Assignment 3: The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus

Description
     The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli created between 1483 to 1485. The medium used is tempera on a 172.5cm X 278.5cm size canvas. The painting is now in the Galleria degli Uffizzi, Florence. The painting depicts the mythical scene of the Birth of the Greek Goddess of love, Venus. The Birth of Venus depicts 4 mythological figures which are the Wind God, Zephyrus, Goddess of Flora ,Chloris, Goddess of love, Venus and Goddess of season,Horai. 


Analysis
Sandro Botticelli illustrated the seashell in an unaturally big proportion compared to the surrounding to make it stands out more.The size of the seashell which is large creates an emphasis on the painting. The painter also created a contrast of warm and cool colours in the painting.Venus is the  painting is assymmetical balance as she is in the form of contrapposto. The lines on the hair and cloak creates a flowing rhythm.Sandro Botticelli created a flat space in the painting. It is also infinte with the sky and horizon. He created the painting using tempera with a small amount of fats and covered them with a layer of pure egg white.


Judgment
It is functionalism in the form of wedding painting for the villa of Castello. The Birth of Venus was inspired by the suggestion from Lorenzo the Magnificent influenced by Angelo Poliziano's poem and Marsilio Ficino's philosophical ideas. It is also imitative as it is narrating a Greek myth. It contains emotionalism. There are few symbolisms in the painting such as the large seashell symbolises woman's vulva.


Audience
Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, a cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent commissioned the painting.Students from fine art ,design and architecure, art historian, tourists might appreciate the painting. They might be able to know the painting technique of that period, know the Greek myth, brings up the growth of economy by promoting the paintings in the museum.

Assignment 1 :The Hall of Bulls

The Hall of Bulls

Description
It is a painting in the caves of Lascaux. It was painted by a Paleolithic human in Southwestern of France. The title is The Great Hall of the Bulls in a interconnected series of caves. It was created in the Paleolithic period estimated to be 17300 years old.The medium used is mixed media that is mineral pigments which is made up of limestone. Most of the painting is made up of warm colours which are yellow ochre and brown.


Analysis
As what we seen, unity is achieved by the repetition of lines, shapes and colours. The painting is in approximate assymmetrical balance.The emphasis of the painting is the auroch on the right because of the proportion and the thickness of the black outline. The line is economy. The painter used paint blown technique.


Judgment
Based on the painting, it is imitative as it is an activity of animals being hunt. It was hunted by Paleolithic humans.It is also functionalism as it is a guide book to teach ways to hunt and it is for the religious purpose. It is a decoration at sacred place.


Audience
Students especially those study in fine art and design or architecture, government, tourists and archaelogists would appreciate the painting.They would be able to learn about the aim of the painting, history of that period. In addition, government could earn income through tourism by promoting the paintings in the caves of Lascaux.One of the reasons to appreciate the painting is to bring up the growth of the economy through tourism by promoting the paintings in the caves to the world.

Why pyramid form/ mound /ziggurat/ stupa show up in so many places??

Pyramid form / mound/ ziggurat/ stupa can be considered as the most powerful expression of each culture's religious beliefs. As there are different culture's religious beliefs around the world, so the pyramid / mound / ziggurat / stupa show up in so many places like Egypt, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and so on. They were designed according to the most complex and all-embracing symbolic systems; their shapes, decoration, dimensions and orientation to the sun were the result of the most profound meditation.

Pyramid

source:http://www.metrolic.com/travel-guides-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-147358/

Ziggurat

source:http://pixdaus.com/single.php?id=117535

Borobudur Stupa , Java ,Indonesia

source:http://sacredsites.com/asia/indonesia/borobudur_stupa.html

Mankind first used indestructible materials to erect large structures like pyramid, stupa and ziggurat not to live in but to worship their gods.


The Egyptian worshiped the sun as their chief god, often represented by a symbolic pyramidal stone,or ben-ben. The Egyptian hieroglyph for the sun was a triangle divided into 3 zones horizontally- red , white and yellow. Yellow zone represent the sun spreading it rays upon the Earth which is the bottom or red zone.The pyramids themselves were huge ben-bens, symbols of the sun and its rays reaching down the Earth. When the pharaoh died, he was said to ascend the sun's ray to join his father,the sun-god. Thus, the pyramid would also seem to have been the symbolic staircase or pathway for the phraaoh to climb in order to reach the heaven. 


Ziggurat.
A word derived from the Assytian ziqquratu, meaning 'high'. They were the symbols in themselves; the ziggurat at Ur was planted with trees to make it represent a mountain. There the god visited the Earth, and the priests climbed up to its top to worship.


Stupa
The Hindu stupa symbolized a sacred mountain. It was an ovid mass of stone blocks that became increasingly tall as time progressed.




Of a sudden, this building came into my mind. 

From the appearance, it does look like a modified pyramid with a sphere top. But it has nothing to do with place of worship. It's just a building for the cat museum in Malaysia.

the man who plays the role of an architect, activist,photographer and more, Mr Ai Wei Wei

Ai Wei Wei.

 source:http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/FUsku06H8lk/Chinese+Artist+Ai+Weiwei+Unveils+Year+Unilever/_0bODtQ_Wkj/Ai+Weiwei

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Wei_Wei


This is not the first time i heard of his name before dr.ray mentioned about him.
When i was interviewed by local universitiy, i was questioned about The Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak is designed by who. I didn't know the answer.of coz it's not ai wei wei. I started to know about him because i do research on famous architects around the world especially in china.not because i am racist but the name is easier to remember.hehehehe( absent-minded).Ai Wei Wei is really different from what perception he gives.When think of him, first come in mind is that he's talented and broad-minded. (conclude from his works)

He. Ai Wei Wei .
Active in architecture, curating, photography, film, social and cultural criticism.
Architecture that he involves in :

Template .

 source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei

                                                         beijing bird nest

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei

You can have a look at mr ai's photography at the following link.
http://asiasociety.org/aiweiwei?gclid=COCH_uf-56oCFYkc6wodgHK_7Q

You can find photos that he took during his time in New York.

                                                        Ai Wei Wei's Circles of Animal or  Zodiac Heads
source:http://slowpainting.wordpress.com/page/4/

Foreign cultures that appeared in Malaysia (redo)

Cat Museum Kuching,Sarawak.

This building is under Kuching North City Hall.The Cat Museum is located inside the building.This building seems to be related to Egyptian culture.The museum covers an area of 1035.9 square meters on top of the hill called Bukit Siol which stands 60 metres above the sea level. 

Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows in mourning when the family cat died. Malays attached superstitions to cats believing they possesed supernatural powers.

In Medival times, black cats were associated with witchcraft and there is a javanese instrument, the saron that is shaped like a cat with extended paws and an open mouth.These are some of the facts found in the Cat museum.

A mummyfied cat found at Beni Hassan in Egypt sometime between 3000BC-3500 BC is displayed in the museum. They found the feline mummy bound in different coloured, chemically treated bandages.

An information board in the same gallery tells how the grain growing egyptians were the first people to domesticate cats.They became revered animals because their culinary preference for rats and mice. Important indeed, in the great granaries of Egypt.

Anyone who killed a cat was put to death. Ancient Egyptians had a cat goddess named Bastet who supposedly protected crops, made rain and symbolised motherhood.

(Personally, i think that it's quite unbelievable that cats are having high status in Egypt that killing of cats leads to death).

 The Old Courthouse Complex. One of the most attractive buildings in Kuching and was built in 1874. It was the scene of many historic events and sittings of the state legislature, the Dewan Undangan Negeri was held here between 1878 and 1973. The design is colonial and the spacious and airy verandah is supported by strong pillars. An iron fence with intricate design on its surrounds a smaller verandah at the front of the building. The design of the fence and pillars is classical Rome. 

                                                            Old Courthouse Complex

Sarawak Musuem.It was built in 1891 and was extended to its present form in 1911.The building was especially built to permanently house and display local native arts and craft and collection of local animals. It is rectangular,44'x160' with walls and pillars od bricks and roof of belian and concrete. It has European architecture in Queen Anne style (victorian period ).

Greek / Classical ?Egyptian Cultures in Malaysia

 As we can see, the 5 image above consist of greek and egyptian cultures. These cultures are found in Malaysia. Image 1,2 and 5 are from greek culture whereas the other two images are from egyptian culture. What are the reasons people add in the elements in Malaysia?? Perhaps one of the reasons people add in these elements is to make it as a decoration. The purpose of doing it is to make it look outstanding and special.so that it attracts people's attention. For example my selection of image, image 5 is a general post office in Kuching,Sarawak. It is the neo-classical with the columns of Corinthian style. It  is modified from the Ionic style  and of spiral and carving of leaves and flowers.It was designed by Denis Santry of Messrs Swan and Macleran, an architecture firm in Singapore .Grecian -style column of the Doric order (with flat and blocy tops) are meant to imitate the body proportions of the ideal male while the more slender Ionic columns pay tribute to the ideal woman's measurements.I wonder how about Corinthian?What is its meaning in Malaysian culture? Personally, I think it doesn't not bring out any meaning in Malaysia culture but to act as a decorative pillar to make the building looks more to the European style.

KItsch

WHAT IS KITSCH??


Kitsch is works of art or objects that are popular but that are considered to have no real artistic value and to be lacking in good taste, for example because they are sentimental.

Are these column in Malaysia kitsch???

In my opinion, certain column in Malaysia are kitsch whereas certain are not. It is depending on the situations and the overall feeling as a whole.

Below are what i think is kitsch.

source:http://www.travel-living-bliss.com/the-old-welfare-building-in-kota-kinabalu/

source: google image

source:http://travel.malaysia.msn.com/destination-guide/malaysia/kuching/do/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4229079