Deciphering Cave Paintings

  I've had a hard time trying the "choose" what school I would place myself into. I like the idea of creating a story from the painting, because that's what a part of art is, interpreting a story or meaning, that arises in you when viewing it. But with this prehistoric art, that can be inapplicable because they're viewed more as artifacts rather than what we today think of normally as art, like a Monet painting. To really understand and have a more accurate interpretation of prehistoric art, I think the first school is the one I would have to choose.


  "One consisted in gathering artifacts and then dividing and subdividing them in rigorously exact and objective enumeration of places, dates, sizes, and shapes.This work would establish a template of places where future artifacts could be arranged in order. For some, the field of prehistory stopped here” -Annette Laming-Emperaire (pg.141,The Cave Painters).


  To even begin understanding cave art, specifically paintings, it is necessary to, as Laming-Emperaire stated above, dividing and subdividing them into categorized lists of places, dates, sizes, and shapes. Only after doing this, can one begin to hypothesize about what the paintings actually mean. Too pass over the archaeology of these paintings and jumping straight to ethnographic research is, according to Laming-Emperaire, not the best path to understanding the paintings. The example given in The Cave Painters is the archeological study of a flint blade. Three characteristics are focused on during the study: the way it was made, the signs of use it exhibits, and the location in which it was found. Looking at this method, Laming-Emperaire suggests cave painting show be looked at in the same way, since they are, themselves, prehistoric artifacts, as important as tools and such.


  Even though these three characteristics can help one understand the paintings as they would to understand tools, Laming-Emperaire views the location as the most important aspect of the method. The location of the painting is the only solid fact that can be determined, the paintings not being able to be moved by natural causes or people taking it with them. From location itself, one can compare differences and similarities with others in that location or others 200 miles away. The patterns of animals and shapes, placement and size of paintings, and other factors can lead towards a better understanding of the paintings.


-Holly

Picture Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Lascaux_painting.jpg


Book Source: 
Curtis, Gregory. The Cave Painters. 2006. Print.

Lunar New Year

"To experience something that is outside order and ordinary-- which we can call the extraordinary." (Dissanayake, 134)

 I'm sure many of us have had numerous extraordinary experiences, many being in a ritualistic form. We all have traditions and festivities we celebrate with our family and friends. Whether its making Santa Clause a BLT sandwich instead of cookies on Christmas Eve or going to opening day at Angel Stadium, everyone has rituals of their own.

 My favorite ritual is a festival that I enjoy with my family every year, the Lunar NewYear Festival (aka Chinese New Year). We belong to an organization called Families with Children from China (FCC), which is an organization mad up of American families who have adopted children from China. For the past 8 years, since my sister, Julie, was adopted, we have attended FCC's Lunar New Year Festival in Los Angeles' Chinatown.

LA Chinatown

Chinatown itself is an aesthetic experience. We usually arrive early and are able to walk around the shops and bakeries that fill Chinatown. It's always fascinating to me that in the middle of LA, this whole other world is waiting to be explored.

Dragon Dancers

After were done browsing, we heard into the restaurant, which is quickly filling up with other families. Eventually, we find our table and chat with the families we're sitting with. As dinner starts to come out, the entertainment begins. It's always great to watch the Dragon dancers, acrobats and musicians. The food is also really remarkable, a classic family style chinese dinner, which always has a little something for everyone.

Chinese acrobats

The element that really makes this ritual extraordinary for me is the coming together of the various families. Everyone in attendance is there for the same reason -- to celebrate being multi-cultural families. When a family has multiple cultures represented, it's important to celebrate each culture. We've never had to hide the fact Julie is adopted, (for one thing, she's chinese and we're caucasian, so there's a physical difference) rather we embrace it! For that reason alone, it's extraordinary that so many families can come together and share that experience with one another. The FCC website even agrees with me, "Being in the room provides a wonderful visual for our kids and parents alike – we are part of an amazing community of adoptive families." 

Julie with the Dragon Dancer head and other children

For my family and me, attending the FCC's Lunar New Year Festival is a ritualistic experience that can truly be deemed extraordinary.

-Holly

Julie and me at the 2008 Lunar New Year Festival

Sources:

Dissanayake, Ellen. What is Art for? 1988. Print.

http://www.fccsocal.org/programs/new-year-banquet

http://www.inetours.com/Los_Angeles/Images/Chinatown/951-NB_Gate_7356.jpg

http://www.triniview.com/Chinese_Bicentennial/081006.html

http://newsroom.mohegansun.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/PinkPyramid-300x240.jpg

Aesthetic Experience

For this week's post, I'm going to keep following this food theme I've got going...

   A few years ago, during my senior year of high school, my dad and I drove up from Southern California to come see Humboldt State. On the long drive back down, we stopped at a culinary school I was also looking into in Napa Valley, The Culinary Institute of America. I had already been to a few culinary schools, so I figured this would be like the rest, but I was wrong. Driving through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, I knew this school would separate itself from the rest. The school itself is a gorgeous, castle-esque building, and walking inside basically took my breath away. An amazing foyer welcomed us as we took our first step inside with huge wine barrels lining the walls. This was probably on of the most aesthetically pleasing places I ever been. We were given a very nice tour, which ended in the sole room on the top floor, a giant, beautiful kitchen. There must have been at least 40 different stations inside this massive kitchen, one side dedicated to culinary, and the other to pastry. There were a few students in there practicing techniques and recipes, and at that instant I knew I was in love with the school. As I stated before, I had already seen some schools, but this one defiantly stood out from the rest.

  However, my experience was far from over. My dad had made us lunch reservations in the school's restaurant, and if I had not already been so entranced, this would have done me in. We sat down at our table, and my senses exploded! From our seats, we could see the kitchen, right in the middle of the restaurant (it was a culinary school after all!), and the smells escaping form the kitchen were beyond incredible. My 3 course lunch was a delicious tomato bisque, fresh linguini with kale, and bread pudding to finish it off. This was single handedly the best meal I have ever had. Everything was so fresh and excellent tasting that I almost couldn't contain myself. I think Ellen Dissanayake said it best with "to experience something that is outside... the ordinary... we can call the extraordinary" (Dissanayake, 134)

  Unfortunately, The Culinary Institute of America doesn't offer the 9-month diploma program I wanted to take anymore, so my aspirations of going there won't happen, but I'm still searching for the culinary school (Le Cordon Bleu, London to be exact) where I can be a part of creating an aesthetic experience for a another 17 year old girl with dreams of becoming a pastry chef.

-Holly


Sources:

http://www.ciachef.edu/california/

http://www.specialtyfoodamerica.com/IMAGES/GREYSTONE%20KITCHENS%20WITH%20CIA%20LOGO.jpg

http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/DSC_7224.jpg

Making Special!

So this week's blog is centered around making special... What exactly is 'making special' you ask? Well, until today, I wasn't so sure myself, I really knew what it was. Our classes example was of how everyone arranges a room differently, to make it special to them. Well, I do get quite creative with my decorating, but it doesn't really scream "special" to me. When I thought about what I really care about making special, and it hit me... Food! Well, to be more specific, pastry (baked goods) and I knew that is what I was going to make special today. Unfortunately, patience and time go hand in hand with baking, so I've been running around like a crazy person for the last like 4 hours, but I think I've succeeded in making special. (What an awkward phrase! Making special... anyway...)

Since making special should be a personal experience, I wanted to bake and decorate cookies, not just pretty or cool, but, well special. Here's a little background to my cookie adventure: My 9 year old sister and I really like Harry Potter, and it's something we can both talk about and enjoy. She loves making dorky Harry Potter things for me, so I decided to make Harry Potter cookies! (She's going to flip out, I promise)

They aren't perfect, but I'm sure the next time I make special with these cookies, they'll come out better (practice does make perfect!). But I did have a blast tonight making special!

-Holly

Recipe Sources:

http://bakingdom.com/2010/03/alice-in-wonderland.html

http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/2010/01/royal-   icing-102-or-201-or-whatever.html

My sister and me

Primitive?

The concept of primitive art is very problematic for numerous reasons. In What is Art For?, the author takes up nearly two pages justifying her use of the word ‘primitive.’ Her definition of primitive society is, “a form of traditional society characterized by small-scale settlements, a low level of technological development, an unspecialized economy and a non-literate tradition, and generally slow-changing, unquestioned homogeneous social institutions and practices relevant to non primitive societies.” (Ellen Dissanayake, p. 42-43) She does tell us that she is by no means saying that primitive societies are “inferior” to our own, just have not adopted the same technologies that the Western world has adopted, but have turned to other elements in life. It’s hard to deem something ‘primitive’ because to that culture, it isn’t necessarily ‘primitive,’ but tradition or ancestral.

In The Anthropology of Art, the author’s definition of primitive art is presented right in the beginning stating, “the art of small-scale societies are very often also objects of everyday, technical use which have been decorated with artistic designs... accurate though the statement is that many ‘primitive’ art objects have a utilitarian purpose, it disregards the fact that many others do not and are primarily vehicles for the communication of ideas, rather than axes, or bowls, or canoes with a decorative frill.” (Robert Layton, p. 42) The goal to understand primitive art is to put it into it’s own cultural context and by looking at the status of the artist in his or her society.

A lot of traditional societies decorate their homes or cooking devices, yet Westerners are quick to label those things as ‘art.’ Even though these items can be ascetically pleasing or displeasing, who are we to tell someone what is art and what is not? In class, we discussed who labels things as art, and came up with anthropologists, museum curators, art historians, etc. -- all westerners who “know” what to label what, and the price it’s worth. It’s interesting that something used in daily life or for ceremonial purposed in a society can be considered worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars, just because some fancy westerner say it is.

As a side note: I've also found it perplexing how there is virtually no reference to Asian art. All the ‘primitive’ art is based on remote islands, Africa or Aboriginal societies and “western’ art refers to European and American art. What about the art from Japan, China and the other Asian cultures? Just a thought...

Text Sources:

Layton, Robert. The Anthropology of Art.1991. Print.

Dissanayake, Ellen. What Is Art For? 2002. Print.

Picture Source:

http://kilshaws.com/images/specialty_items/large/2060-20090820-161.jpg