Culture and Art

1. Chapter 4: Primitive Art

1.1. Primitive: original, pure, simple

1.2. Used disparagingly against cultures deemed to be lesser by those claiming superiority

1.3. Different theories for similarities and differences for art across the world

1.4. Evolution, Diffusion, Speculation

1.4.1. Evolution: typology, that certain contemporary cultures evolved tools & art by location

1.4.2. Diffusion: Art passed down by advanced cultures degenerated in the hands of primitive cultures

1.4.3. Lots of speculation, most theories don't hold much water. There are some places (like Papua New Guinea) where extensive foreign contact may have led to some form of diffusion

2. Chapter 5: Prehistoric Art

2.1. Classification of pre-historic ages by John Lubbock in 1865 (p.70)

2.1.1. Drift: Paleolithic hunter/gather period

2.1.2. Stone Age: Neolithic stone tools

2.1.3. Bronze Age: bronze tools

2.1.4. Iron Age: iron replaces bronze for most things other than jewelry

2.2. European cave paintings found in France and some other places

2.3. Theory that original societies were matriarchal, but evolutionarily advanced to become patriarchal (p.74)

3. Chapter 3: Oriental Art

3.1. Self-concocted "Oriental" fantasy heavily influenced Western perspective on art from Middle-East, South East Asia

3.2. West: Christianity, liberal/progressive, democratic

3.3. Orient: Exotic, savage, barbaric, "other"

3.4. Predominantly classified Islamic, Indian, and Chinese art as "Oriental" with no distinctions

4. Chapter 2: Classical Art

4.1. Much of the classical art from the 17th-19th century in Europe took heavy influence from Ancient Greek work (p.23). Held on a pedestal both literally and figuratively.

4.2. Gombrich: "Romans merely [built] on Greek artistic traditions" (p.32). Greece is considered by many to be a "high" society in the cycle of ages

5. Chapter 1: The Origins of Art

5.1. Relatively recent phenomenon where people began to classify things as art. Originates in Europe but spreads to the rest of the world. (p.1)

5.2. Age of Exploration -> Industrial Revolution -> Private Collections -> Public Resources