All Beginnings Have an End

Well this is the end of our two week project in this Humanities class. I have really learned a lot about history and about myself. I learned that I could endure different and various things and still keep pushing. I learned that I was more interested in the history and the arts than I thought. I learned that art analysis is not just a great tool with the arts but also something that may be vital in my career. 

Three topics that stuck out to me the most this semester are: 

1) The beginning- When you are in one place on the earth, and you don't know about any other culture or any other people on the earth with you, then your truth and your myth becomes reality to you. However, just as your beginning is the truth to you, this is also true for the person or people in other places that have their own story as well. The beginning of creation has similarities all over the world. How this is so is still a mystery to me. I plan on exploring the topic even more.

2) Christianity- Exploring this topic this semester has opened my eyes to new information about the religion I claim as my own. I always wanted to know about other religions that people proclaim to be the dominant religion. Discussing it in class allowed me to meet a women who did not recognize with religion at all as well as some fellow Christians. This semester has awarded me some answers to a few of the burning questions I had about Christianity. Now I know that Jesus exist was in fact documented and all the places the bible spoke of actually did exist. I now have a new found love for my religion and I can't wait to dig a little deeper and see what else I can find. 

3) Cuneiform- The beginning of documentation and writing. Most people never give a second thought to where our language and handwriting came from. When I found out the earliest form of writing looked like chicken scratch, I almost wanted to look up my elementary English teacher and ask why was she so hard on me. Lol. I mean after all the beginning of writing was a lot worse than my beginnings. In all, I enjoyed the lesson and also trying it out for myself. 

I pride myself on knowledge and always being a life long learner. This class has given me insight into a lot of different avenues. I plan to keep this blog going and continue to share with you all the various little things I learn that may just be big things to someone who doesn't know. For now though, I bid you fair well! 

My Art Analysis

I was tasked with analyzing a piece of Greek art of my choice from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. After searching for the piece that spoke to me I decided on the storage vessel shown below.

At first glance I noticed two men engaged in some type of game. They look a little suspicious because of how they are stooped over. It may just be the eye on the side of their head though. It looks like there is a King standing in the background. He looks intimidating. I also noticed the rich colors, the swords off to the side, the headpiece behind the man on the left.

            After further evaluation I came up with a historical analysis based off the information I learned in Humanities class this semester. This is indeed a piece of Greek art. It dates back to 510 BC and was created by painter Exekias. The figures on the piece are actually suited up like warriors because they are two Greek heroes by the name of Ajax and Achilles. They have swords, headpieces, armor, and shields. This moment captured is a small portion of their leisure time. The main color used is a warm orange-brown tone. There are also spots of white and black used in the art. Athena, who stands in the background, divides the painting down the middle giving it symmetry. The objects all seem to relate in size creating even lines and portions. Although Ajax and Achilles are in the forefront of the painting, Athena’s has a strong contrast of color with added highlights of white.

            The correct name for the piece is a black-figure neck-amphora which was a Greek storage vessel during that time. There is a side B to this piece which displays an old man with warriors. It was created during the period when Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey may have been first written.

There are many other versions of this piece of art. Many other storage vessels that portray the same artwork and even different art work. Most of the art is still depictions of things that happened during that era. This piece not only intrigued me in the museum, but after doing a little more research, it has continued to intrigue me according to the things I have found.