Week 7 Blog Post: Art as a Culture

1a) I think the artist was trying to gain more of an inventory of the kind of animals that were in his/her surroundings. Some animals appear more than others because of how often these animals are seen in comparison to other animals. In sense, the artists could have been the first biologists; trying to make sense of their surroundings by expressing it in the best way they possibly could. Another possibility is the reverence the artist may have towards the animals, something of seeing them as deity or figure that holds high respect.

1b) I think more animals show in the cave paintings than humans because of the reverence shown to these animals. The painting of the animals are more detailed and try to be anatomically correct compared to humans who have a stick figure-esque form to them. Maybe it's possible that there were more animals in the surrounding area in comparison to the amount of humans as well.

1c) Something these paintings can tell about the cave dwellers is the facet of hunting and the dangers that come with it. It displayed people hunting animals while showing what animal was being hunted, how many people it took to hunt the animal, and the kind of weapon used to kill the animal. There was a section that showed a person dying, a risk that comes with hunting. Maybe it could be a warning to others to not fool around with wild animals, this is where the FAFO method comes into play.

1d) One difficulty early humans had to navigate was the lack of natural lighting in the caves. They had to use torches and other man-made lighting sources to see what they were doing. Another difficulty was when the wall of the cave met the ceiling, which could be anywhere between 8-11 feet in height. To overcome this they made scaffolding-like structures to reach these heights.

1e) One function of this art for early humans is to be observant of their surroundings. They tell what animals are around them, the possible size and scale they are to humans, and how many may be within a given species. Another function of the paintings can be a means of story telling. They can attribute higher powers to these animals and create myths or tall tales of certain animals. A third possibility could be a means of sheer awe and respect for these animals. We may fully understand to how these early humans viewed and interpreted the world but seeing a wild animal could have moved a person in such a way that they wanted to preserve the image of them as best they possibly could.

2) One function of modern art is a form of self expression and self reflection. The artist can use artwork to make a statement about a certain topic or an outlet of something they may struggle with but may not feel comfortable expressing it in other ways. A commonality that modern art and the cave paintings have is the attempt to portray life as accurately as the artist possibly can. Modern artists may use it as way to develop and display their skill sets but cave painters could have used it as way to convey information for others. 

3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6FmuAoQsk

3a) One of my favorite genres of music is punk rock. In the United States, it was created as a reaction to other larger rock bands that young people felt were not representing what rock and roll was about. Arena rock (ex. Journey, Boston) were the bigger names of the genre and were more focused on writing love ballads. The youth felt that rock lost its edge and not being more about rebellion like it was in its earlier stage. They used it as means of self expression, playing as loud and fast as they can (albeit not that great), but trying to be as authentic and true to themselves as possible. Some of the topics ranged from frustration with politics/authority and inner struggles. 

3b) Some of the features of this culture include having a more broad means of self expression. In the UK, it was common to see people with dyed mohawks, piercings, and whatever clothing made the person most comfortable; something that was totally against the more conservative attire of the current time. Shows where bands played was a means of people gathering, often resulting in things like mosh pits forming (and its rules that come with it). The punk scene had a more DIY mentality, self-promoting through posters and word-of-mouth, recording your own music, etc. It rarely lead to mainstream success as it is a genre of music that is not easy to pick up and listen to but also mainstream success is frowned up by the more "hardcore" members of the community, deterring bands to make that next step.

3c) A benefit to society is that it can give young people who feel like outsiders a sense of belonging. With the music talking about the frustrations of life and feeling disenfranchised, it can help others connect to like-minded individuals. A detrimental effect is the possibility of the young people becoming burnouts. These people don't exactly mature as individuals and make progress with their lives. They may have substance abuse problems, may still live with their parents well into their adult life, or lack motivation to do much of anything. It's like they're stuck in a perpetual state of adolescence.