Denis, just outside the city of Paris.īetween 11, Abbot Suger (1081-1151) rebuilt St. To understand how cathedrals became a space not only for spirituality but also for politics, we must go back to the first Gothic cathedral ever: the Royal Abbey Church of St. They were intended to inspire awe and make the visitor feel insignificant, compared to the greater powers that be. The great cathedrals were designed to be churches that were gigantic in scale and excessively ornamented with decorative details. They were a representation of the power of both the Catholic Church and the monarchy.
The most important examples of Gothic architecture are the great cathedrals. You might be wondering why the Gothic style survived that long. Gothic architecture flourished in France in the mid 1100s, and continued as late as the 1600s in some parts of Europe. Like the Dadaists, the Surrealists thrived on the unexpected, portraying objects and figures in surprising and dreamlike settings. Let's begin by exploring some Medieval centers of power. Right now it is almost impossible for ordinary people to purchase an original work of art access to culture is almost exclusive to the powerfully rich. This promotes speculation in the art world and raises the price of art. People today don't buy art simply to obtain aesthetic pleasure, but also to achieve social and economic status and make an investment.
We'll also learn about patronage of the arts during the Renaissance, a story that tells us a lot about the economics of today's art world. On the other hand, many artists use their work as a catalyst for social change, a tool for protest in opposition to power. Artists who work for economically powerful groups and construct huge buildings (or art pieces) on their behalf support the power structure in our societies. Artists who work for a government and pump ideological messages through their work create official art or propaganda. In this last lecture, we will explore art that serves a specific ideology or political position. In Lecture Four, we explored how artists in different eras have portrayed their societies.Īrt with a social conscience can be political-a voice of protest, an attempt to spark awareness of an issue, or it can be documentary-a study of social relationships or a spotlight on a certain group of people. From Gothic cathedrals to Communist Cuba, politics and art go hand in hand.
0 kommentar(er)
