Cultural Values, Beliefs, Fashion and Interior Designer reflected through Art

The underlying theme connecting all the works of art I chose is that they all represent the values of the culture from which the artist came. In other words, all of the works of art observed have a strong connection to the culture which created them. All of these works of art were not before or ahead of their time, but of their time. Looking at the art from different time periods is a small snapshot into the psyche of the culture that created it and what this culture valued.

 

The first artwork by John Henry Butler, “Sofa” seems to reflect our own time and values through the industrial revolution of high quality products. Art was no longer art in the traditional sense because some art became products and products became art. I think before the industrial revolution most art was created for the sake of the art itself as will be illustrated with the other two artworks chosen. John Henry Butler was probably originally just trying to create a high quality product and because of his detailed craftsmanship our culture has turned his creation into a work of art.
 

The second artwork chosen, “Marble Capital and Finial in the form of a sphinx”, has much more spiritual and even religious significance than “Sofa”. First, of all this artwork was estimated to be created around 530 B.C. which was a time when mankind explained many different natural phenomenon through the gods. I think this work of art simply reflects a long and rich mythological culture which is even very beautiful.
 

The last artwork, “Mask Dagak”, created by the Kanak peoples relates strongly to the “Marble Capital and Finial in the form of a sphinx” artwork because they both hold religious and spiritual significance. The “Mask Dagak” wood sculpture is very interesting because it was created around the same time as the “Sofa” artwork, but reflects more of the mythological ideas of the the “Marble Capital and Finial in the form of a sphinx”. This is probably due to the fact that the Kanak peoples were very isolated from the rest of the Western world and were still very tribal and in touch with nature and their historical values passed on through the generations.

John Henry Belter

“Sofa”
1850-60
American Decorative Arts

Greek Attica

“Marble Capital and Finial in the form of a sphinx”
Ca. 530 BC
Greek and Roman Art

Kanak peoples
“Mask Dagak”
Mid to late 19^th century
Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas

Ptolemaic Dynasty (Egyptian people)
"God's Wife Tagerem"
300-250 B.C.
Egyptian Art

Duncan Phyfe
"Work Table"
1810-20
American Wing

Severin Roesen
"Still Life: Fruit"
1855
American Paintings and Sculpture

Louis Comfort Tiffany
"Necklace with Pendant"
1910
American Decorative Arts

Frederick Wellington Ruckstull
"Evening"
1887
American Paintings and Sculpture

Janet Scudder
"Frog Fountain"
1901
American Paintings and Sculpture

Roman
"Marble Head from a Herm"
1st to 2nd century A.D.
Greek and Roman Art

Greek
"Marble Statue of a Woman"
Late 4th Century B.C.
Greek and Roman Art

Roman
"Marble statue of the so-called Apollo Lykeios"
131-160 A.D.
Greek and Roman Art

Roman
"Marble sarcophagus lid with reclining couple"
ca 220 A.D.
Greek and Roman Art

Greek (Hellenistic)
"Gold strap necklace with seedlike pendants"
ca. 330–300 B.C.
Greek and Roman Art

Greek
"Fragment of a Gold Wreath"
ca. 320–300 B.C.
Greek and Roman Art