AcDec 2015-16 Art

Material about the 2015-16 USAD AcDec topic - India - for use by the Ridge Point High School Academic Decathlon team.

This Wiki is divided into pages in the following categories:

* **Art**
* Economics
* Literature/Language
* Math
* Music
* Science
* Social Science
* Objective Categories (Essay, Interview and Speech)
* RPHS\_AcDec\_Wikia

## **Art Fundamentals**

* Introduction to Art History
	+ **Art historians** practicing contextual analysis employ several types of sources.
		- Visual sources include preparatory sketches as well as other works by the same or rival artists.
		- Written sources can include exchanges between the artist and patron, commissionrelated documents, or art criticism. Other sources include interviews with artists and art viewers.
		- Anthropologists use participant observation to examine cultures creating artworks—especially performance works—in person. Art historians practicing formal analysis prefer the original artwork to reproductions. Even the best reproductions rarely capture every detail from the original. Photographs cannot convey the scale and form of a sculpture. Pictures also fail to capture a painting’s texture and rich colors.
		- Photographs of artwork lack the original’s transitions from light to dark and appear flatter. Art historians sometimes study reproductions for practical reasons. The original may be damaged or lost. Extant artifacts from early cultures inform us about the origins of human civilization. Most of these objects consist of stone, metal, fired clay, or another durable material. Objects made of wood, fiber, or other perishable material often deteriorate. Environmental factors also affect the preservation of artifacts. For instance, Egypt’s hot and dry desert preserves even frail materials like papyrus paper.
		- The sealing of Egyptian caves and tombs helps preserve even more artifacts. West Africa’s humid climate causes items made of perishable materials to decay quickly. Exposed wood masks, for example, rarely survive for decades, let alone centuries
		- **Craft and folk art** The disputed terms “craft”, “folk art”, and “popular art” apply to innumerable types of art forms
			* Attempts to beautify utilitarian objects such as pottery, jewelry, fibers, glass, and

wood objects result in these art forms. Human hands or simple tools shape pottery, which uses clay dug from the earth. In creating a basic pot, artists press their thumbs into the center of a ball of clay.

* + - * Potters hold the outside of the clay ball and shape the interior with their fingers. Pots created through this technique are often called “pinch pots”. Coil pottery involves the palm of the hand kneading clay into long coils. A stack of these coils forms the pot. In slab pottery, liquid clay, or slip, binds together precisely measured slabs of clay. Ancient cultures invented the modern potter’s wheel. As the wheel spins malleable clay, the artist shapes the pot using her hands. The potter’s wheel permits thin-walled pots and a large repertoire of shapes
			* Thrown pottery refers to ceramics produced on a potter’s wheel. Potters can combine thrown pottery and hand-built pottery. After the shaping and drying of pottery, artists place the clay in an oven called a kiln. The heat completely dries the clay and chemically hardens the pot permanently. Artists then color the pot’s surface using glazes made from clay and pigment. Another heating in the kiln melts these glazes. Melted glazes form a glassy, waterproof surface, which is both artistic and useful. Potters may use molded clay, carved decorations, or ornaments to adorn the surface.
			* Fiber arts encompass woven and nonwoven fibers. Beautiful, nonwoven quilts can fulfill utilitarian or artistic purposes. Weavers create clothes and other fabrics using a loom, braiding, knitting, or crocheting.

* Elements of Art
	+ **Principles of Composition** :composition and rhythm. An artist’s usage of the elements of art determines her composition. In 2D art, composition occurs on the picture plane. 3D composition organizes elements of art in space. More traditional artworks tend to observe the elements of art and principles of composition
	+ Several modern artistic styles reject these concepts. Movements or patterns in an artwork create rhythm. These patterns repeat one of the elements of art, such as line, shape, color, or texture.
	+ Motif refers to the element repeated in the pattern. Quilts and checkerboards exemplify regular grid patterns consisting of many squares. Artists create either smooth or dynamic, variable rhythms to direct the path of the viewer’s eye
	+ Balance and contrast: Balance describes the arrangement of visual weight in an artwork. The most simple type, symmetrical balance, repeats elements on either side of a central axis. Either a horizontal or vertical line can be the central axis. Architects tend to use symmetrical balance Many buildings have equal columns and windows on either side of a central entrance. Approximate symmetry avoids the monotony and rigidity of pure symmetry. Slightly different elements on either side of the axis create approximate symmetry.
	+ Changes in color, detail, position, or other aspects distinguish these elements. The human face features approximate symmetry. Asymmetrical balance unites dissimilar objects. This method is more complex than symmetrical balance but versatile. A lighter and heavier person on a seesaw exemplify it. To balance the seesaw, the heavier person must sit closer to the center Similar positioning of large and small objects also creates asymmetrical balance
	+ Multiple contrasting instances of an element of art create visual interest. The element at the focal point stands out and draws a viewer’s eye. The focal point may present an artwork’s meaning.
	+ Proportion and scale: Proportion concerns the relative sizes of parts of an artwork. Human scale determines our sense of proportion. 2,500 years ago, Classical Greek sculptors standardized realistic human proportions. Ancient Greeks measured everything using the human figure, even building proportions. Greeks placed the human figure at 7.5 heads tall and had specific facial measurements

**BUDDHIST AND HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE - Overview**

* **Selection #1 - Bust of a Man, Possibly a Priest: "Bust of a Man, Possibly a Priest" is a scuplture of a man's head, found at Mohenjo-Daro (one of the 2 most well known ancient Indian ruins.) The man is believed to be a priest due to his well-maintained hair and clothes, and the fact that a sculpture was made of him. Historians also beieve that there used to be more to this sculpture, as there were hole sunder the ears where they assume a necklace used to be. Due to the fact that we are unable to translate ancient Indian writing, no one knows exactly what the purpose of this artifact is.**
* **Selection #2 - Seated Buddha**
* **Selection #3 - The Great Stupa**

* Background on The Great Stupa (13-minute video on YouTube)
* Web Page and Video on The Great Stupa (includes 4-minute video)
* UNESCO Video on The Great Stupa (3-minute video)
* **Selection #4 - Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of the Dance: In "Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of the Dance" the Hindu God Shiva is preforming a dance that will destroy the universe. Though this sounds like a malevolent action, the true point of this is to reset the universe, purging all of its evils. In the statue, Shiva is holding a drum, representing creation, and fire, representing destruction. These symbols show the duality of the action of destroying the universe. Shiva is also standing on a midget-God representing how Shiva dominates the evils of the universe.**
* Met Museum Background (image and summary)
* Video Background on Art (7-minute video)
* Khan Academy Background on Painting (photos and summary)
* Smithsonian Guide to Sculpture (summary)
* **Selection #5 - Detail of a Wall Painting in the Rajah's Palace**
* Image Summary
* Quizlet on Selection (online quiz)
* Ramayana Wikipedia (information on epic)

**INDO-ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE - Overview**

**Selection #6 -The Emperor Shahjahan Riding, with the Aftabi or Sunshade Held Over His Head**

* The Tradition of Miniature Painting in Islamic Art- [[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=5&v=eAP6MgKyAe8%7CYouTube Video Link on how these paintings are done]]
* The Depiction of the Ruler in Mughal Miniature Painting

**Selection #7 - Indo-Persian Carpet with Medallions, c.1680**

* The Tradition of Carpet Making in Islamic Art- [[ http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Carpet.pdf |Image Link]]
* Indo-Islamic Carpets: Function and Decoration-[[ http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/geom/hd geom.htm|Image Link]]

**Selection #8 - Base for a Water Pipe,1650–1700**

**Selection #9 -**

**Taj Mahal**

 Videos about the Taj Mahal:

http://www.history.com/topics/taj-mahal/videos/seven-wonders-the-taj-mahal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D38DGQkE8eU

http://www.history.com/topics/taj-mahal

The Taj Mahal  from Persian and Arabic, "crown of palaces" is a white marble mausoleum located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658) to house the tomb of his favorite wife of three, Mumtaz Mahal.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for an additional ten years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million Indian rupees, which in 2015 would be valued at around 52.8 billion Indian rupees ($827 million US). The construction project employed around 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The domed marble tomb is part of an integrated complex consisting of gardens and two red-sandstone buildings surrounded by a crenelated wall on three sides.

The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a large, white marble structure standing on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large dome and finial. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements are Persian in origin.

The base structure is a large multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners forming an unequal eight-sided structure that is approximately 55 meters (180 ft) on each of the four long sides. Each side of the iwan is framed with a huge pishtaq or vaulted archway with two similarly shaped arched balconies stacked on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level.

**COLONIAL ART AND ARCHITECTURE - Overview**

Team-made Kahoot on this section

Team-made Quizlet

**Selection #10 -**The Viceregal Lodge (Rashtrapati Niwas), Henry Irwin, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India, 1888

* Located in Shimla
* Served as a British "Hill Station" in (1815-1947)
* Construction began in 1880 and ended 1888
* Built under Lord Dufferin and Henry Irwin was the main architect
* Interior and Exterior is impressive
	+ ex) Dining room has a height of 10 ft and decorated with strapwork moldings
* Present Day - Managed by Ministry of Education

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrapati\_Niwas

**Selection #11 -**Studio Portrait of Ram Singh of Jaipur (d.1880), Illustrated by Samuel Bourne and Charles Shepherd, c. 1877

* Images projected what the British sought to do to change India
* Connects to western portraits and influence
* Western Style portrait
	+ Western shoes and pants
	+ pose
	+ backdrop
* Not very decorated to show he is a king
* He is groomed well and wears a few jewels

**Selection #12 -**

**Selection #13 -**

**Selection #14 -**

**POSTCOLONIAL ART AND ARCHITECTURE - Overview**

**Selection #15 -**

**Selection #16 -**

**Selection #17 -**

**Selection #18 -**