Art and Religion

Art is an important element of a society’s ability to translate its religious belief to its members and to the world. Religion uses verbal arts, music, and pictorial arts in order to preserve its traditions and messages.

Verbal arts, such as myths, are used to explain why a religion has certain beliefs. These beliefs often stem from religious theories of creation and existence. Other verbal arts used to maintain religious timelines and storylines are legends. Legends are stories told and passed down as true accounts of what happened. (Haviland, 2002, pp.394-399). They are intended to support the greatness of a group’s heroes or god. In Ancient Greek society legends about heroes such as Hercules, were told to reflect the strengths and weaknesses of mortals.

Music is also a very important element of religious systems. It is used to unite and identify its members. Music is a very important element in African American religious groups and has developed into a unique style, gospel. The incorporation of traditional African rhythms and harmonies, helped unite this group of people in the south during times of slavery, and gave them a unifying force and power. Gospel was used further to transmit information long distances in the fields, and thus again it was being used as a unifying and communication system. Lyrics in songs also could be used as a way for religions in non-literate cultures to preserve oral histories and mythologies. (Haviland, 2002, pp. 403-406).

Pictorial arts are used as physical representations of religious themes and accounts. Religious art takes on many forms and styles, and reflect the ideologies and mythologies of a society. (Haviland, 2002, pp.406-414). Christian art is based on stories told from the Bible, usually depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, his resurrection, or the Madonna. However pre-Christian symbolism has also been incorporated into these types of paintings that preserve European religious beliefs that pre-date Christianity. These pagan symbols, however, are applied to Christian mythologies. Islamic art, unlike Christian art, does not use figurative themes based on people or animals. This is because portraying humans and animals is seen as a form of idolatry. Therefore they developed a style of art that had an abstract and geometric motif. Words from the Qu’ran are deemed sacred and very important to calligraphy was developed as a beautiful art and used to transmit religious ideologies.

References

Haviland, William A. (2002). Cultural Anthropology. (10th ed.). Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers.

Lee, Valerie L., and Searles, Richard T. (2002). Study Guide for the Telecourse Faces of Culture. (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

<em>Casque D'or</em> is a Romance Set Within the Confines of a Gangster Film

Set during the Belle Époque, Becker’s Casque d’or is a romance set within the confines of a gangster film.  Manda (Serge Reggiani) isa reformed criminal who now works as a carpenter.  While chatting with Raymond, an old friend from jail, Manda sees a gangster’s moll, the beautiful, blonde Marie (Simone Signoret) waltzing reluctantly with Roland, the man she belongs to.  Marie catches his gaze and won’t let go of it even as Roland spins her around the dance floor.  Raymond and Roland are members of Felix Leca’s gang.  Leca sells wine as a front and is in good stead with the local authorities. 

Willing to give up the new life he has established, Manda comes the next evening to take Marie away from Roland.  They fight over her, resulting in Manda killing Roland.  This complicates matters because not only does Manda have to skip town to avoid the police, but also he has no idea that Leca also wants Marie and to paraphrase the song, whatever Leca wants, Leca gets.  Marie runs off to be with Manda, who after risking his life to be with her, isn’t going to give her up.  While all the story’s participants might not enjoy the final outcome, the film resolves this clash of desires in a very satisfying way for the audience.

The movie is brilliantly crafted from on all fronts.  The story is very well written with a plot that is surprising yet always believable in the choices that are made by the characters.  Nothing ever seems to happen to force the story in a certain direction and there is never a question of the motivation behind someone’s actions.  The characters, including the minor ones, appear as real people with lives that take place when they are off screen.  The performances were very good, especially Claude Dauphin as Leca.  He’s cool and calm most of the time as he tries to keep everything under his control.  This made him very believable and likable. The black-and-white cinematography looks fantastic and the camerawork is very fluid, using a lot of dolly shots instead of cutting.

Film scholar Peter Cowie provides a thoroughly informative commentary track.  He discusses earlier drafts of the story and tells you what scenes were cut or trimmed and what information they contained.  He provides background information about the actors and director, discussing their lives and stature.  He draws your attention to the details of a shot, of a character’s action, telling you what the film was showing you.  As I listened to the commentary track, I noticed that the chapter titles had changed from describing the scene to the subject matter that Cowie was discussing.  I don’t know if other commentary tracks do this, but I thought this was a stroke of genius.

The Criterion crew has done it again with some amazing finds of supplemental material.  There are interview clips from Signoret in 1963 and Reggiani in 1995.  She discusses her career choices, acting and Casque d’or.  He discusses working with Signoret as well as his friendship with her.  There are also excerpts from the French television program Cineastes de notre temps about Becker and this film.  This segment is very interesting in the way it was edited.  Interviews of a number of collaborators, such as Signoret, and admirers, such as Truffaut, were assembled together.  As someone speaks to a subject, the film cuts away to other participants listening, creating the illusion that they are together having a conversation.  The film has some silent, behind-the-scenes footage that was shot on the set during the rehearsals.  It shows Becker and the crew at work.  There’s an option to listen to film critic Philip Kemp, who wrote the liner notes for the DVD, providing commentary for the footage.  I’m not sure why you would watch it without his informative comments, but that option is available.

Casque d’or is a very good French film noir for fans of the genre.  While the theme of the film deals with giving in to your desires, I’m sure that Becker and his crew wouldn’t apply that lesson when it comes to purchasing this DVD.  Appréciez, mon ami.

How Europeans Incorporate Eastern Art

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European Use of Non-Western Art
Miranda Smith
Southern Utah University
December 2001


During the early 20th Century European Avant-Garde artists utilized non-Western art and incorporated it into their own art. African art was one of the most appropriated forms. Most of what was seen as influential from Africa was sculpture. African sculpture typically includes nonorganic planar shifts that contrast with Classical proportions. The elongated areas of the body, such as face, neck and torso as seen on p. 457 in the Adams book, illustrate the non-Classical nature of African art.

One of the Avant-Garde schools that specifically utilized African art was The Bridge (Die Brucke). This group was intent on building a link between their art and revolutionary ideas, and between tradition and Avant-Garde. One of the ways those in The Bridge worked toward this was by combining the geometric look of African art with more traditional ideas. The flattened forms of Kirchner's The Street (p. 459) speak to this idea. The figures in The Street are also elongated, as seen in the sculpture of the Baule ancestor from Africa.

Matisse was also influenced by African art. His work speaks of African masks. His lack of modeling in his work Madame Matisse (p. 458) bears strong resemblance to the masks found in Africa. There is also a lack of organic qualities in this painting. The hair on her head is flat, and it seems to perch on the top of her head. Matisse was also influenced by Arabian art. In his Harmony in Red (p. 463), sinuous lines are used to create an illusion of animation. Matisse coined the term "arabesque" in reference to the lines seen in Arabian architecture, such as mosques.

Emil Nolde was also influenced by African art. However he used other non-Western influences in his art. His Still Life with Masks (p. 460) is indicative of the use if non-Western art. One of the masks (the red one) is based on a drawing of an Oceanic canoe prow, the yellow skull is derived from Brazilian shrunken heads, and the green mask seems to be influenced by African art.

It is clear that these artists were very interested in appropriating other art forms for their own use. This fueled further Avant-Garde developments and shaped the art of the early 20th Century. African art appears to be the most pervasive in these works, but the influences of Arabia, the New World, and Oceania can also be seen. It is also important to note that while these artists copied the look of these other forms of art, the cultural context of the art in regard to the peoples it was borrowed from was lost.


Bibliography

Laurie Schneider Adams, A History of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, 2000).

Why Not Let Your Baby Cry

baby seats reviews

New moms and dads seem to feel that they have to keep their baby from crying. Every time their little one cries they come running. But in my own personal opinion it is perfectly ok to let your baby cry a little. Of course you do not want to let them cry all day long. Crying themselves to sleep is perfectly normal and ok. I have tried this with my children and it has really worked out well, especially at bedtime. What I do is follow my usual bedtime routine. 

Give them their bath and then one final bottle or nurse them one last time for the night. Them I put them in their crib and let them cry just for a while. Every 15 min or so you will want to go and comfort them. It is important that if you are going to let your baby cry themselves to sleep that they are given comfort. I would also recommend covering their little hands so that they do not scratch themselves. They sell little mittens for infants or the shirts with the little hand covers attached. It is also a good deterrent if your child is starting to suck their little fingers.

No one is quite sure why we exactly do cry. Did you know that there are actually two different kids of tears? One is the Basal or continuous tears that moisten the eye, and the other is reflex tears which are caused when your eyes are irritated by some type of object. Some researchers believe that emotional tears or crying actually relieves the body of harmful and excess substances, in the same way the kidneys, and the lungs do. They are not exactly sure of the reason but evidently the body produces a tear in response to emotion that is different from the kind in response to irritation. From the moment a baby is born they need tender care. Many people feel that if they respond to a crying baby they will be spoiling them. I am not sure, but I do know that no harm can come to them by just letting them cry. 

But you should keep in mind that when a child is hungry, uncomfortable or upset, the will begin to cry. You will want to make sure that you check all of these things before you let your baby cry themselves to sleep. Some researchers seem to believe that babies who are responded to quickly during the first 6-8 months of life actually cry less than babies who have been left to cry. Of course they cry less since they are constantly being picked up. There are times when just acknowledging their cry with your own voice will be sufficient. Just a simple touch can help to provide comfort.

Believe it or not it is a baby’s job to cry. At least that is what many of the parents that I have spoken to seem to thing. You do not want to let the baby cry all the time. For example I only allow my baby to cry at bedtime for an extended period. I believe this will help him to learn what bedtime means. When the baby is constantly being rocked to sleep, as they get older they will not understand why you will suddenly stop. And you will probably have a very difficult time putting your one year old baby to sleep. Keep in mind that crying is how babies communicate what they want. The bottom line is you need to help them understand when it is time to play and when it is time to sleep.