Cross-Cultural Comparison Research Paper (cumulatively 25% of your grade):
This will be an ongoing assignment throughout the semester, which is meant to
improve your writing skills as well as work on the specialized craft of writing about art.
You will work throughout the semester on this paper to develop a carefully researched
and organized thesis essay.
For this paper, you should compare and contrast any particular example(s) of work
discussed in your text with another artwork from a different culture. It is important to
focus your comparison of the works on the two different cultural contexts from which
they belong.
The focus of the cultural comparison is left up to you to discover and refine, but should
ultimately be clearly defined as the thesis of your paper. You should be creative,
thoughtful, and challenging in your thesis. You should also be sure to back up your
ideas with careful analysis and research of the works discussed.
Specifics: This paper should be at least 4 pages in length. You must have at least 4 sources in
your bibliography and at least 2 non-internet sources. You should be sure to cite all of you
sources. You should use MLA or APA format.
http://library.ccbcmd.edu/screens/web/citingsources.html
Here is a link to the CCBC library website
http://library.ccbcmd.edu/
This site also has good resources on researching materials, using the library, writing tools,
etc.
Plagiarism:
http://library.ccbcmd.edu/screens/web/plagiarism.html
The following slides introduce examples of possible paper topics:
(Please note: These are only examples and you are encouraged to think of your own topics):
Example #1
Thesis Statement
One of the greatest patrons of the arts throughout history has been that of religion.
Around every corner of the globe different cultures have had vastly different religions
and deities, but how they worship and honor them can be strikingly similar. In Europe’s
Gothic period, exquisite churches and cathedrals were created in order to further serve
the Catholic faith. Paris’ Notre Dame is one such cathedral that utilizes building
techniques and styles from a variety of times and places, but most notably the Gothic
style. The inclination to build larger, taller, and grander cathedrals, like the Notre Dame
Cathedral, was a competitive nature understood and relished by patrons half way
around the world in India, as expressed through their commissions of gopuras. While
the final touches were being constructed on Notre Dame, work was just beginning on
the Minakshi-Sundareshvara temple in Madurai. This temple complex was dedicated to
Shiva and Parvati, two main deities in the Hindu faith, while gopuras, or large gateways,
were dedicated to the rulers who commissioned them. Both the Notre Dame and the
Temple of Madurai serve both spiritual purposes as well as representations of the
wealth and power of those that commissioned them.
Notre Dame, Paris, view fr. south
1163 - 1250
Stained Glass: The Holy
Ghost
These windows serve as powerful symbols
for Suger’s mystical understanding of the
nature of God:
Light is a visible manifestation of God’s
presence: you can see it and feel it, but you
can’t touch it.
The glass transmutes the light creating a very
otherworldly effect, inviting contemplation,
and allowing the soul to come into union
with the presence of God.
As Hinduism flourished in the India,
temple architecture developed rapidly.
Local rulers rivaled each other in the
building of temples to their favored
deities- Shiva, Vishnu and the Great
Goddess Devi.
This temple complex is dedicated to the goddess
Minakshi (the local name of Parvati) and
Sundareshvara (the local name for Shiva).
The temple complex stands at the center of the
city and is the focus of Madurai life.
The exterior of this Gopura is embellished with
thousands of sculpted figures, evoking a world of
gods and goddesses
Outer Gopura of the MinakshiSundareshvara Temple, Madurai, South
India, Nayak Dynasty, mostly 13-17th
century with modern renovations
Example #2
Thesis Statement
“The Japanese Garden is not simply nature, not simply ‘self create’, as the
literal translation of the Japanese word for nature – shizen- would have us
believe. The Japanese garden is and had always been nature crafted by
man. It belongs to the realm of architecture and is, at its best nature as art”
(Nitschke, 10)
Japanese gardens are seen as beautiful and tranquil places. There are
different uses for the gardens such as for tea houses and for meditation, but
each as seen as art transcribed through nature. Unlike Japanese gardens,
the French gardens of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV were used as a
way to show triumph over nature in his kingdom. The gardens of Versailles
were used to show wealth and Louis XIV’s standing. The Japanese never saw
the role of gardens in this way, yet both were enjoyed for their beauty as
sculpted and controlled art environments.
French Baroque Garden Design –
Versailles’ garden done by Andre Le
Notre – broad straight avenues
radiating from a series of round
focal points – precise geometry and
order , classically symmetrical –
adorned by sculptures and statues –
1400 fountains
Karesansui (“dried-up mountains and water”) – the dry landscape gardens of Japan
Dry gardens began to be built in the 15th and 16th centuries in Japan. By the 16th
century, Chinese landscape painting influences the gardens’ composition, and
miniature clippings of plants and beautiful stones were arranged to resemble
famous paintings.
The rocks can be seen as representing islands in the sea, or mountain peaks rising
above clouds.
Rock Garden, Ryoan-ji, Kyoto, Mutomachi period, c. 1480
Ryōanji (Peaceful Dragon Temple) is a Zen temple in northwest Kyoto,
Japan. It is best known for its Zen garden, a simple gravel-and-rock
arrangement that inspires peace and contemplation.
Some other examples of possible topics for the paper……
Theatricality in Baroque art and Ukiyo-e Prints of Japan
Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes,
c. 1598, Oil on canvas, 145 x 195 cm
Bernini, Cornaro Chapel
Church of Santa Maria
Della Vittoria, Rome, 1642-52
Notice the marble clouds under St. Teresa.
They seem to float (actually they are
supported by a hidden pedestal and by
hidden metal bars sunk deep within the
chapel wall.
Otani Oniji II, dated 1794 Toshusai Sharaku
(Japanese, active 1794–95) Polychrome
woodcut print on paper
15 x 9 7/8 in.
The actor Otani Oniji II is captured here in the role
of Yakko Edobe.
A yakko is a manservant often used by samurai to
perform violent deeds.
Sharaku was renowned for creating visually bold
prints that gave rare revealing glimpses into the
world of kabuki.
Successful kabuki actors enjoyed great celebrity
status.
The fantastical and surreal in Japanese Ukiyo’e prints and Northern Renaissance “The
Garden of Earthly Delights” by Bosch
Katsushika Hokusai. One Hundred
Tales (Hyaku monogatari) [ghost
emerging from well]. Edo: Tsuruya
Kiemon, 1830. From an album
containing five color woodblock prints,
12 in. x 10 in. each.
"The Plate Mansion" (Sara-yashiki) The
legend of Okiku tells the story of a maid
who, after breaking one of a set of
precious Korean plates, was bound and
thrown down a well by her master. The
tale was told throughout Japan in a great
variety of forms, the most popular
version established in 1795, when Japan
suffered an infestation of a type of worm
found in old wells that became known as
the "Okiku bug" (Okiku mushi). This
worm, covered with thin threads making
it look as though it had been bound, was
widely believed to be a reincarnation of
Okiku.
Katsushika Hokusai. One Hundred Tales
(Hyaku monogatari). [skeletal ghost]Edo:
Tsuruya Kiemon, 1830. From an album
containing five color woodblock prints, 12
in. x 10 in. each.
"Kohada Koheiji” In this tale
based on an actual event, Koheiji
was killed by his wife and her
lover. As revenge he returns to
haunt the couple while they are in
bed together inside mosquito
netting.
Katsushika Hokusai. One Hundred Tales
(Hyaku monogatari) [horned figure with
child's head]. Edo: Tsuruya Kiemon, 1830.
From an album containing five color
woodblock prints, 12 in. x 10 in. each.
"The Laughing Hannya" (Waraihannya) In this image, Hokusai
combines the visage of two demons,
a hannya--a woman who was
believed to change because of deepseated jealousy, into a demon--and a
yamanba (also, yamauba,
"mountain woman")--a demon
believed to devour infants brought
to the mountains. In this ghastly
portrait, the hannya/yamauba is
shown reveling in her demonic meal
of a live infant.
Katsushika Hokusai. One Hundred
Tales (Hyaku monogatari) [lanternheaded ghost]. Edo: Tsuruya Kiemon,
1830. From an album containing five
color woodblock prints, 12 in. x 10 in.
each.
"Oiwa" (Oiwa-san) Oiwa
suffers facial disfigurement
after being poisoned by her
husband. She dies after going
insane, and returns in various
forms--particularly that of a
paper lantern--to haunt him.
Hieronymous Bosch, Garden of Earthly Delights,
open,details central panel, 1505-1515, oil on
wood panel, Center panel 7’ x 6’, each wing, 7’ x 3’,
Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Hieronymous Bosch, Garden of Earthly Delights, details,
right wing
Landscape painting in European vs. Chinese culture
Above: Albrecht Altdorfer, Danube Landscape, 1525
Left, Landscapes, dated 1630 by Dong Qichang (Chinese, 1555–1636)
Album of eight paintings; ink on paper, 9 5/8 x 6 5/16 in.
Performative art in Asmat culture vs. the contemporary art of Nick Cave
Body Mask (Det), mid-20th century Asmat
people, Ambisu village, New Guinea, Papua
(Irian Jaya) Province, Indonesia Wood, fiber,
leaves, paintH. 64 in.
The art and religion of the Asmat people of southwest New
Guinea center primarily on the spirits of the recently dead.
Nearly all Asmat subgroups celebrate, or celebrated, the
mask feast, a series of rituals culminating when the dead,
personified by performers wearing full-length body masks,
return to visit the community. The mask seen here portrays
the dead. Each mask of this type represents, and is named
for, a specific individual who has recently died.
At the climax of the ceremony, the masked performers
representing the dead emerge from the forest and tour the
village, where they are offered food and hospitality.
They eventually arrive in front of the men's ceremonial
house, where the dead and the living join in a dance, which
continues long into the night.
The following morning, the dead, now properly fed and
entertained or frightened by threats of violence, depart for
safan, the realm of the ancestors.
Contemporary artist Nick Cave’s soundsuits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwupTQt9
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