The Joining of Two Cultures
Cultural Research
Choose 6 Non-Western Cultures
 One culture per page
The page needs to reflect the feel of the culture
eg. Title, colours, patterns.
 Print 2 images of an artefact from that culture
 Produce a copy or viewfinder section of the artefact
 Write some information about the culture, including:
1. Where the artefact is from?
2. What was its purpose?
3. What are the interesting features?
4. What can YOU use from your findings in your future studies?
Aztec Art
Aboriginal Art
CULTURES
African Art
Japanese Art
North American Art
How to research your Non-Western Culture
Choose a Non-western culture that has interesting,
 Patterns
 Symbolic images
 Colours
 Shapes
 Texture
 Form
Explain where the culture is from e.g.
 Aboriginals are from Australia
Are there meanings behind the patterns, symbols, shapes?
If so are they,
 Religious
 Spiritual
 Decorative
 Informative
 Stories
Does the Art work serve a purpose such as:
 Ceremonies
 Rituals
 Worship
 Story telling
 Warnings
 Historical
 Passages to the spirit world
Make a detailed drawing of a least 6 artefacts.
Ensure that you label with the information above.
Non-Western Art and Culture
Art has two category’s Representational and Symbolism
Representational Art – form and content are equally important
Symbolic Art - the contents is much more important
Aztec’s





The Aztecs dominated Mexico for 3,000 years
They had a belief in underworld spirits
The whole Aztec society was built on their belief and they worshipped the
spirits by building huge temples for the purpose of human sacrifice and
rituals.
Monumental sculptures were constructed dedicated to the Gods of rain
and war.
Carvings depicted the forces of the sacred sky, earth and the underworld
are abundant among the representations of violent human-animal images.
The Far East








Philosophy and religion played an important part in art of all three
countries
The art created had a purpose but it was also aesthetically pleasing,
beautiful and delicate.
Buddhism played a major role in art developed, Buddhism is a shared
belief that human beings endure many lives, living and dying and being
reborn in various forms according to the law of karma and principle that as
a man sows so shall he reap.
Ghost and supernatural creatures were often depicted in art, the most
popular of the animals the dragon.
Art of the Far East varied from European art, which tended to be heavy
and was essentially realistic. In the East, painting was light, real subjects
portrayed but they were observed and assimilated in the artists mind as a
whole composition before he put his brush to paper.
Sculptures
Printing (wood block relief)
Porcelain
Indian Art



Indian Art is also based on religion, various Gods are depicted and
elaborate stories are developed on the theme of good and evil.
Humans fused with animal images are popular.
Rich colours with decorative jewels are used to display the importance of
such imagery.
Aboriginal Art



The art of Aboriginal Australia dates back at least fifty millennia and
remained relatively unknown until the second half of the twentieth
century.
Aboriginal Art takes many forms, from rock engraving, bark paintings and
ground paintings. Ceremonial sculptures carved of wood and body
paintings were widely displayed. Images were drawn in the sand only to
be blown away by the wind.
Aboriginal Art centres on the ‘dreaming’. This term is used by Aborigines
to describe the spiritual, natural and moral order of the cosmos. The
dreaming focuses on the supernatural beings and creator ancestors.
Symbolic images were used to tell stories.
Native American Indians




The Native American Indians believed that the human spirit could take
animal form or vice versa. The artist fused together man and bird or man
and animal into one image. Carvings such as these could be developed
into large Totem Poles, which were erected as memorials to dead chiefs
or to record the family’s history.
Masks were also carved and used as part of a religious rituals and
ceremonial dances. The masks mostly depicted personal guardian spirits;
some had hinged doors, which could be flipped open with string, so the
dancer could reveal the human spirits inside the animal masks.
Beadwork
Decorative clothing etc.
African
African sculpture was scarcely known outside of its own continent until the late
19th century. (Although western interference was apparent during the slave
trade of 16th century)
 African sculpture is a highly developed and sophisticated art form with
thousands of years of history behind it.
 The West Coast of Africa has the most concentration of sculpture varying
in style and construction.
 Sculpture and masks were created for a purpose. Religious and spiritual
ceremonies displayed an array of hideous carved features with human
hair, eye lashes and skin as decorative accessories. Ceremonial dances
depicted meetings with sprits of ancestors or visually told stories or
historical events.