Written Language and Modern Arts Discussion Response

As man gets more sophisticated, so does art. This has been seen throughout history, especially with the change from the prehistoric era, to the Sumarian era. In the prehistoric era, there were paintings of animals in the local area, and simple statues. Art was limited to only paintings and sculptures. Written word did not exist, so there was no literature. In the Sumerian era, the first written language was created, causing the world, and art, to be changed forever. One thing that I found very interesting was the rapid evolution from the creation of written language to the writing of Gilgamesh, an epic poem that is still read today. It seems like out of nowhere, man was able to not only communicate through writing, but preserve their legends. This was prevalent in the Stele of Naram-Sin, a statue of Naram-Sin conquering his enemies. Another thing written language was able to do is help the community hold each other to the same standards, or laws. This was shown first in Hammarabi’s Code. This was the first time man was able to have a set structure of how the community ought to be. This paved the way for how societies would be built off of the rule of laws and justice. Another way written language was used was to commemorate pieces of art to the gods. The Votive Statue of Gudea is one example. The statue is of the local leader. It was created in order to symbolically tell the gods that he is dedicating his life to them. He had the statue made so that everyone under his rule understood that although he was the ruler, there was an all powerful being above him. I wonder if any of the semetic religions are influenced by Sumarian literature? They all originate from the same area of the world, but the faiths are vastly different.

To your eye, in what ways did portrayals of the human body change between the prehistoric period and the Sumerian era? What characteristics remained the same?

This week’s lecture introduced many new pieces of art. Some had very different characteristics than last week. One example is the use of written language. Prehistory is defined as a time before written language. Any sort of writing is vastly different from anything we learned last week. This includes the story of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh’s tale is one of the first works of literature ever found. This has caused an entire new type of art to be formed that could not have existed in prehistory. One type of art that changed drastically was pottery. The Jomon Rope pottery was much less decorative than the Warka Vase. The Jomon Rope pottery is a clay based bowl with no decoration or carvings. The Warka Vase is a story being told around the entire piece. The whole vase is a work of art. It’s the detail that makes the two different. This is a common theme in the difference between the prehistoric period and the Sumerian era. The Tell Asmar is a very detailed face with natural features. This is a stark contrast to Venus of Willendorf. Venus has human features but is not clearly a person. The Tell Asmar is representative of real people. Not only is the Tell Asmar realistic, it looks like the person it is meant to represent. Even though there are many differences, there are some similarities.

The Warka Mask and Ain Ghazal are very similar. The Warka Mask, according to the lecture, originally had eyes like the Ain Ghazal figure. Both have a bold outline around their eyes, white irises and dark pupils. The details of the works changed, but not the content. This is seen in the painting found in the El Castillo caves. The animals depicted were animals found and hunted in the area. This is also true for the Lions in Assurnasirpal. Both images depict what creature is being hunted. Hybrids are also found in prehistory and the Sumerian era. The Lion-Human was a piece dated to prehistory. It is similar to the Lamassu sculpture dated to the Sumerian era. Both mix human characteristics and animals.

In relation to the ‘Head of a Ruler,’ our lecture introduced the practice of iconoclasm. Have you encountered this concept before? Can you cite its occurrence elsewhere in history? Can you think of instances of iconoclasm that occur in our world today?

Iconoclasm has been practiced throughout history. It has been practiced by empires and kingdoms, as well as democracies and republics. I have seen iconoclasm in both history textbooks, and in my own lifetime.

In 1793, France was in the middle of a revolution. The French people beheaded Marie Antionnete that year. The people wanted to both symbolically and physically remove the power of the monarchy. After Antionette’s execution, the French citizens formed a mob and marched to Notre Dame Cathedral. Believing the statues outside the church to be French kings, they removed their heads. The people attempted to symbolically remove the monarchy from their nation. Something similar happened in 2003 when an American led effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power began. Shortly after Hussein went into hiding, the people of Iraq, aided by American soldiers, tore down a statue of Hussein. This symbolized his removal from power in Iraq. One example of iconoclasm today is the removal of Confederate statues in the United states. Individuals around the nation have been destroying statues of Confederate soldiers and politicians. As American society has evolved, the egregious views of some of these historical figures has been increasingly more offensive to more Americans. In an effort to condemn the racist and intolerant views of the Confederacy, many Confederate statues have been destroyed by American citizens.