnica e a arte seja o do estatuto da dependência mental, intencional, dos artefactos. Essas discussões demonstraram que a dependência mental não pode ser avaliada sem clarificar a comunicação. Pode assim objetar-se aos autores exclusivamente preocupados com o tema restrito da intencionalidade da dependência mental o esquecimento da orientação comunicativa da produção, manual ou industrial, e do seu destino social. Com o presente estudo pretende mostrar-se como a herança platónica da mimésis, exemplificada com as “três camas” de República X, 597 b e ss., embora supondo uma dimensão comunitária, restritiva, do fazer técnico, está presente nos pressupostos de algumas versões teóricas modernas da técnica, da produção industrial e da arte. Clarificam-se as noções do artífice como produtor para a comunidade, do artefacto e da máquina na indústria para identificar os contrastes entre formas históricas distintas de compreender o fazer técnico e as correspondentes ressonâncias semânticas e teóricas. Seguidamente, caracteriza-se o discurso da crítica cultural, representado em alguns textos de Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno e Herbert Marcuse, como uma orientação teórica conservadora frente à autonomia da comunicação na modernidade, à expansão da produção industrial automatizada segundo diagramas e a sua aplicação aos produtos da arte. À luz de um escrutínio dos transmorfos da arte modernista, particularmente no DADA, revela-se como a arte explorou as colisões morfológicas resultantes da combinação entre motivos orgânicos, artísticos tradicionais e industriais para pôr a comunicação no centro do fazer artístico, desafiar a intencionalidade do autor e potenciar novas situações estéticas. O alcance das atitudes reativas perante o moderno, que o descrevem como unidimensional e redutor, fica assim limitado. Indo ao encontro das várias dimensões da remarcação do mercantil e do artístico nos transmorfos da arte conceptual, conclui-se este trabalho com a tese de que a comunicação artística, como sobrecodificação de vários media, tem a faculdade de redimensionar os emissores, destinatários e mensagens, mesmo quando tem lugar em meios de difusão estandardizados ou mercantilizados.

Artistic and stylistic uniqueness of the Crimean motifs in visual art of the late XIX – early XX centuries

The object of this research is the Russian visual art of the turn of the XIX – XX centuries. The subject of this research is the Crimean theme in visual art of that period. The goal consist in determination of artistic and stylistic uniqueness of the Crimean motifs in paintings and graphics of the late XIX – early XX centuries. Research methodology is comprised of the cultural and historical method, which allow analyzing the evolution of artistic and stylistic systems in the national landscape genre, as well as the development of Crimean theme in art. Based on the synthesis of culturological and art methods, the author reviews cultural and stylistic distinctness of the Crimean motifs of the late XIX – early XX centuries. The novelty of this work lies in the statement that Crimean motifs that enjoyed wide popularity in the artworks of this period are considered one of the style-forming and meaning-forming factors in development of the art and style modes of landscape genre in Crimea. Specificity of the image of nature is defined by the art and style modes that substantiate the authorial concept and system of pictorial means. It is established that the uniqueness of Crimean motifs in painting and graphic art at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries lies in application of vibrating color, fusion with rough strokes of colored shadows, rhythmic principle of creating gradation of colors, soft airy and lighting environment of Crimean landscapes.

문화자본이 공연예술축제 참여에 미치는 영향

This study analyzed the influence of the cultural capital of the individual in the decision-making process that leads consumers to cultural consumption. The study between cultural capital and cultural arts participation should pay attention to practical cultural participation behaviors, not participation intention or preference. Therefore, to achieve the purpose of the study, the Uijeongbu Music Theater Festival(UMTF) was selected where both paid and free performances could be participated at the same time. A survey was conducted from May 13 to 21, 2017, and 368 questionnaires were used for the final analysis. The result showed that the effect of festival participants' cultural capital on their participation in performing arts, motivation for participation, and consumption of paid performances was verified. It showed that cultural capital influences participation, motivation and participation. Moreover, the acquired capital was a stronger influence on involvement and artistic motivation than inherited capital and inherited capital was affected only emotional involvement. Also, emotional and cognitive involvement both affect artistic motivation, and artistic motivation has a significant effect on paid performances. Therefore, the capital acquired through the contact process with culture and arts in the course of growth has a greater influence on current performance art consumption, even if it is not experienced as a child. It suggested that the government needs to actively expand the culture and arts education and provide opportunities for the people.

Origen’s Story: Heresy, Book Production, and Monastic Reform at Saint-Laurent de Liège

Origen’s Story: Heresy, Book Production, and Monastic Reform at Saint-Laurent de Liège

From Babylon to Ethiopia: Continuities and Variations of Utopianism in Rastafari Reggae Music

ABSTRACT In this article, I investigate the ways in which Rastafari discourse on repatriation to Africa – articulated through reggae music – engages utopianism to varying degrees based on the artists’ proximity to Ethiopia. I discuss reggae songs composed and recorded in Jamaica by five different artists/bands that engage Ethiopia-focused utopianism and compare these with songs composed and recorded by one of the most famous repatriated Rastafari reggae artists in Ethiopia, Sydney Salmon who engages Ethiopia-grounded utopianism. I show how proximity to Ethiopia shapes artistic motivations for and representations of a Rastafari utopia while highlighting continuities and variations in Rastafari utopianism.

Motion and Gesture: Analysing Artistic Skills in Palaeolithic Art

The development of artistic abilities in Upper Palaeolithic societies has been analysed in recent years from the perspective of learning and transmission of artistic know-how, from both technical and formal points of view. Recent analyses, based on the study of the operational chains involved in engraving, have shown different levels of acquisition of technical knowledge among Magdalenian artists in Western Europe. This study presents the results of an experimental programme based on the analysis of the physical actions performed while executing artistic motifs. Different patterns of movement and orientation were analysed within a large group of engravers with different levels of technical ability in order to determine the gestural parameters that characterize the different stages of artistic learning. The results, which have been processed with statistical analysis tools, make it possible to differentiate with greater precision the different actions required to engrave on hard materials with lithic implements, as well as the different stages of acquisition of technical knowledge linked to the production of artistic motifs by engraving.

Religion and Reconnecting with Nature

Abstract Attention to the work of American pragmatist philosopher John Dewey and Native American novelist, poet, and essayist Leslie Silko reveals what are in many ways remarkably similar and complementary conceptualizations of religion, as both authors situate religion in the human’s experienced alienation from and reconnection with the natural world, draw heavily on Romantic motifs in literary art to convey the “religious” dynamics of these experiences, and suggest that readers who sincerely engage with certain literary works of art can come to share in these dynamics in a way that has the potential to help reorient their everyday relations with and attitudes toward the natural world. Reading Dewey alongside Silko thus offers us an interdisciplinary set of resources to articulate and promote an ecological conception of religion founded on a mutualistic-symbiotic mode of human dwelling on the earth.

Abstract markings in the rock art of Iran: relative dating and possible function of the markings

ABSTRACT Although large number of rock art sites have been identified in Iran, our knowledge about dating of this art has remained very limited. This paper reviews the previous works on dating rock art of Iran. Moreover, using relative dating approaches, the paper discusses possible dating for abstract markings in the rock art of the country. Some petroglyphs carved on an ancient bas-relief and on the walls of ancient constructions of the known age assist us to put some abstract depictions in a historic, particularly, an ‘Islamic’ context. In addition, using ethnographic evidence, the paper discusses the possible function of abstract motifs in the rock art of Iran.

The reflection of Siberian identity in art of the late XX – early XXI centuries

The object of this research is the phenomenon of Siberian identity through the analysis of visual art of Siberian authors of the XX and XXI centuries. Siberian identity in the works of artists is substantiated by multiethnic population of Siberia and rich history of the region. The leading trend consisted in the popular in 1980’s – 2000’s “neo-archaic” motifs, i.e. reference to the ancient and traditional ethnic cultures of Siberia through the prism of modern perception. But it was not the first experience of resorting to the theme of Siberian ethnic archaism, since the masters of the late XIX – middle XX centuries also addressed to the artistic motifs of indigenous Siberian ethnoses and ancient culture, but it manifested in fundamentally different forms of aesthetics. The main method applied in this research consists in comparative analysis of the artworks of Siberian masters of visual and decorative art at two stages of its establishment (late XIX – middle XX centuries, and second half of the XX – XXI centuries), which reflected the process of finding Siberian identity. Novelty of the presented material lies in the thesis that the concept of “Siberian identity” is being developed by sociologists, philosophers and culturologists, who interpret it in the context of sociological and culturological constructs. The art review of this problem has not been conducted, despite the fact that the process of finding identity in the modern world is most vividly reflected through the images of visual and decorative-applied art.

Conventions and temporal differences in painted faces: A study of posture and color distribution

The human face is a popular motif in art and depictions of faces can be found throughout history in nearly every culture. Artists have mastered the depiction of faces after employing careful experimentation using the relatively limited means of paints and oils. Many of the results of these experimentations are now available to the scientific domain due to the digitization of large art collections. In this paper we study the depiction of the face throughout history. We used an automated facial detection network to detect a set of 11,659 faces in 15,534 predominately western artworks, from 6 international, digitized art galleries. We analyzed the pose and color of these faces and related those to changes over time and gender differences. We find a number of previously known conventions, such as the convention of depicting the left cheek for females and vice versa for males, as well as unknown conventions, such as the convention of females to be depicted looking slightly down. Our set of faces will be released to the scientific community for further study.

Generating Kranok patterns with an interactive evolutionary algorithm

The kranok pattern is a classical Thai pattern, often seen in the ornamentation of Thai religious artifacts such as Tripiṭaka cabinets, temple doors and coffins. All Thai trainee artists must practice drawing the kranok pattern because it is a fundamental motif in Thai traditional decorative art. Individual skilled artists and instructors have their own preferred ways of drawing the pattern, and their styles differ in ornamental details. Nevertheless, all make use of similar basic structures. Most trainees learn a range of styles by observing experienced artists. After exploring the methods of drawing used by experts and published in textbooks, we designed an algorithm for automatically generating kranok patterns. We used an interactive evolutionary algorithm (IEA) to improve the aesthetic appeal of the generated patterns in response to users’ feedback. The aim of our work was not to replace artists with machines, but to enhance human artistic expression. Specifically, the work aimed to help users without artistic skills to create kranok patterns in their own style. The algorithm facilitated the creation of a variety of personalized kranok patterns – diverse in their expressive curvature, refinement and proportions – that were satisfying to the varying preferences of a range of users. We also analyzed the proposed algorithm’s behavior in terms of its convergence to generate specific shapes. The proposed method was examined by 28 respondents (27 Thai and 1 foreign) who were selected to include representatives of both sexes as well as experts in both Thai drawing and evolutionary algorithms. The results from our questionnaires showed that all respondents were satisfied with the generated kranok patterns: one respondent was ‘completely satisfied’, seventeen ‘very satisfied’, seven ‘moderately satisfied’, and three ‘slightly satisfied’.

In the shadow of black turban: Semiotic transformation of floral motif in 17th-century Dutch art

This article deals with the investigation of floral still-life in 17th-century Dutch painting and the special meaning of tulips in such works. The author points out the problem of the unique position of this flower in the every-day life and its place in the Dutch economy and the system of cultural and aesthetic values. The paper investigates botanical drawings of flowers as well as flower still-lifes and history paintings, which could be interpreted profoundly when one takes into account the meaning of tulip.

Transformation in Anglo-Saxon Culture: Toller Lectures on Art, Archaeology and Text ed. by Charles Insley and Gale R. Owen-Crocker

Reviewed by: Transformation in Anglo-Saxon Culture: Toller Lectures on Art, Archaeology and Text ed. by Charles Insley and Gale R. Owen-Crocker Greg Waite Insley, Charles, and Gale R. Owen-Crocker, eds, Transformation in Anglo-Saxon Culture: Toller Lectures on Art, Archaeology and Text, Oxford and Philadelphia, Oxbow Books, 2017; paperback; pp. xviii, 136; 30 colour and 16 b/w illustrations; R.R.P. £38.00; ISBN 9781785704970. This volume contains five lectures delivered at Manchester University between 2009 and 2014, with an introduction by Gale Owen-Crocker, and an index. As proclaimed in the title, 'transformation' is a key theme explored in the lectures, highlighting the Anglo-Saxon capacity for 'adaptation to new circumstances' (p. xv). All contributors have long and distinguished careers and the experience and breadth of vision necessary to explore successfully such a theme. In different ways, each lecture provides a window into and a summation of their respective research interests. John Hines's contribution is titled 'A New Chronology and New Agenda: The Problematic Sixth Century'. This lecture arises out of the large-scale, multi-authored research report edited by Hines and Alex Bayliss, Anglo-Saxon Graves and Grave Goods of the 6th and 7th Centuries ad: A Chronological Framework (England Society for Medieval Archaeology, 2013). Hines discusses the team's revision of major material-cultural dates bounding the period of particular types of furnished burial, previously placed with the period c. 570–720, but, under the revised chronology, considered to span the period c. 530–680. Within the first half of this period, observed shifts in material culture in both male and female graves raise new questions about the environmental and sociopolitical circumstances that may lie behind the steep decline in burial with grave-goods around 570, followed [End Page 261] by a resurgence, particularly for female graves, after the first quarter of the seventh century. In 'Anglo-Saxon Art: Tradition and Transformation', Leslie Webster draws on themes explored in her major study, Anglo-Saxon Art (Cornell University Press, 2012). Ranging over six centuries of Anglo-Saxon art, from zoomorphic decoration and figural decoration on the earliest metalwork (and the brooding pottery figure on a cremation urn lid from Spong Hill) to the Bayeux Tapestry, Webster focuses on the nature of visual literacy and the decoding (as in riddles) of artistic motifs in the pagan period, running through their adaptation and fusion with imported traditions mainly introduced with the advent of Christianity. Both before and after this watershed in artistic traditions, the Anglo-Saxons succeeded in transforming traditions unique to their particular insular environment. Barbara Yorke's 'King Alfred and Weland: Tradition and Transformation at the Court of King Alfred' assesses the degree to which Alfred had transformed himself into a philosopher king (as his biographer Asser portrays him) in relation to the traditional expectations of a war leader. The appeal to Alfred of heroic and martial figures like Weland and Hercules, either already present or inserted into his translations, and his idiosyncratic treatment of free will in the translation of Boethius suggest (together with his portrayal in the Chronicle) that he wished to present himself as a martial figure as much as if not more than an intellectual one. Michelle Brown, in a wide-ranging lecture titled 'Strategies of Visual Literacy in Insular and Anglo-Saxon Book Culture', explores the 'complex cognitive challenges of fully integrated word, sound and image' (p. 99) initiated in book culture in early medieval Britain and Ireland. Brown's mastery of her field is evident in, for example, her exegesis of the Ezra portrait in Codex Amiatinus as encapsulating the dynamics of scholarship and pastoral care in early book production. In 'The Vercelli Book as a Context for The Dream of the Rood', Éamonn Ó'Carragáin examines how the poem fits into a context of thematically selected texts dealing with approaching death and Judgement. He considers the manuscript to be an old-fashioned one, reflecting the culture of pre-Benedictine reform houses of canons. Equally interesting is the author's discussion of the other two texts of the Dream in context: that is, on the Brussels Cross and the Ruthwell Cross respectively. This book will be essential...

Fantastic Beings and Where to Make Them ‒ Boats as Object-Beings in Bronze Age Rock Art

The boat motif in Bronze Age rock art is generally assumed to represent real or symbolic boats in some form. In this paper, however, it is argued that Bronze Age rock art motifs are independent material articulations, made to do something rather than to represent. From such a perspective, the hybrid character of the boat motif as part animal, part object is conceived as a special type of entity, an object-being that has no original elsewhere. The change of perspective, from representation to articulation, and from object to being, allows for a more coherent view of Bronze Age rock art as primarily enacted imagery integrated with rock and metal as vitalist devices, aimed to affect the world.