Understanding The Misunderstood Art From Different Cultures :: essays research papers

Understanding the Misunderstood Art From Different CulturesArt is a medium used by people e contrivanceh wide to express their ideas, their fears,and their joys. The artist takes the experiences of life and translates theminto a visual object, rich in colors, shapes and sizes, for all the world toobserve. As a casual observer of art, one and only(a) is able to relive the feeling orexperience the artist was trying to display, if only for a brief moment in time.No matter what cultural background one comes from, art appreciation andenjoyment erases the barriers and the limits, and allows cross-cultural perceiveing and appraisal.Art has always relied heavily upon universal symbols. One of the most well cognise universal symbols is the cross, meaning of course, religion. Religion ofa culture is one of the most frequently misjudged and stereotyped aspects Fromthe prehistoric times of the cave man to present day, art has depicted religiousscenes native to a specific culture. This is whe re most of the culturalboundaries lie. To one person, a cheerful monkey can instill a primitive feeling offear, while to another the first reaction is one of amusement. This differencein reaction is based upon religious upbringing, and nothing to a greater extent. To certainculture, a smiling monkey is the scariest thing they could ever imagine, and toanother, it means laughter. A close minded person viewing an ancient religiousmask would see nothing more than nonsense, while one who wishes to understandart would see the beauty of that culture and its beliefs, and would try toplace themselves in a way so that they may understand the original meaning ofthemask, and form an educated opinion on it.Anyone can enjoy a piece of art, but what is it that makes a piece of art" undecomposed"? Is it the realism of the piece? Or the absolute perfectness of asculpture? Maybe good art is abstract, an array of shapes retch together to makea point. Or maybe good art is a classical sculpt ure that catches the light justso and brings a warm smile to the viewers face. Is it a measuring rod ofcraftsmanship? A measure of mediums used? A measure of technique? Or is itjust a measure of how it affects the viewer? Is good art visually irritating orvisually pleasing? The beauty of art is impossible to define, for its beautyinherently lies in the eye of the beholder. As Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegelsaid, "Beauty is the spiritual put into a form." So, in defining beauty, one isattempting to define the spiritual beliefs behind the form.