What we see in this documentary is the transformation of
the image and representation of the human body as a form of art across the
ages, dating to around 30,000 years ago. Professor V.S. Ramachandran explores
why the Venus of Willendorf is as exaggerated and unrealistic as she is. The
relation he made between this and the Herring Gull theory is very apt. They
were living in a harsh ice age environment and features of fatness and
fertility must have been highly desirable. So their brains compelled them to exaggerate
these features over other features.
The 'exaggeration' they speak about isn't that extensive. At first it appeared as if perhaps details were avoided for convenience. But when observed closely, it's true.
The 'exaggeration' they speak about isn't that extensive. At first it appeared as if perhaps details were avoided for convenience. But when observed closely, it's true.
“Not randomly distorted, but carefully distorted in order to
exaggerate the brain’s aesthetic response to the body.”
Dr. Nigel Spivey then moves to the Egyptians, one of the
most ancient civilizations. The nomadic way of representation of the human body
appears and the primeval instinct exists no longer. Consistency and order
prevailed their culture for over 3000 years and it showed in their artwork.
He then moves on to the Greece, and this is where it gets interesting.
They believed that if you looked good (physically), you were
good.
The belief that God took human form affected more than just
their vanity.
The transformation they made from making small figurines to
life size, life-like images was extraordinarily fast. It was the most rapid
artistic revolution in human history.
The Greek and the Egyptians were virtually isolated from
each other.
Greek learned from, and bettered the style of the Egyptians. They were the first, ever in history, to depict the naturalistic postures and features that prevail in the human body.
Dr. Spivey points out how the statues they made were unrealistic exaggerations, how the curve in the lower back of one, was more than humanly possible, and the light groove in the life size figure of a mans chest, deeper; legs longer. They, like the nomadic way, exaggerated those features which were regarded as attractive. The "primeval instinct of exaggeration" was hardwired into the brains of all humans, even if it was suppressed in some cultures. The Greeks had the ingredients to create realism. Which is caused them to reject it.
To quote Professor Ramachandran, "If art is about realism, why do you need art? You can just go around looking at things."
It was mentioned that they abandoned this technique of realism within a generation. Which brings him to our generation and how the human is represented today. Today, one can only find unrealistic and "abstract" representations.
The image on the left is an example of the above. A painting of a woman by Picasso.
Like the Venus of Willendorf, many artists today seek such simplicities in their sculptures.
Very much like the Venus, people today exaggerate those features in their bodies which is considered attractive, they wear the type of clothes which enhances those features, they also get plastic surgeries and injections to pronounce it. If you look at it this way, it was predicted by nomads about 30,000 years ago the state of human body today. The need for exaggeration and not realism was predicted 30 millennia and very much exists today.
What I learned from it as an artist and designer is that we must not forget to look at past and pre-existing artworks and designs, explore into it and question it. We might take decades other wise to figure out what already has been figured out.
Greek learned from, and bettered the style of the Egyptians. They were the first, ever in history, to depict the naturalistic postures and features that prevail in the human body.
Dr. Spivey points out how the statues they made were unrealistic exaggerations, how the curve in the lower back of one, was more than humanly possible, and the light groove in the life size figure of a mans chest, deeper; legs longer. They, like the nomadic way, exaggerated those features which were regarded as attractive. The "primeval instinct of exaggeration" was hardwired into the brains of all humans, even if it was suppressed in some cultures. The Greeks had the ingredients to create realism. Which is caused them to reject it.
To quote Professor Ramachandran, "If art is about realism, why do you need art? You can just go around looking at things."
It was mentioned that they abandoned this technique of realism within a generation. Which brings him to our generation and how the human is represented today. Today, one can only find unrealistic and "abstract" representations.
The image on the left is an example of the above. A painting of a woman by Picasso.
Like the Venus of Willendorf, many artists today seek such simplicities in their sculptures.
Very much like the Venus, people today exaggerate those features in their bodies which is considered attractive, they wear the type of clothes which enhances those features, they also get plastic surgeries and injections to pronounce it. If you look at it this way, it was predicted by nomads about 30,000 years ago the state of human body today. The need for exaggeration and not realism was predicted 30 millennia and very much exists today.
What I learned from it as an artist and designer is that we must not forget to look at past and pre-existing artworks and designs, explore into it and question it. We might take decades other wise to figure out what already has been figured out.
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