Humans and the Natural World
The work shown is Fan Kuan’s Travelers among Mountains and Streams, painted circa 1000 C.E. In this work, Fan Kuan presents a relationship between humans and the natural world. Select and completely identify another work of art that presents or creates a relationship between humans and the natural world. You may select a work from the list below or any other relevant work from South, East, and Southeast Asia (300 B.C.E.–1980 C.E.), West and Central Asia (500 B.C.E.–1980 C.E.), or the Pacific (700–1980 C.E.). For each work, describe the relationship between humans and the natural world. Then, using both visual and contextual evidence, analyze both the similarities and the differences between the two works with regard to how they present or create a relationship between humans and the natural world. 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. You will earn credit for the identification if you provide at least two accurate identifiers, but you will not be penalized if any additional identifiers you provide are inaccurate.
If you select a work from the list below, you must include at least two accurate identifiers beyond those that are given.
Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan
The Court of Gayumars
Navigation chart
Ryoan-ji
Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura)
(30 minutes)
The Court of Gayumars by Sultan Muhammad shows an extreme connection between the natural world and humans. The Court of Gayumars has an emphasis on love, suffering, and death which is portrayed through the art. The technique used to drag the colors downward and blending can be percieved in many ways to show this background knowledge. It also relates to the image above as they both seem to use similar techniques in order to achieve this effect.
ReplyDeleteTravelers among Mountains and Streams, Fan Kuan, 1000 C.E., ink on silk scroll. The relationship between humans and the the natural world is a relationship of respect because Kuan shows the convergence of the Yellow River, and the Yangzi River with mountains towering above them, using the ancient Chinese art of yin-yang used to show that the mountains were symbolic of an "abode of immortals".
ReplyDeleteRyoan-ji, Kyoto, Japan, patronage of the Hosokawa Family, Moromachi Period-1392-1573, rocks, pebbles, sand, and boulders. The relationship between humans and the natural world in this piece is shown through the simplicity of the piece because this was made by Zen Buddhists as a temple to reflect, and worship, as a way for humans to experience the peacefulness of nature. Some similarities between Ryoan-ji and the piece by Kuan above is that they both shown the beauty and complexity of the natural world is a simplistic art style, and they also both have a similar relationship to nature because they were made by cultures that believed that being close with nature is important. Some differences between Ryan-ji and the piece above by Kuan is that the viewers experience them in different ways, one by looking and the other by being surrounded and steeping into the art, and Ryoan-ji has a relationship with humans and nature in a meditative sense, in order to reach enlightenment, whereas Travelers among Mountains and Streams has a relationship with humans and nature in a dramatic sense, with the height of the greatness of the gods literally bearing over the travelers.
Suijin Shrine and Massaki on Sumida River from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo made by Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige in East Asia combines many elements to help convey the theme that the natural world is a place of tranquility and solemn peace. The use of woodblock print firstly helps convey this as it serves to show that natural materials are used in many of the objects we use in day to day life, specifically printing in this work. In a sense, everything is connected to something of the natural world, which helps build to the greater message that we are all the same. This makes the viewer feel as if apart of a greater complex; therefore, it will make them feel more at peace. The works share this similar message as they both share the paper print form. An aspect that they have that is different is the time period. The one above focuses on the natural aspects of 1000 C.E., while the one I provided gave more focus to nature in 1800 CE - 1900 CE where humans have developed and modernized many natural sites.
ReplyDeleteFan Kuan. Travelers among Mountains and Streams. Painted. 1000 C.E. This painting plays on perspective, the lines drawn diagonally to draw your eye upwards, as you would while looking up at a real mountain. The mountains and streams are a part of nature, all powerful over human kind.
ReplyDeleteFalls of the Yosemite. Print. 1800-1900 C.E. This is a capture of memory. This piece is very intimate, and positions the viewer in the mountains and gazing upon a part of it. There is an atmospheric effect that places you in the moment, as if humankind is a part of this natural world. The use of print to display this scene is powerful in that we know it is accurate, not an artists interpretation.
Early Spring. Scroll ink on silk. Guo Xi. 1000 C.E.-4000 C.E. These Mountains in this Confucian art show balance and harmony in nature. This comes from the Chinese philosophy of balance with Yin and Yang. There is balance and harmony in nature in this work. The lines and the brush stroke that make up the mountains represent natural forces that represent equilibrium and balance. As your eye is drawn upwards, you seem to be farther and farther away from life reality on the ground.
The time differences of these pieces acknowledge the importance of nature and human interaction for many, many years, in many cultures.