Figurative Motifs Research Articles

Punctuated Equilibria and Indonesian Art

What defines the evolution of craft to an art form? Is it the length of time that a person puts into producing it? Probably not, for the cardboard cathedrals crafted by John Merrick (the Elephant Man) surely equate in time and effort to a typical sculpture; however, one is whimsy and the other is art. Is it an issue of quality, where a refined craft eventually becomes art? The Durer woodcut, the carved burl, and the samurai sword are of undisputed quality— but art, not necessarily. Is it the level of abstraction or impressionism in figurative expression? If so, we might compare a tourist caricature painter to one of the Dutch masters. Perhaps the closest definition is this: craft is the basic repetition of a learned skill, whereas art suggests creative innovation even if applied to old technology. In this issue’s cover art, we witness a natural experiment in the evolution of art from craft. In this case, the art is ‘‘Luxuriant Grass,’’ by Indonesian artist Mardiyono. The craft is batik, a fabric that has been decorated using a wax resist dyeing method. First, the batik maker applies a pattern of hot wax to a cloth. When the wax dries, the fabric is either brushed with or dipped into a series of dyes. The wax, which is later removed, preserves intricate patterns of unstained cloth. Throughout Southeast Asia, batik carries great cultural significance. Batik can be defined according to pattern, color, or fabric. In Indonesia, traditional Javanese court batik consisted of specific symbolic and ceremonial motifs, typically dyed in earthen tones. However, due to colonial rule, wartime occupation, maritime trade and other geopolitical factors, Indonesian batik patterns have also been known to include European bouquets, Indian peacocks, Chinese phoenixes, and Arabic calligraphy (UNESCO 2009). At its origins, batik was an art intended for royal appreciation (Elliot and Brake 2004). Over time, as innovative artistic designs became recognizable symbolic patterns, batik shifted into the realm of cultural craft. In the expanding regional markets of the mid-1800s, batik makers turned to copper stamps to apply the wax to large swaths of fabric. This allowed for faster production of precisely patterned batik textiles, turning cultural craft into an industry. In the 1960s, new technology encouraged the production of yardage of batik for clothing in Western-style cuts (Elliot and Brake 2004). In Malaysia today, many government departments honor ‘‘batik Thursday,’’ a far more elegant contrast to our Western ‘‘casual Friday.’’ How can we map the transformation of modern batik? For batik, the evolution of art from craft did not occur along a smooth trajectory of increasing abstraction or finery of detail. It occurred in the shift away from a repetitive, learned skill. In ‘‘Luxuriant Grass,’’ Mardiyono’s change is stark but simple. Rather than repeat figurative motifs on a stained background, Mardiyono keeps large swaths of the silk canvass pure crystal white. Moreover, he paints freehand renditions of Indonesian scenes with stunning detail and explosive color. This artistic leap punctuates the equilibrium to push the evolution of art in a single generation. This is an exciting time for aficionados of ‘Eco-Art’ (see www.ecoartsonline.org). To witness the birth of a new art form is equivalent to witnessing Halley’s comet. What do new artists choose as they look for subject matter to EcoHealth 8, 134–135, 2011 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-011-0709-7

Roman spolia from necropolises and their reuse for reinforcing late antique city walls and for building edifices of the modern era in Pula

The topography of Roman Pula established the existence of a large imperial necropolis stretching along the roads leading to and from the city. Necropolises were also situated between the Flavian road (via Flavia) and the seashore, west of the amphitheatre, following the roads leading to Trieste (Tergeste), Nezakcij (Nesactium), Medulin and Premantura (Promunturium Polaticum). In the turbulent period between the 4th and the 6th cc, the most luxurious part of the necropolis in front of the city gates was a source of construction material for the double reinforcements of the city walls and towers. What catches the eye even today on the outer side of the defensive structures are stone steps and smooth columns and their bases, architraves, friezes adorned with floral and figural motifs, which were built into the fundaments and lower parts of the external, then newly added and reinforced belt of fortifications encompassing the city. A part of the spolia from Roman necropolises along the roads leading to the suburbium (decorative stelae, tomb epigraphs, fragments of sarcophagi, column capitals) were built into public and private buildings throughout the 16th to the 19th century.

Depicting cross‐cultural interaction: figurative designs in wood, earth and stone from south‐east Australia

AbstractWe examine Aboriginal wooden artefacts traded between European and Aboriginal Australians in south‐east Australia in order to gain insight into the impact of cross‐cultural interaction on Aboriginal art traditions. Although we focus on wooden objects with figurative designs made and exchanged over the past 150 or more years, as well as their links to earlier ground, tree and rock‐art traditions, the study contributes to a larger understanding of cultural change not well documented with ethnography. Information from 469 individual pieces in 90 private and public collections, is summarised, along with the development of individual, community and regional styles. A theory about the role of such material culture during changing times in south‐east Australia is outlined. More generally, it is argued that material culture both mediates and expresses change, with figurative motifs and storytelling through pictures particularly effective when communicating to diverse groups of people of varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

An Early Greek Bronze Sphinx Support

place in the curatorial ranks of The Metropolitan Museum of Art by virtue of her expertise and the gracious generosity with which she has imparted it. Her specialization in European porcelains and metalwork inspires me to publish an extraordinary recent acquisition' that features two of the most longlived Greek contributions to Western iconography, the sphinx and the foot in the form of a lion's paw. The adornment and animation of utilitarian objects by means of figural motifs are hallmarks of Greek art. The object of our attention is a bronze support datable to about 600 B.C. and consisting of a lion's paw that develops into the forepart of a sphinx. While a sphinx, by definition, has the body of a lion, the head of a woman, and the wings of an eagle, the pawshaped foot is considerably more common than the sphinx as an adjunct in related bronze utensils (Figures 1-3). The paw shows five toes that are separated and articulated but nonetheless maintain a rather

Pavimenta atque emblemata vermiculata: Regional Styles in Hellenistic Mosaic and the First Mosaics at Pompeii

Mosaic production in the Hellenistic period can be divided into two broad regional types, eastern and western, on the basis of stylistic and technical differences that are derived from varying local traditions of paving. The characteristics of these schools are outlined, and the earliest mosaics at Pompeii are shown to be derived from the western Greek tradition. However, comparison of the Pompeian floors with contemporary mosaics from Greek sites also reveals a significant difference: the first Pompeian mosaics consist almost exclusively of figured scenes set into relatively plain pavements, whereas in Greek mosaics abstract decoration is much more common, and figural motifs are the exception rather than the rule. These differences reflect a difference in the purpose of mosaics: Pompeian patrons wanted the decoration of their houses to display their familiarity with Greek culture, which encouraged the production of copies and pastiches of Greek art-works, and generic designs in Greek style. The very specific demands of the Pompeian market may have been served by a different process of production: there are signs of a separation between the manufacture of figured panels, which were probably made by Greeks, and the laying of the pavement itself, which may have been the work of local craftsmen.

Bereavement Group Therapy in School: the role of a belief in a post‐death existence within adolescent development for the acceptance process of loss[1

As adolescents move away from parents towards peer group support, they develop their sense of self through challenge and reaction against authority. The parent/ guardian stands as the authority, but if the rule‐imposing figure is unexpectedly taken away the progress towards a sense of self is affected. School provides a social context for normalcy, but rarely is support found for bereaved youngsters in school. Adolescents in bereavement group therapy are able to share their experiences and begin to confront their loss through discourse, and such an approach in school serves to prepare pupils for later in‐depth individual counselling to work on guilt and maladaptive behaviour. Beliefs of an after‐life existence, which move from literal to figurative motifs, serve as coping mechanisms to help guide the youth through towards an acceptance and a sense of hopefulness. A model is presented that is in‐keeping with the developmental stage of adolescence, that utilizes peers as a therapeutic resource — those who have similarly been bereaved of loved ones. A study carried out at Shenley court comprehensive School and Sixth Form center, Shenley Lane, Northfield, Birmingham B29 4HE, UK. A full transcript of the discourse is available from the author.

Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture: Figural Motifs in Western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands. By Pamela A. Webb.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsHellenistic Architectural Sculpture: Figural Motifs in Western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands. By Pamela A. Webb.Linda Jones RoccosLinda Jones Roccos Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Archaeology Volume 102, Number 2April 1998 The journal of the Archaeological Institute of America Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/506490 Copyright © 1998 by the Archaeological Institute of America. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture: Figural Motifs in Western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands

Sculpted figural motifs were an important component of many buildings in the world, and their frequent relegation to subsidiary status has, until now, left our knowledge of both architecture and sculpture incomplete. In Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture, Pamela A. Webb examines the full range of figural embellishment from simple to complex, on large monuments as well as on more obscure ones, and in the major population centers as well as the smaller cities, sanctuaries, and isolated areas throughout western Anatolia and the Aegean islands.In this book, the first to focus specifically on the figural adornment of architecture, Webb provides extensive information about the chronology and interpretation of figural motifs adorning religious, civic, commercial, commemorative, and domestic constructions. She finds that figural sculptures adorn structures at every level from the ground to the roof, and display a wide variety of motifs on such architectural elements as columns, walls, entablatures, and pediments. More than 130 illustrations of monuments temples, altars, cult buildings, heroa, theaters, bouleuteria, stoas, gymnasia, and houses and their sculptured adornment complement the author's descriptions and analyses. The book features an extensive bibliography, citing resources from the early nineteenth century to the most recent publications.

Hellenistic architectural sculpture: figural motifs in western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands

Hellenistic architectural sculpture: figural motifs in western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands

Refloating the Ark: Figural Motifs in the Writing of Francis Stuart

Refloating the Ark: Figural Motifs in the Writing of Francis Stuart

Islam, iconoclasm, and the declaration of doctrine

The attitude of the early Islamic state towards figurative representations is often cited as a source contributing to the establishment of officially-supported iconoclasm within the Byzantine Empire in A.D. 726. Islam has generally adopted a position opposed to the representational in secular art, and the exclusion of all figurative motifs from Islamic religious art is clear from the first, yet this attitude is not necessarily to be regarded as intrinsically iconoclastic in the true sense of the word; indeed, outside Arabia itself, the only evidence of iconoclasm until the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate in 132/750 is confined to the well-known attack on images and statues carried out on the orders of Yazīd II. b. ‘Abd al-Malik (101–105/720–724). This much discussed outbreak of iconoclasm is well documented by Islamic and Christian sources, but the very fact that it is so specifically associated with Yazīd's Caliphate suggests that it was considered unusual at the time. Although Christian sources carefully record the difficulties of their communities under the Umayyads, the absence of references to image-breaking under Caliphs before Yazīd implies that his action was a rarity worthy of comment: under normal circumstances, it would seem the Muslims left the Christians to use icons and representations or not, as they wished.