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

apprehensiveness the Misunderstood Art From Different CulturesArt is a medium use by people world wide to express their ideas, their fears,and their joys. The subterfugeist takes the experiences of living and translates theminto a visual object, rich in colors, shapes and sizes, for all the world toobserve. As a casual observer of fine finesse, iodine is able to relive the whimsey orexperience the graphicsist was trying to display, if only for a sketch moment in time.No matter what ethnical background oneness comes from, prowess appreciation andenjoyment erases the barriers and the limits, and allows cross-culturalunderstanding and appraisal.Art has everlastingly relied heavily upon global symbols. One of the most wellknown 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 s pecific culture. This is where most of the culturalboundaries lie. To one person, a smiling monkey can instill a primal feeling offear, while to another the first reaction is one of amusement. This differencein reaction is based upon religious upbringing, and nothing more. To reliableculture, a smiling monkey is the scariest thing they could ever imagine, and toanother, it means laughter. A close minded person viewing an ancient religious sham 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 gradation an educated opinion on it.Anyone can enjoy a composition of art, but what is it that makes a bandage of art"good"? Is it the realism of the piece? Or the absolute perfectness of asculpture? Maybe good art is abstract, an array of shapes put together to makea point. Or peradventure good art is a classical sculpture that catches the light dearso and brings a warm smile to the viewers face. Is it a tone 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 place, for its beautyinherently lies in the eye of the beholder. As Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegelsaid, " bang is the spiritual put into a form." So, in defining beauty, one isattempting to define the spiritual beliefs behind the form.