Art as a Culture

1. Functions of Early Art
           a. I believe that art is another form of communication, aside from the written language or the spoken language, art is a type of visual language. Through vivid images, artist can convey many different messages through their artwork. However, sometimes the interpretation of a piece of artwork varies from person to person, but that is the beauty of art. In this case, we were asked to analyze the cave paintings in the Lascaux caves of France. Like most cave art from around the world, most of the drawings are of animals. Through this artwork, I believe that the artists of the Lascaux caves were displaying their everyday lives. In my opinion, the cave paintings show what the lives of those people revolved around, hunting all day. Also, the paintings might have been used as a guideline as to which animals to hunt and which to avoid.

           b. The paintings in the Lascaux cave mostly show animals rather than human beings. Most of those animals are animals that were possibly hunted by these people. I believe that the lives of the cavemen of that time period revolved around animals on a daily basis. Also, I believe that the cave men of that time period worshiped animals as well.
           c. The paintings of the Lascaux cave tell us that the Paleolithic people were pretty intelligent since they recorded their lives through artwork. Maybe, these paintings were a tool of communication, similar to the hieroglyphics of Egypt.
           d. First of all, the paleolithic people had to gather and create the right materials to be able to paint on caves. Also, the artists of this time would have to be able to paint on the rough surfaces of the caves. Some paintings were also located on higher parts of the walls and ceilings. Somehow, the people would have to be able to reach the high altitudes to paint.
           e. In my opinion,the three main functions of art for the early humans were communication, rulebook/instructions, and for record keeping purposes. Aside from a simple hobby, I felt that art had very special purposes to early humans. I think that the early humans could have possibly communicated with each other via their artwork. Also, they could have painted their instructions when talking about hunting and how to treat animals. Also, they could have used art as a way of record keeping.

2. Commonalities in Function
            I think that artwork served the same purpose from the paleolithic times up until today. In my opinion, artwork sends a message to its viewers and through artwork, the artist is trying to convey a certain message. Also, artwork from the paleolithic times shows what kind of lifestyles the people lived in those days. Today, many pieces of artwork also show the type of lifestyles we live today.

3.My Favorite Art:

            My favorite type of artwork is photography. Sometimes, our daily lives go by too fast to realize what is going on around us. Through a photo, a simple cellphone snapshot or a professional photograph, we can pause time and record a specific moment in our lives. I believe that photographs can fulfill many purposes such as recording important events, spreading information, for entertainment, etc. My favorite thing about photography is that no special skill is required to take a picture. Anyone can take a photograph without requiring expertise in painting, drawing etc. Photography can be used for both formal and informal purposes. I believe that this form of art benefits people worldwide. Through photography, people can travel the world by looking at pictures without necessarily leaving their rooms.