Module 8: Video Review Blog

1. Explain why you selected the video you choose from the selection listed above.

I chose The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure because since I was a child, I always enjoyed the Greek culture. Everything from their architecture to art fascinated me. This video seemed to be a good complement to the first video.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

BBC How Art Made The World 1 - More Human Than Human:

• The human body is one, if not the most, captivating to the brain. 
• All of the most influential human forms have one thing in common, they are unrealistically emphasized
• Modern human beings have been around for about 150,000 years; only about 80,000 years ago was any style of art created; only within the last 30,000 years has the human body been recreated exaggerating the same things
• Some forms are more important to the human brain while others are completely ignored
• Egyptian artists show each feature of the human body in its clearest form
• Fingers of Egyptian art were uniform in length
• Ancient Greeks had extreme focus on aesthetic physiques
• Greeks believed that their Gods had human bodies
• The exaggeration is found to be hardwired in our brains, even if some cultures suppressed it
• The body was broken into opposed and complementing each other through dividing the body into quarters

The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure:

• Greece has changed everything relative to art, architecture, and philosophy
• Greeks tried to use emotion in their art
• 6th century Greece entered into the realm of depicting realism and shift away from Egyptian-like body forms
• Greeks did not do much with painting, they preferred sculptures and pottery
• Greeks banned females from sport, but this was not the case regarding the female art form
• Greek sculptures were able to depict the human form at rest as well in motion
• Ideal body is more import than the actual body in Greek art
• This has even influenced humans in the 21st century

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The videos gloss over what the text provides. A primary example is the female figure known as Venus.  The text goes back into history to show were ancient art and ideas of the human body began. The videos also give the reader more information and a better understanding of what the ancient civilizations, such as Egypt, were trying to do with the human body in regards to art. The two videos adequately explain the shift between stylized art and realistic art--Greece being the impetus for that change. They also explain that although realism is the term we use, the Greeks over exaggerate the human body. These kind of thoughts of the ideal human form have been passed on and are still with us today.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

I thought the films for this topic were superb. I am biased because of my inclination to like Greek history. The two videos were very good at describing the timeline in which art transformed from two-dimensional stylized forms to three-dimensional realistic bodies. This connection was the most important for me. I understand how and why these ancient civilizations created the art (sculptures and paintings) the way that they did. The human body is a beautiful thing; it was great to learn about why it captivates us the way that it does.