ART
Upon viewing cave art in Indonesia, science journalist Jo Marchant wrote the following:
“A passageway leads to a deeper chamber where, at head height, there is a panel of well-preserved stencils including the forearms, which look as if they are reaching right out of the wall. Rock art is ‘one of the most intimate archives of the past,’ Aubert once told me. ‘It instills a sense of wonder. We want to know: Who made it? Why?’ [. . .] Forty thousand years later, standing here in the torchlight feels like witnessing a spark or a birth, a sign of something new in the universe. Outlined by splattered paint, fingers spread wide, the marks look insistent and alive.
Whatever was meant by these stencils, there can be no stronger message in viewing them: We are human. We are here. I raise my own hand to meet one, fingers hovering an inch above the ancient outline. It fits perfectly.” (1)
“A passageway leads to a deeper chamber where, at head height, there is a panel of well-preserved stencils including the forearms, which look as if they are reaching right out of the wall. Rock art is ‘one of the most intimate archives of the past,’ Aubert once told me. ‘It instills a sense of wonder. We want to know: Who made it? Why?’ [. . .] Forty thousand years later, standing here in the torchlight feels like witnessing a spark or a birth, a sign of something new in the universe. Outlined by splattered paint, fingers spread wide, the marks look insistent and alive.
Whatever was meant by these stencils, there can be no stronger message in viewing them: We are human. We are here. I raise my own hand to meet one, fingers hovering an inch above the ancient outline. It fits perfectly.” (1)
Cave art at Cueva de las Manos in Argentina, dating from between 13,000 and 9,000 years ago. (20)
Art is probably the clearest example of humans giving meaning to the meaningless. It really should not exist. There is no reason that I as an organism need to paint a cave wall, or strum a guitar, or sing an opera in order to survive and reproduce, but as a human, I need art. Movies, music, theater, and photography are all significant parts of my life. And I am not alone in feeling this way. As humans, we are able to create and derive meaning from shapes, colors, and sounds. According to visual artist Gerhard Ritcher, "Picturing things, taking a view, is what makes us human; art is making sense and giving shape to that sense." (2)
Lines carved onto mollusk shell, Java, Indonesia, 540,000 years ago. Photo: Wim Lustenhouwer, VU University Amsterdam. (21)
But art goes back far longer than Homo sapiens has walked the earth.
Look closely at this shell. 540,000 years ago on the island of Java, a Homo erectus carved zig-zagging lines on it.
These lines may not look like much. But an individual decided to pick up a shark’s tooth and use it to draw a repeated pattern on a shell. The lines were not easy to make. Given the simple tool he had to work with, the process took time and physical effort. Yet why he created it remains a mystery.
Whether it held a deep significance or the artist simply thought it was pretty, we now know that our species was not the first to create art. Homo sapiens did not exist until 300,000 years after this shell was carved.
Look closely at this shell. 540,000 years ago on the island of Java, a Homo erectus carved zig-zagging lines on it.
These lines may not look like much. But an individual decided to pick up a shark’s tooth and use it to draw a repeated pattern on a shell. The lines were not easy to make. Given the simple tool he had to work with, the process took time and physical effort. Yet why he created it remains a mystery.
Whether it held a deep significance or the artist simply thought it was pretty, we now know that our species was not the first to create art. Homo sapiens did not exist until 300,000 years after this shell was carved.
Seals painted on cave stalactite, Malaga, Spain, 42,000 years ago. (22)
Later in time, between Homo erectus and ourselves, another species was making art — the Neanderthals. An example of their work can be found in a cave in Spain, where an individual drew images of seals 42,000 years ago.
But this is one of very few remnants of Neanderthal art that have been found. Why have we not found more? They probably didn't make much of it.
There is a cave in Europe that was inhabited by both Neanderthals and humans -- only a few hundred years apart. The Neanderthals were advanced, and they left stone tools behind in the cave. The humans left behind tools at well, but they also left carved animal and human figures and flute-like musical instruments. (3) This is significant because art is not an individual activity. According to archaeologist Nigel Spivey, “All of these symbolic artifacts were the glue that held society together.” (4) When one individual carves a deer, all will see it. When one plays music, all will hear it. Because of this, the humans likely had a stronger social bond than the Neanderthals. And when the Ice Age peaked 21,000 years ago, the groups that were bonded more strongly together would be more likely to survive, because if you desperately need food or shelter from a neighbor, strong social connections can be the difference between life and death. Humans were more strongly connected as a group than Neanderthals. And what helped to connect them was art. (5)
But this is one of very few remnants of Neanderthal art that have been found. Why have we not found more? They probably didn't make much of it.
There is a cave in Europe that was inhabited by both Neanderthals and humans -- only a few hundred years apart. The Neanderthals were advanced, and they left stone tools behind in the cave. The humans left behind tools at well, but they also left carved animal and human figures and flute-like musical instruments. (3) This is significant because art is not an individual activity. According to archaeologist Nigel Spivey, “All of these symbolic artifacts were the glue that held society together.” (4) When one individual carves a deer, all will see it. When one plays music, all will hear it. Because of this, the humans likely had a stronger social bond than the Neanderthals. And when the Ice Age peaked 21,000 years ago, the groups that were bonded more strongly together would be more likely to survive, because if you desperately need food or shelter from a neighbor, strong social connections can be the difference between life and death. Humans were more strongly connected as a group than Neanderthals. And what helped to connect them was art. (5)
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Images dominate our lives. They tell us how to behave, even how to feel. They mould and define us. But why do these images, the pictures, symbols and the art we see around us every day, have such a powerful hold on us? The answer lies not here in our time but thousands of years ago. Because when our ancient ancestors first created the images that made sense of their world, they produced a visual legacy which has helped to shape our own. — Nigel Spivey, specialist in classical art and archaeology (6)
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So what kind of art did our own ancestors make? For an example, let's look at the so-called “Venus statues.” Over a period of 35,000 to 10,000 years ago in Eurasia, humans carved statues of women. These statues were found thousands of miles, and tens of thousands of years, apart. Their creators never had contact with each other, yet the statues are very similar. (7) Why is this? During this time much of Eurasia was in an Ice Age. People lived in small groups and survival was not easy. So it makes sense that the stomach and sexual body parts are exaggerated, since food and fertility would be valued as vital to survival. Humans made art to reflect what was important to them.
This can also be seen in the art from ancient Egypt. Egyptian society was very different than the European Ice Age peoples. Egypt had plenty of food and millions of people. However, they had trouble controlling and organizing those millions of people.
Above: Egyptian art painted on King Tutankhamun's tomb wall. (25)
Right: Grid drawn over Egyptian art. (26)
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In Egyptian art, all of the body parts were shown from their clearest angles, even if it required an impossible or unrealistic body position. Also, “unnecessary details” were eliminated — the fingers all the same length, the eyes both on the same side of the head, and usually two right hands. Additionally, if you draw a grid over an Egyptian figure, the proportions and alignments of the different body parts will always be the same. (8) And this makes sense, as consistency and order had to be an extremely important part of life if society was to function successfully for the 3,000 years that ancient Egyptian society survived.
"Kritios Boy" marble sculpture, Greece, 480 BC. (27)
According to Biologist E.O. Wilson, “if the brain evolved by natural selection, even the capacities to select particular esthetic judgments [. . .] must have arisen by the same mechanistic process.” (9) Our connection to and appreciation of art may literally be coded in our DNA, and so may our drive to exaggerate in our art. Even today, when we are able to create art that almost perfectly matches up with real life (well, I personally cannot create such art but some people can), we choose to exaggerate. If I can sculpt a flower that looks exactly like a flower, who would look at it? It would be easier to just look at a flower. Instead, art seeks to be more "real" than actual reality.
"Riace Bronzes," also known as "Riace Warriors," bronze cast sculptures, Greece, 450 BC. (28)
In 480 BC in Greece, someone sculpted the first "perfect" human statue, the Kritios boy. However, this was not the beginning of some great age of realistic art. In fact, the Greeks immediately stopped making art like the Kritos boy. According to Nigel Spivey, “the Greeks' dissatisfaction with reality was perfectly natural. They couldn’t know it but they were pre-programmed to want more. Like the nomads thousands of years before them, they were hankering after something more human than human.” (10) 30 years later, the Greeks began to exaggerate again. They sculpted the Riace Bronzes (also called the Riace Warriors). At first glance, these figures look very appealing — perfect — but in fact, the anatomy is unrealistic. The grooves above the pelvis and in the center of the chest are too deep, the legs are too long, the tailbone is missing, and they are tensing their back muscles without doing the same to the chest, which is impossible. (11)
According to Spivey, “This is the answer to our mystery. This is why the bodies in our modern world look the way they do. The reality is we humans don't like reality. The shared biological instinct to prefer carefully exaggerated images links us inexorably with our ancient ancestors, and yet what we choose to exaggerate is where science gets left behind. That's where the magic comes in.” (12) There is something more to art than simply imitating life. And I think poet and writer Amiri Baraka sums it up: “Art is whatever makes you proud to be human.” (13)
Art has the unique ability to tell its own stories; that’s what makes it so powerful. It tells us what the artist values, what his or her meaning of life is. So, I thought I would look at art’s point of view on what makes us human.
Below is the story of humanity, as told by three different forms of art — a book, a movie, and a piece of music.
Book:
The passage that follows is from the book Genesis by Bernard Beckett. (14) In the selection, Adam is attempting to explain to Art, a robot, what makes humans different from machines. He gives a passionate speech about how humans experience life differently than a machine. He asserts that a robot cannot understand what it truly feels like to be alive. Adam explains how humans have a purpose to being alive, and humans have profound effects on each other. Furthermore, he is angry that Art does not understand him. Adam's anger here reflects our pride in our accomplishments as a human species — and perhaps, our fear of not being able to find a deeper meaning in our own existence.
Below is the story of humanity, as told by three different forms of art — a book, a movie, and a piece of music.
Book:
The passage that follows is from the book Genesis by Bernard Beckett. (14) In the selection, Adam is attempting to explain to Art, a robot, what makes humans different from machines. He gives a passionate speech about how humans experience life differently than a machine. He asserts that a robot cannot understand what it truly feels like to be alive. Adam explains how humans have a purpose to being alive, and humans have profound effects on each other. Furthermore, he is angry that Art does not understand him. Adam's anger here reflects our pride in our accomplishments as a human species — and perhaps, our fear of not being able to find a deeper meaning in our own existence.
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Movie:
In 2001: A Space Odyssey (15), Director Stanley Kubrick suggests that what separated early humans from other species was our use of violence, especially against our own kind. A monolith is what “brings” violence to what would become the first humans. But the monolith itself does no harm — a human makes the discovery that a tool can be used as a weapon. The very end of the segment is extremely important. The weapon, the new technology of the time, is thrown up into the air by an early human who used it to commit the world's first murder, when the scene suddenly cuts to our current new technology, a satellite. The fact that we used the technology we created for violence at the very beginning of our history was not a one-time thing — today we have newer, and more powerful technology that we can once again use for violence.
Kubrick is warning us that we must be careful with what we create, as we are not always a kind species. With new technology, we have an even greater ability to do harm, and thus we must accept an ever greater responsibility for the actions of ourselves and of our fellow man.
It is a great movie and you should watch it at some point in your life, but to understand my point here, you can end at minute 17, after you see the satellite.
https://vimeo.com/110766187#t=750s (starts at 12:30) (16)
Music:
Here is a piece titled “Song of the Human” by the British composer Pete Wyer. It was inspired by the research of Linguistics Professor Shigeru Miyagawa on the development of human language, in part, from birdsong. As described by WNYC Radio's host John Schaefer, "His theory of the integrational hypothesis [states] that human speech didn't just evolve from primate sources, but took something expressive and emotional from birdsong." (17) Wyer's musical composition explores not just the parallels between human and bird language, but takes it one step further to celebrate the unifying elements found in all human languages: "When you take the words out [...] and listen only to the inflections of our speech, potentially divisive elements disappear. One is left with the "Song of the Human." (18) Wyer uses recorded bird sounds, musical instruments, and human voices to create an extremely powerful piece which speaks to our question: What makes us human?
Listen below to the segment from WYNC Radio, that includes all seven movements of the piece with commentary on the music and its composition. The full segment is just under an hour long. The fourth movement titled "How Beautiful You Are" is my personal favorite. It is from 21:42 to 28:00.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/3916-new-sounds-live-pete-m-wyer-song-human/ (19)
Here is a piece titled “Song of the Human” by the British composer Pete Wyer. It was inspired by the research of Linguistics Professor Shigeru Miyagawa on the development of human language, in part, from birdsong. As described by WNYC Radio's host John Schaefer, "His theory of the integrational hypothesis [states] that human speech didn't just evolve from primate sources, but took something expressive and emotional from birdsong." (17) Wyer's musical composition explores not just the parallels between human and bird language, but takes it one step further to celebrate the unifying elements found in all human languages: "When you take the words out [...] and listen only to the inflections of our speech, potentially divisive elements disappear. One is left with the "Song of the Human." (18) Wyer uses recorded bird sounds, musical instruments, and human voices to create an extremely powerful piece which speaks to our question: What makes us human?
Listen below to the segment from WYNC Radio, that includes all seven movements of the piece with commentary on the music and its composition. The full segment is just under an hour long. The fourth movement titled "How Beautiful You Are" is my personal favorite. It is from 21:42 to 28:00.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/3916-new-sounds-live-pete-m-wyer-song-human/ (19)
Through art, humans experience life in a way that other animals cannot. Art allows us to share our emotions, desires, and fears with others around us. Art makes us feel like nothing else can. It makes us laugh, it makes us cry, and it makes us think about ourselves in ways different than we would otherwise. Most importantly, art connects us. It connects us as a whole species, bridging the gaps of language, age, race, country, and time that divide us in everyday life.
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Sources:
(1) Marchant, Jo. "A Journey to the Oldest Cave Paintings in the World." Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, Jan. 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journey-oldest-cave-paintings-world-180957685/>
(2) Ghosh, Sarbani. "8 Words of Wisdom From Gerhard Richter on His Birthday." Artnet News. Artnet Worldwide Corporation., 09 Feb. 2017. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gerhard-richters-birthday-846296>
(3) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(4) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(5) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(6) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(7) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(8) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(9) Wilson, Edward O. On Human Nature. 1st ed. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1978. Print.
(10) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(11) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(12) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(13) Green, Treye. "Controversial Creative: 15 Of Amiri Baraka's Most Memorable Quotes."International Business Times. IBT Media, 10 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.ibtimes.com/controversial-creative-15-amiri-barakas-most-memorable-quotes-1534384>
(14) Beckett, Bernard. Genesis. Melbourne: Text Pub., 2011. 100-01. Print.
(15) 2001: A Space Odyssey. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Screenplay by Arthur C. Clarke. Perf. Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood. MGM, 1968. DVD.
(16) 2001: A Space Odyssey. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. By Arthur C. Clarke. Perf. Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood. MGM, 1968. Vimeo.com. Vimeo, Inc, 2015. Web. 7 May 2017. <https://vimeo.com/110766187#t=750s>
(17) "Pete M Wyer - Song of the Human." New Sounds. New York Public Radio. WNYC, New York, New York, 26 Oct. 2016. WNYC.org. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.wnyc.org/story/3916-new-sounds-live-pete-m-wyer-song-human/>
(18) Wyer, Pete. Song of the Human. The Crossing. 2016. News.mit.edu. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://news.mit.edu/2016/song-of-the-human-origin-story-1213>
(19) "Pete M Wyer - Song of the Human." New Sounds. New York Public Radio. WNYC, New York, New York, 26 Oct. 2016. WNYC.org. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.wnyc.org/story/3916-new-sounds-live-pete-m-wyer-song-human/>
Photo Sources:
(20) <http://www.southamericaliving.com/5-must-visit-destinations-in-patagonia/>
(21) <http://www.techtimes.com/articles/21438/20141203/oldest-artwork-is-with-shark-tooth-on-mollusk-shell-drawn-540-000-years-ago.htm>
(22) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2097869/The-oldest-work-art-42-000-year-old-paintings-seals-Spanish-cave.html>
(23) <http://deconstructingtime.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-genius-of-cavemen.html>
(24) <http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/venus-figurines-european-paleolithic-era-001548>
(25) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2616973/Replica-Tutankhamun-tomb-opens-public-bid-slow-irreversible-damage-original.html>
(26) <https://blog.hmns.org/2013/05/educator-how-to-create-your-own-ancient-egyptian-art-using-frontalism/>
(27) <http://www.hellenic-art.com/the-kritios-boy.html>
(28) <https://classicalgreekart.wordpress.com/greek-sculptures/>
(29) <https://geekynerfherder.blogspot.com/2012/05/movie-poster-art-2001-space-odyssey.html>
(30) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2243902/Louvre-opens-museum-branch-Lens-run-French-mining-town.html>
(1) Marchant, Jo. "A Journey to the Oldest Cave Paintings in the World." Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, Jan. 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journey-oldest-cave-paintings-world-180957685/>
(2) Ghosh, Sarbani. "8 Words of Wisdom From Gerhard Richter on His Birthday." Artnet News. Artnet Worldwide Corporation., 09 Feb. 2017. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gerhard-richters-birthday-846296>
(3) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(4) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(5) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(6) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(7) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(8) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(9) Wilson, Edward O. On Human Nature. 1st ed. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1978. Print.
(10) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(11) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(12) How Art Made the World. Prod. Kim Thomas. Perf. Nigel Spivey. Community Television of Southern California (KCET), 2006. DVD.
(13) Green, Treye. "Controversial Creative: 15 Of Amiri Baraka's Most Memorable Quotes."International Business Times. IBT Media, 10 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.ibtimes.com/controversial-creative-15-amiri-barakas-most-memorable-quotes-1534384>
(14) Beckett, Bernard. Genesis. Melbourne: Text Pub., 2011. 100-01. Print.
(15) 2001: A Space Odyssey. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Screenplay by Arthur C. Clarke. Perf. Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood. MGM, 1968. DVD.
(16) 2001: A Space Odyssey. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. By Arthur C. Clarke. Perf. Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood. MGM, 1968. Vimeo.com. Vimeo, Inc, 2015. Web. 7 May 2017. <https://vimeo.com/110766187#t=750s>
(17) "Pete M Wyer - Song of the Human." New Sounds. New York Public Radio. WNYC, New York, New York, 26 Oct. 2016. WNYC.org. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.wnyc.org/story/3916-new-sounds-live-pete-m-wyer-song-human/>
(18) Wyer, Pete. Song of the Human. The Crossing. 2016. News.mit.edu. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://news.mit.edu/2016/song-of-the-human-origin-story-1213>
(19) "Pete M Wyer - Song of the Human." New Sounds. New York Public Radio. WNYC, New York, New York, 26 Oct. 2016. WNYC.org. Web. 29 Apr. 2017. <http://www.wnyc.org/story/3916-new-sounds-live-pete-m-wyer-song-human/>
Photo Sources:
(20) <http://www.southamericaliving.com/5-must-visit-destinations-in-patagonia/>
(21) <http://www.techtimes.com/articles/21438/20141203/oldest-artwork-is-with-shark-tooth-on-mollusk-shell-drawn-540-000-years-ago.htm>
(22) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2097869/The-oldest-work-art-42-000-year-old-paintings-seals-Spanish-cave.html>
(23) <http://deconstructingtime.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-genius-of-cavemen.html>
(24) <http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/venus-figurines-european-paleolithic-era-001548>
(25) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2616973/Replica-Tutankhamun-tomb-opens-public-bid-slow-irreversible-damage-original.html>
(26) <https://blog.hmns.org/2013/05/educator-how-to-create-your-own-ancient-egyptian-art-using-frontalism/>
(27) <http://www.hellenic-art.com/the-kritios-boy.html>
(28) <https://classicalgreekart.wordpress.com/greek-sculptures/>
(29) <https://geekynerfherder.blogspot.com/2012/05/movie-poster-art-2001-space-odyssey.html>
(30) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2243902/Louvre-opens-museum-branch-Lens-run-French-mining-town.html>
