Paintings - Amalgam of Emotions and Cultures - Essay Example

? Artistic Medium – Paintings - Amalgam of Emotions and Cultures The concept of painting has existed as an artistic tradition from time immemorial. With the evolution of the civilizations, paintings also had gradual emergence right from the cave paintings to the masterpieces of Leonard Da Vinci, to the current crop of painters. Paintings from different parts of the world had played a historical and aesthetic role throughout the path of civilization. It also showcases the traditions and cultures of various geographical areas. The history of painting has been influenced by various factors such as religion, geography, historic events and also the development of new techniques and materials used for painting. The paper will focus on how the art of paintings has been viewed in two different cultures namely the African culture and the Asian culture by throwing ‘light’ on the rock art and paintings that was practiced by the Asian and the African people. The painting media followed in both the cultures will also be discussed. “African paintings first emerged as those that still appear on rock and in caves.” (Plessis). The African paintings were discovered in Nambia and are thought to be approximately 27,000 years old. (Plessis). In addition, there are nearly 30,000 rock paintings scattered throughout the Drakensberg Mountain in South Africa. (Plessis). Thus these artistic medium was used by the ancient Africans to convey certain types of information, depict the day to day activities, to relate to certain key events and importantly to communicate with the spirits of the ancestors. Thus in this manner the rock art was used a vital link between the physical and the spiritual worlds. On the other hand, the Asian Paintings encompasses a wide array of paintings and sculptures from different parts of Asia. Thus each geographical area has developed their unique style of expression, painting styles and methods, techniques, etc. They were the blend of various cultures and traditions. “The Asian paintings reflect influences from different religions and cultures.”(Asian Arts). The Chinese paintings are considered to be one of the oldest paintings among the Asian paintings. The Japanese paintings are known for their varied styles. The themes of historical significance and the Buddhist themes are portrayed in the Korean paintings. The Indian paintings on the lines of African paintings originated from the caves and they date to the pre-historic period. Thus all form of the Asian cultures has their unique style and history. With this brief introduction about the Asian and the African paintings, the next concept about the views of the rock art and paintings in the Asian and the African culture will be discussed. Rock art was a common way of expressing emotions among the ancient Africans. Thus it has been estimated that Africa has more number of Rock art sites than any other continent and they are widely distributed. (Plessis). Archeological reports reveal the fact that in most parts of the African continent namely Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa has the densest concentration of the rock art. “The region has both the rock engravings (Petroglyphs) and rock paintings (Pictographs).”(African Rock art and Painting). Especially the South African rock art encompasses the rock paintings of the hunters-gatherers, farming communities, etc. On the other hand the Asian rock art was considered to be the mixtures of aesthetics which reveals the events and philosophy of the past. Thus in the evolution of mankind from the Homo erectus to the Homo sapiens, these Asian rock art depicts the images of the early man. The Asian rock art unlike the African art started 40,000 years ago during the upper Paleolithic era. The custom of rock art also followed in the Mesolithic age and it gained its final development in the Chalcolithic era. Among the Asian rock art paintings, the Indian Rock art are considered to be the most ancient and significant since they reflect the development of the Indian civilizations of Indus and Harappa valley civilizations. The ethnographic records provide considerable evidence that in Southern Africa, the rock paintings and the rock engravings were included in the religious practices such as for the want of rain, and for healing purposes. The ancient Africans believed that through worshipping these rock art the diseases can be cured and they also used them to carry out the spiritual activities. On the other hand the Asian rock art had three major divisions namely the rock paintings, rock engravings and rock brushing which mirrored the origin of the civilization. Among them, the Indian rock art plays a predominant role in revealing the past when compared to the other Asian rock paintings. Thus the search for the Indian rock art sites started in the year 1856 when the first Petroglyphs were reportedly discovered in Almora (Chatterjee). Also in the Myanmar, China and Indonesia, the rock arts reveal the details on how the humans journeyed from these countries to Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. East Asian countries are also considered to have petroglyphs which depict the faded hands and the string-like prints on the walls of the cave indicating the reminiscence of the ancient Asians. Thus, the Asian rock paintings mainly reflected the lifestyle and the movement of the ancient men and unlike African paintings were not used for religious purposes. The content of the Southern African rock art sites were unique and they had several themes that indicates the beliefs of the ancient people, their agricultural activities, and other events that took place during that period. “These experiences are evident in the postures in which the people are illustrated, the consistent selection of certain animals in preference to others and in the presence and incorporation of geometric patterns that depict entopic phenomena seen during trance.”(African Art and Painting). Thus most of the African rock art focuses on the postures such as bending down from the waist and lying down in the horizontal position. Also there are paintings that show the healers touching the sick people to draw the sickness out of them. The rainmakers are depicted in form of close contact posture with the ‘rain animals’ such as elephants, hippo, etc., in order to bring about rain. These are some of the descriptions about the African rock paintings. When one focuses on the content of the Asian rock paintings, it shows the spiritual symbols such as triangles, circles, sun and moon. (Chatterjee). Apart from the above, the symbols such as fish, flying birds, etc., indicate the spiritual believes of the ancient people who lived in Asian countries. However, as mentioned above, the Asian people did not pray at these paintings like the African people did. The painting media or the materials used in the African rock art mainly comprised of white clay, black charcoal or manganese oxide. These rock paintings are fine-line paintings as they are painted with a brush or any other fine instruments. Apart from the usage of the brushes there are indications that the paintings were done through a stone like applicators or carved with the assistance of sharp stones. Monochromes red, white and black are some of the colors used in the rock paintings. The Asian rock paintings especially the Chinese and the Indonesian rock paintings used black color to depict the human images. Apart from natural brushes in the form of feathers, leaves, etc, sharp instruments were also used. The Indian rock paintings mainly consists of the colors such as red, yellow, orange and Brown which were derived from the hematite and other oxides. Since the rocks were rich in magnesium most of the colors were obtained from the oxides of magnesium. These colors were used to portray the pictures of human beings, animals, birds and symbols. Some of the archeological studies reveal the fact that nearly twenty one colors were used in the Indian rock paintings to depict various concepts (Chatterjee). Thus from the above sentences one can have basic information about the painting media used in the African and the American cultures. From the above discussions, it is clear that the rock art and paintings are in the African and the Asian cultures differed a lot; even while having some common aspects. Paintings as the artistic medium can be considered as one of the effective tool which can depict the past in the pictorial format. Moreover they also provide tremendous clues to better understand the life-styles, habitats, traditions of the ancestors. Above all the evolution of the mankind and the civilization process as a whole can be well understood and gleaned from these paintings. With the advancements in technology and the growth of other artistic mediums, people have started to pay less attention to the earliest rock paintings. At the same time, there are also cases of ancient rock paintings getting deteriorated due to the constant human exposure. Thus, it is important on the part of the part of the painters as well as the preservationists to safeguard these important pieces of history. Works Cited “Asian Arts – An Amalgam of Various Cultures.” Million Lives, n.d. Web. 25 April 2012. “African Rock Art and Paintings.” Facts and Details, n.d. Web. 25 April 2012. Chatterjee, Gautam. “Rock Art Heritage of India,” n.d. Web. 25 April 2012 Plessis, Amelia Du. “The History of African Paintings.” Article on the History of African Art, n.d. Web. 25 April 2012. Read More