Stephanie Roldan- Anthropological View of Art

I took an anthropology class as one of my first courses here at CNU, and one of the many subjects we addressed was the creation of art and its significance in the development of human culture. In an Art History class last year, we also studied ancient forms of art and their origins. Most ancient art is rooted in religious practices, similar to the Dionysian and Apollonian rituals in Ancient Greece. The Venus of Willendorf is a very well-known piece of ancient art- it's a classic example of a fertility symbol. Ancient Egyptian art is also religion-focused. As time went on and culture flourished to allow people to have more specialized professions, art forms increased from functionality to decoration and aesthetic value. But as has been mentioned in class, cultural definitions of what counts as art has changed over time as well. Dr. Redick mentioned how at one time the flatness of a canvas was an essential element of valuable, high-quality art. Just as art was once valued for its religious symbolism, art has been valued for its content as well as its style. But I think throughout the evolution of art, its main purpose has been to represent an emotion, thought, or feeling and create a response in its audience.