Sign Off

            This is Dan signing off.  Not sure what I’m supposed to write exactly.  I enjoyed the class, we covered some interesting topics, and I really enjoyed studying graffiti and the cave paintings in the Dordogne Valley.  The diversity of the presentations by my fellow classmates brought some extra dimensions to the class, as well as some new perspectives.  This was my favorite part of the class; the presentations were all very well done.  I learned about a bunch of topics that I otherwise wouldn’t have known anything about.  It was also real great that there were some similar subjects discussed but with a slightly different scope or perspective.  I thought the evolutionary perspective in “What is Art For?” was interesting, it made really good sense in some places but other portions of the book disinterested me.  I thought ethno-aesthetic analysis is a good tool when analyzing art, but it needs to be grounded in a further understanding of a culture.  

My Art Project

            My research was involving the manipulative capabilities of propaganda during World War II.  I highlighted examples from both Nazi Germany and the United States, specifically film and posters, two of the most prevalent mediums used by the government at the time.  They were also some the most effective means of getting the state’s message across to the American and German people, as well as the territories under the control of Nazi Germany.  Their effectiveness lies in the mediums ability to reach mass audiences, which we also discussed in class; who exactly is consuming the artworks.  In the beginning of the semester we discussed graffiti and cave paintings a decent amount, which got me to thinking about the consistency throughout humanity to put up our artworks on walls, so this line of thought led me to propaganda posters and the power of those artworks to motivate the average citizen; artwork on a massive scale, implemented by the government.  We discussed the meaning or intentions of art and, in this case, the meaning and intentions were quite clear: manipulate and coerce the masses into achieving the goals of the state.

            My research process involved a lot of reading.  I gathered a bulk of material relating to propaganda.  I searched peer-reviewed, scholarly articles, and a couple of books to gain a full understanding of where my research could go.  My first wave of searching involved trying to find articles analyzing propaganda for its artistic value, it led to a few articles but not too much.  Then I cut down the broadness of my search and limited it down to WWI and WWII propaganda amongst the various nation-states involved in the conflict; still too much information.  I decided to limit the subject to the various forms of WWII propaganda in Russia, Germany, Japan, and the US, but the research I gathered had just as much about the use of film as it about posters.  At that point it was clear that film had to be included.  When it came down to crunch-time and I began trying to form my research into something pretty I realized that the scope should be limited to the two superpowers of the war: America and Germany.  This scope was needed because of the high amount of propaganda used in WWII, specifically by these two nation-states, and especially through the mediums of film and posters.

            If I had to do a follow-up project to this it would be the analysis of propaganda by social and behavioral scientists in between WWI and WWII, leading up to the role of social and behavioral scientists in the Office of War Information.   

Thanks Warren, I know it's Winter Now

            Bodies flipping, twisting, turning, soaring through the air, and then they finally, flop into snow, Warren Miller has been creating blissful ski movies for over four decades.  They circulate every year, appearing late October or early November, bringing anticipation for the offspring of the mountain and winter to return to Eden.  Bountiful mounds of snow adorn the screen as Warren’s movie play, as the master artist crafts his tool across the mountain’s canvass you begin to get that familiar feeling, an addiction present in your mind; it’s time to go skiing again.  Warren’s movie is a signal for the pilgrimage to the mountain to begin.  The master’s of the mountain grace the screen, every flip, spin, grind, turn, line is unique and a statement by them filled with the passion and love that one cannot help but feel while in the harmonious presence of the mountain; what peace and freedom.  No master is greater than Warren Miller, not in terms of skiing or riding ability, but because his films evoke the feelings one has when winter is approaching and skiing is on the way. 

            Since long before I was born his movies symbolized the ski season, they have evolved along side of the sport.  A mix of mountains (freeskiing/riding, backcountry and Heliskiing) and street, although predominantly mountain and skiing (it is a Warren Miller movie) this year’s movie was a sublime mixture of the direction skiing is going but also a tributary of Warren Miller, and skiing’s, big mountain past.  The amazing locations like Squaw Valley (where I do most my skiing), the Himalayas in Kashmir, and Alaska were where the master’s created the artworks, dreaming of new lines and building new jumps where they were previously unimagined.  One cannot help but drift back into their one mind a dream that first run down the mountain.  The innovation of helmet cams made that desire all the more apparent; the tease of being there, engaged in the steeps, ripe with fear and exhilaration, the goal of the movies are simple: make you want to ski, goal achieved.  Wanted to upload videos from the movie and can't, I'll settle for the link.

Videos from Warren Miller

Globalization, Art, and Culture

            To understand the social life of objects, one must understand the multiple processes that affect how an object is perceived.  In the examples discussed in the reading, aboriginal/native art, the processes of globalization and its affects on the culture producing an object must not be ignored.  These representations are widely seen in anthropological study and, in class, we have seen multiple examples of the products of globalization affecting indigenous or native cultures.  Examples that come to mind are: the telephone-wire basket crafted by Zulu basket weavers, the changes in aboriginal art over time (in Waiting for Harry, the burial ritual would have usually been preformed at night, but because of the threats on Aboriginal Australian culture due to colonization and globalization, they must now have detailed records of their culture so it is not lost), and La Dia de Los Muertos, which has the hybridization of Aztec and Spanish culture from colonization, as well as the commoditization inherent from globalization.  As the reading says, we cannot treat a culture with boundaries that are not affecting by the current social, economic and political forces that currently present within the ever changing global arena, culture will be greatly altered and morphed along with the pressures of an evolving world, after all, the idea that culture changes over time is present within most anthropological definitions of the term.  That stagnation faced within anthropological theory is a malevolent force in understanding culture, as anthropologists, we must evolve along with culture, which seems to be the underlying theme from the reading.  Is this evolution being realized? I believe it is.  The presence of globalization undeniably alters culture and recent anthropological works indicate that the understanding of the affects of globalization is relatively strong. 

            The study of objects and participant observation are definitely not obsolete, on the contrary they are more crucial to the understanding of culture now more than ever.  One must participate in the activities of a society and culture to fully understand their significance to the people that are involved in expressing values present within their society and culture.  The study of objects can lead one to a further understanding of a culture through the symbolism present within it.  Through symbolic analysis and observing a culture through participation in significant activities of that society and culture, one may be able to gain a more holistic understanding of the pressures causing cultural change.

            

The Ethnoaesthetics of Ballet

            The author, who’s name is way to complicated spell and long, so she will be referred to as “the author” hereafter, discusses the concept of ballet being categorized as a form of ethnic dance for western culture, an assertion with which I agree.  She describes the relevant literature of the study of dance being ethnocentric and inadequate for the analysis of other dance forms beside that of western culture.  In describing the literature she has gone through, a theme of marginalization occurs when scholars are not analyzing the value and impact of western art.  The belief is embodied by the usage of specific terminology like primitive, ethnic, and folk dance, all of which carry a stigma of inferiority to the precise beauty of western dance.  They are written off as spontaneous, inexact, no technique or artistry, and being on the verge of orgy (the author highlights other assumptions of characteristics involved in traditional dance).  These characteristics are often misleading; the author shows this in the examples she uses, specifically Hopi dance and its traditions.  She discusses how the definitions western society has for dance further convolutes the picture of traditional dance.  This discussion moves into the characteristics of ballet that exemplify the attributes of western society that are virtues.  Considering that western society is comprised of multiple countries and backgrounds she considers ballet a form of international dance.  The nature of ballet explicitly portrays many characteristics that are constantly present in western society, some are: religion, sex, perfection, fear, beauty, love, misunderstanding, self-sacrifice, emotional and physical suffering, as well as tragedy (40).   All of these aspects contribute to ballet being viewed as a form of ethnic dance, as well as being an example of ethno-aesthetics. 

            In the section above, which I summarized the aesthetic aspects of western culture that make ballet an ethnic dance, it is clear that this an ethno-aesthetic analysis of ballet.  The author describes specific aspects of ballet that reflect the culture of western society.  All of the present characteristics mentioned above are aspects of western culture that are seen everyday, by every person within it.  Specifically sex and beauty, which are highly present in ballet, are perfect examples of this truth.  An individual in western society cannot go through daily routine without seeing imagery of sex or beauty.  Advertising is ripe with these two characteristics and considering the commercialization within western culture; a person cannot go more than a day without being reminded of sex and beauty within any kind of advertisement.  The high prevalence of the rest of the characters, which I will not get into in the interest of time, also exemplify this belief, and make the ethno-aesthetic analysis of ballet very fruitful.  

Good example of the characteristics discussed by the author (plus I've liked Aronofsky since his Pi days)

Ethno-Aesthetics

            Ethno-aesthetics can be defined as a regional, local, or indigenous beliefs expressed artistically through various mediums including, but not limited to, the ritualistic or the ceremonial purposes of that society or group of people.  Ethno-aesthetic analysis is trying to uncover specific cultural and social traits from that group of people.  It can be analogous to conducting an ethnography.  The medium of interpretation is through a dramatically smaller lens, and the conclusions drawn cannot begin to express the complexities of the culture, but it can gain some knowledge and understanding through the mediums analyzed.  Ethno-aesthetics encompasses a wide array of activities and mediums of expression.  It could be ceremonial, ritualistic, celebratory, painting, song, dance, sculpture, and many other mediums.  The purpose is to gain some sort of understanding about the cultural and ethnic expression through the medium being utilized by that group of people.  The largest hazard of this form of analysis is that is through such a small lens and does not generally encompass the whole of the culture or society.  The analyzer is only subjected to a miniscule portion of that culture; the preverbal tip of the iceberg.  This limited analysis cannot possibly gain a holistic view of the culture that is aesthetically expressing their cultural values. 

            The implications of globalization and hybridization in ethno-aesthetics are pretty prevalent.  La dia de los muertos is an excellent example of globalizations effects creating a hybridization of cultural values and expression of those values.  The day of the dead is a great example of this because of the connection between catholic colonist view combined with indigenous aspects of Mexican culture, specifically Aztec.  The day of the dead is a celebratory expression of hybridization in ethno-aesthetics.  

Totems

“’It is the figurative representations of this plant or animal [on ceremonial objects]…which have the greatest sanctity’, because it is these which provide the tangible expression of the group’s place in society. ’personified and represented to the imagination under the visible form of the [picture of the] animal or vegetable which serves as a totem.’” 

            Totems presence as art is reflected in this statement of Durkheim’s relayed through Layton.  This quote illustrates the importance of artistic totemic representations for small-scale societies that follow totemic religious beliefs.  The symbolism that is present in totemic depictions of animals or plants is a more than just a painting or drawing that is both representative and abstract.  The totem is representative of the people, and their ancestral patterns, that associate with that symbol.  These religious beliefs all have the underlying presence of the group’s ancestry.  It is the connection to the groups past.  It defines how the world unfolded its mysteries to the group defining certain principal and practices to live in a truly positive manner.   

            Totemic religious beliefs play a massive role in small-scale societies; it delineates kinship patterns, a process for resolving disputes between groups, and subsistence patterns. Kinship patterns are reflected in totemic religious views.  One group is expected to produce a husband or wife for the other.  This is the basis for the ancestral patterns that are associated with totemic beliefs.  Once a member from a related group joins another through marriage, they, and all future family members, depending on whether they are male or female, are now a part of that group, or destined to be attached to another associated group.  Totemic beliefs also transcend religion into the realm of law and order.  Totemic beliefs can also develop into a basis for handling disputes between group members.  They involve processes for handling a wide-range of issues, like “property” disputes, issues involving the mate of another group member, or witchcraft.  Symbolic totemic representations can also be related to subsistence.  They can be related to a resource that a group exploits seasonally.  Clearly totemic symbolism is not limited to this concept, there are plenty of other reasons a specific representation is used, and they vary from culture to culture, but it can be related to a specific subsistence pattern.  The presence of symbolism in totemic representations stretches far beyond my analysis, but these are just a few reasons to show how far beyond mere artistic symbolism totemic representation extend.  It is a religious system that encompasses many aspects of life.