Art299Module6
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The document discusses the intersection of art and religion in visual culture, focusing on various belief systems including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islamic art. It examines significant cultural artifacts and architectural examples like the temples of Khajuraho, highlighting themes of spirituality, asceticism, and sexual symbolism in art. The course aims to explore how these artistic representations relate to the respective religious practices and beliefs throughout different historical contexts.
Art299Module6
- 1. ART 299 VISUAL CULTURE GLOBAL CONTEXT M6 REPRESENTING THE DEITY
- 2. agenda In the first part of the course, we considered the relationship of art to power. Now we are examining the relation of visual culture to a variety of religious beliefs. India China Islamic art Judaeo-Christian art
- 3. INDIA 1. now 2. Indus Valley civilization 3. Vedic religion 4. Buddhism 5. “Hinduism”
- 4. contemporary corporate architecture in Bangalore, India
- 5. contemporary corporate architecture in Bangalore, India
- 6. contemporary corporate architecture in Bangalore, India
- 7. contemporary corporate architecture in Bangalore, India
- 11. compare cylinder seal from Uruk, Mespotamia, c. 3200 BCE
- 12. map of ancient civilizations and trade routes between them
- 15. map of ancient cities in the Indus River Valley (contemporary Pakistan)
- 16. public baths, Mohenjo-Daro, Indus River Valley
- 17. “Dancing Girl,” discovered at Mohenjo-Daro, Indus River Valley
- 18. VEDIC RELIGION based upon written texts called the Vedas varna (caste) Brahmans (priests) Kshatriyas (warriors) Vaishyas (farmers and herders) Shudras (manual laborers, servants) avarnas (without caste, untouchable) large pantheon of deities offerings, prayers, rituals
- 19. aniconic the absence of figurative representation. This absence may be the result of a taboo against depicting the gods, a preference for nonfigurative depictions of belief, or a combination of both.
- 21. lingam—representation of male genitals yoni-representation of female genitals They are most frequently represented together. Sometimes called the “Shivalingam” Shiva+Shakti
- 23. Buddhism Hinayana: the narrow path, teachings of the Buddha, the doctrines he preached during his lifetime Mahayana: the wide path, elaborated later as the Buddha became deified and was joined by a number of avatars and bodhisattvas
- 24. Great Stupa, Sanchi, India c. 221 BCE
- 25. symbolic representation of the wheel of dharma
- 26. flag of India, including the same symbol at its center
- 27. Ashokan pillar
- 30. Hinduism very large pantheon of deities variety of practices of worship, customs, rituals, daily life
- 31. Mithuna, 13th c. Orissa, India Ivory, 6 1/4 x 3”
- 32. Mithuna: loving couple; a frequent motif in Indian art Mithuna, 13th c. Orissa, India Stone, 72” high
- 33. This interest in sexual union as an element of divine worship reaches its apogee in a complex of temples created in the town of Khajuraho, in the province of Madhya Pradesh, India, during the reign of the Candela Dynasty (10th-13th centuries).
- 34. “May the laughter of Shiva, while jesting with his beloved wife Parvati, be for your welfare.” —inscription of Candela King Dhangadeva, at Khajuraho,1002
- 35. Fasting Buddha, 2nd c., Gandhara, India
- 36. Indian religion has pursued a variety of paths to spiritual awareness. One path is asceticism: the renunciation of physical desire. People on this path typically practice extreme forms of abstinence from food, drink and sex.
- 37. This sculpture depicts the life of the Buddha during his ascetic period, before his enlightenment.
- 38. Fasting Buddha, 2d c. Matthias Grünewald, Crucifixion from the Isenheim Altarpiece, c. 1512 To eyes familiar with Christian representations such as the Crucifixion, which depicts the body of Jesus mortified and wracked with pain, it is not too difficult to understand this image of the Buddha as religious.
- 39. Fasting Buddha, 2d c. Matthias Grünewald, Crucifixion from the Isenheim Altarpiece, c. 1512 How would you compare and contrast the depiction of the body of Christ and the body of the Buddha in these two works? What is the religious significance of these two bodies?
- 40. For Western viewers, it tends to be harder to understand this as a religious image. Our goal today is to understand how this sculpture functions in relation to Hindu belief.
- 41. Certainly, for the earliest Westerners to “rediscover” the temples at Khajuraho, it was difficult indeed. English Captain T.S. Burt wrote a vivid description of his discomfort at seeing these works of art.
- 42. “I found in the ruins of Khajuraho seven large Hindu temples, most beautifully and exquisitely carved as to workmanship, but the sculptor had at times allowed his subject to grow rather warmer than there was any absolute necessity for his doing; indeed, some of the sculptures here were extremely indecent and offensive; which I was at first much surprised to find in temples that are professed to be erected for good purposes, and on account of religion.” —Captain T.S. Burt, report of 1839
- 43. “But the religion of the Hindus could not have been very chaste if it induced people, under the cloak of religion, to design the most disgraceful representation to desecrate their ecclesiastic erections. The palky bearers, however, appeared to take great delight at the sight of those to them very agreeable novelties, which they took good care to point out to all present.”
- 44. Palky: two long poles of strong wood, with a seat affixed at the center where the client sits. Palky bearers: two men in front, two in back who haul the palky in rhythmic steps.
- 45. Map of India showing the location of Khajuraho, an important city during the Candela Dynasty, 10th-13th centuries
- 46. Map of the temple complex at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India
- 47. Small temple at the complex
- 48. Larger temple at the complex
- 49. What is the sculptural program of these temples? Images of deities carved in the round Attendants, either in medium or high relief Apsaras--beautiful women in various postures (removing thorn from foot, putting on makeup, squeezing water from hair) Secular figures-- dancers, musicians, soldiers, teachers, peopl e at work or home Sexually explicit scenes. Mythical animals.
- 51. Apsaras in a variety of poses (removing thorn from foot, looking in mirror, adjusting garment)
- 52. Scenes of sexual passion
- 54. Note that these scenes are more graphic in closeup photographs than they are at the site, where they are viewed from a distance and from below.
- 55. How might we understand the inclusion of this sort of scene on a temple?
- 56. Terms for Understanding Hindu Art & Culture Shaivism: worship of the god Shiva Kaula: one of the Shaivite sects, known for esoteric tantric practices (prominent during 10-11th centuries when these temples were being built) Tantra: ritual
- 57. Hindu belief has always contained within it a wide variety of spiritual paths Bhoga: enjoyment Yoga: discipline; literally, “yoke” Asceticism: renunciation of bodily desire
- 58. The “Five M’s” of Tantric practice Matsya- fish Mamsa- meat Mudra- grain Mada- wine Maithuna- sex
- 59. In Tantric practice, energy from the lower chakras is progressively channeled upward to the Seventh Chakra, or the “Thousand-Petaled Lotus.” In this way, sexuality is disciplined, controlled, and ultimately used to connect with the divinity.
- 60. Could this be a depiction of Tantric worship? Or a way of representing of the fusion of the human and the divine?
- 61. Today Khajuraho is a tourist site. People from all over the world visit these temples to see the architecture and sculpture.
- 62. When he visited in 1839, Captain Burt was allowed to roam freely throughout the complex, with the exception of this temple, which is still an active shrine to Shiva today.
- 63. Shaivite priest seated next to decorated Shivalingam, Khajuraho, Madya Pradesh, India