Image and Text
Works of art often combine images with text. Choose and fully identify two specific works made after 500 CE that combine images with text. The works must come from different art historical periods. Note: Do not choose works of art with text consisting only of names, labels, or artists’ signatures. When identifying the work you select, you should try to include all of the following identifiers: title or designation, name of the artist and/or culture of origin, date of creation, and materials. Using both visual and contextual evidence, discuss the relationship between text and image in the two works you have chosen. (30 minutes)
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A lot of Egyptian art contained scripture within the art work in order to portray biblical stories within the piece. A long with this the babylon era would also do this, a more european influence on the artists. I believe the relationship and similarities is that they are trying portray a story through the work and the differences would be the religious intent as babylon had art that revolved around their society and egypt had stuff revolved around religion and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteJean-Michel Basquiat, Horn Players, 1983, acrylic and oilstick on three canvas panels mounted on wood supports, New York. The relationship between text and images in this painting by Basquiat is an intense one, because of the arrangement of the words is comparison to the images shown. This piece shows words scrawled haphazardly all over the triptych such as "Dizzy", "Ornithology", "Teeth", and "Pree". These words are meant to represent some of the great musicians and there music, such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker's famous song "Ornithology", and Charlie Parker's daughter Pree. These words relate to the images because Charlie Parker is portrayed on the left playing his saxophone and Gillespie on the right playing the trumpet. So this piece is almost like a tribute to some of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, from Basquiat's point of view.
ReplyDeleteNight Attack on the Sanjô Palace (detail), Illustrated Scrolls of the Events of the Heiji Era (Heiji monogatari emaki) Japanese, Kamakura period, second half of the 13th century. This relationship between the text and images of this painted scroll is a complex one because this scene portrays the night of the attack on Sanjo Palace, nearly a century before this piece was made. The writing on the left and right side of the nearly 8 meter scroll acts as the introduction and conclusion of the piece. The writing works with the images to get the story going on the right side, where the writing ends and a sing bull pulling a carriage is seen, and ending on the left side with a single black stallion leading the Heir Rebellion out of the Sanjo Palace, and then the conclusion, to cap it off. By using writing to frame this intense and complicated story, the viewer is able to more easily understand what is going on in this piece.
Bamboo in the Wind made by Wu Zhen in East Asia made with Ink on paper in 1350. The Mandarin script describes inspiration for the painting of the bamboo stalk, and describes overall painting. To add to its detail, the Mandarin is written beautifully to contrast with the bamboo, giving the scroll a naturalistic quality about it. In this case, the writing simply provides additional information to the curious viewer while not hindering the naturalism of the art.
ReplyDeleteLeaf from a Qur’an Manuscript has an unknown artist in Europe using ink, colors, and gold on vellum in the 13th–14th century. The Muslims created a beautiful piece of artwork with gold leaf that looks easy and fantastic to read. The art is the words themselves. This means that while most works contribute to the art, this piece breaks that norm by having art as a means to better the portrayal of the text.
Bamboo in the Wind
ReplyDeleteWu Zhen (Chinese, 1280–1354)
Region: East Asia
Ink on paper
Yuan Dynasty, 1350
Period: 1000 CE - 1400 CE
Wu Zhen creates a complex relationship between text and image. The rich variety of brushwork used to create the bamboo leaves is calligraphic. The straight columns of text serve as a counterpoint to the arc of the bamboo stalk, curved by the wind as described in the title. The result is a composition that is both expressive and affecting. The writing on Bamboo in the Wind not only describes the image, but also situates it in a specific cultural and artistic context. This one identifies Su Shi.
Lindisfarne Gospels, fol. 29
Region: Europe
Ink, pigments and gold on vellum
ca. 680–720
Period: 500 CE - 1000 CE
The precious materials and complicated interlace design of the letters serve as an exultation of Christ. The kind of artistic hierarchy seen in the Lindisfarne Gospels, in which significant passages, words, and sacred names are given decorative emphasis, is characteristic of many medieval religious manuscripts. The Lindisfarne Gospels exemplify a unique stylistic blending associated with a particular period in English history.