Art 1 - Discussion "More Human than Human"

Assignment:
Please answer the following questions based on the BBC How Art Made the World episode, "More Human than Human":1. Dr. Nigel Spivey uses various examples of how artistic distortions of the human body reflect specific cultural values. According to this theory, what do the characteristics of Greek art show us about the cultural ideals of their civilization?2. According to Spivey, why is the masterful depiction of a realistic human figure (such as the Kritios Boy) ultimately not good enough for the Greek artists? How does Polykleitos solve the problem?

Post:

Based on Dr. Nigel Spivey's theory of how cultural views reflect in the artistic distortion of the human body I would say the Ancient Greek's viewed themselves as near perfect. They strove for being as fit as possible because they believed their Gods took human form and had beautiful bodies, so the better you looked the more God-Like you were. If you looked good, you were good.

Kritios Boy

Polykleitos' Doryphoros

Even when the Greek artists had created a truly realistic representation of the human form with Kritios Boy they were not satisfied. In less than a generation the Greeks began to exaggerate the human form. According to Professor V.S. Ramachandran humans have a primevil instinct to exaggerate. The realistic human form quickly became boring. There was a need to do something interesting with the sculpture. In about 450 B.C. Polykleitos solved the problem when he set out to show the physical potential of an athlete. He wanted the figure to appear both relaxed and ready to move. By dividing the body into four quarters and making sure that every part of the body complemented the rest by very careful placement. Polykleitos had found a way to make the sculptures more human than human.

The best pieces showing the exaggeration introduced is in the Riace Bronzes. They really are more human than human.

Bronzi di Riace (Italian for "Riace bronzes")

The recommended resources for this week included:
BBC How Art Made The World - "More Human Than Human"
Kahn Academy The Image in Early Medieval Art
Kahn Academy The Birthplace of Gothic
The Lascaux Caves interactive website
Cave of Forgotten Dreams