Paleolithic Art and Culture

Paleolithic Art and Movements

• Chauvet Cave discoveries in 1994 yielded cave drawings comparable to contemporary art, found in the Ardeche River gorge, France
• Earlier cave paintings were perceived as childlike, suggesting possible earlier artworks made from perishable materials like wood (e.g., 90,000-100,000 years ago)
• Cave paintings are speculated to be connected to hunting rituals and magic, possibly to ensure a successful hunt
• Cave paintings depicted animals, including lions, rhinos, bears, panthers, and mammoths; some of these were rarely hunted
• Other cave discoveries mentioned include Altamira in Spain (1879), Lascaux in France (1940), and Cosquer in France (1991)

Culture and Values

• Culture encompasses shared values and behaviours passed down through generations
• Ardeche gorge may have been a cultural center, where community values expressed themselves through art
• Cultural expression through cave paintings
• Cave paintings reveal a culture that thrived in prehistoric times

Paleolithic Cultures and Artifacts

• Evidence of human existence 5.7 million years ago was found in Ethiopia in 2001
• Hominids (earliest upright humans) had created stone tools, beginning 2.5-2.6 million years ago
• Tools were crafted in Central Africa, around 14 million to 19 million years ago.
• Later development of stone tools led to the carving of sculptures
• The most famous artifact of female figures in Europe is the limestone statuette, known as the Venus of Willendorf
• This statuette demonstrates the depiction of female figures with exaggerated features, indicative of fertility and childbearing

Neolithic Pottery and Cultures

• Transition from hunting to agriculture led to the creation of pottery for storage
• Early pottery in Iran depicted ibex, symbolizing abundance
• Megalithic architecture (menhirs and cromlechs) are significant stone structures discovered in parts of Britain and France
• Stonehenge, located in Salisbury Plain, is a famous example of a large stone structure; its purpose remains unknown, but is believed to have served a burial ground
• Further discoveries of civilizations are found in Mesopotamia:
• In the 1920s, many bodies were unearthed in tombs in the Mesopotamian city of Ur. These discoveries revealed the grandeur and splendor of civilizations in this part of the world.

Modern Art

• Characteristics of modern art include experimentation with form and technique, rejection of traditional perspectives, and focus on individual interpretation of reality
• The most important names include Picasso, Dalí, Matisse, and Pollock.
• Notable artworks from this period such as Picasso's “Demoiselles d’Avignon,” Dalí’s “Persistence of Memory”, Matisse's “Dance,” and Pollock’s “Autumn Rhythm”.
• Modern art encompasses a wide range of movements and styles from the late 19th century to the 1970s.
• Experimentation, a departure from tradition, and searching for new forms are all hallmarks of the modern art period.

Neo-Expressionism

• Characteristics: Intense subjectivity, raw emotion, aggressive brushstrokes, and use of vivid colors.
• Artists include Basquiat, Kiefer, Schnabel, and Baselitz
• Notable artwork include Basquiat's “Untitled (Skull),” Kiefer's “Margarethe”, Schnabel's “The Walk Home” and Baselitz’s "The Brücke Chorus"
• Emerged as a response to the intellectual dryness of Minimalism and Conceptual Art in the late 1970s and 1980s

Street Art

• Art created in public spaces, often unsanctioned, with a focus on graffiti, stenciling, street installations, murals, and stickers
• Popular artists include Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Keith Haring.
• Notable artworks include Banksy's “Balloon Girl”, Fairey's “Hope” poster, Basquait's SAMO© tags, Haring's "Crack is Wack" mural.
• Street art reflects urban environments, social and political perspectives

Land Art

• Art created by using natural landscapes, site-specific installation, and large-scale outdoor works
• Popular artists include Smithson, Heizer, Holt, and Turrell
• Notable examples include Smithson's “Spiral Jetty”, Heizer's “Double Negative”, Holt's “Sun Tunnels”, Turrell's “Roden Crater”
• Land art emphasizes art's relationship with the environment

Postmodern Art

• Eclecticism, skepticism towards grand narratives, blending high and low culture, questioning artistic authority, use of pastiche, irony, and paradox are hallmarks of this period
• Popular artists include Koons, Sherman, Basquait, and Hirst
• Notable works include Koons’s “Balloon Dog”, Sherman's “Untitled Film Stills,” Basquait's “Untitled (Skull),” and Hirst's “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”
• Postmodern art emerged in the 1970s as a response to Modernism, critiquing its rules and conventions.

Contemporary Art

• Diverse styles, digital technology, conceptual art, interactive installations, and social commentary are key features
• Popular artists include Ai Weiwei, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, and Cindy Sherman
• Notable examples include Ai Weiwei's “Sunflower Seeds”, Koons’s “Balloon Dog”, Hirst's “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”, and Sherman's “Untitled Film Stills”
• Contemporary art reflects the complex and interconnected world of today