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Lost Cultural Relics: Buddha of Medicine Bhaishajyaguru (Yaoshi fo)

Essay Instructions:

The chosen work is called "薬師佛 Buddha of Medicine Bhaishajyaguru (Yaoshi fo)", it is a part of The Met pernament collection.

Here is the link of the artwork, https://www(dot)metmuseum(dot)org/art/collection/search/42716

Please see the attachment of the detailed rubrics.



 



Pick an object that you really like, from a NYC collection, something that falls within the dates of the things we are studying in our seminar (roughly speaking: prehistoric times to late 18th century) and something from a country, region, culture that interests you. This could be a room, a sculpture, a vase, a painting, armor, jewelry, chariot, porcelain cup, weapon, tapestry, furniture, instrument, and the list goes on and on. You have a huge selection.



 



Be creative!!! Yes, describe your object but describe it with LOVE, (assuming you love your object of choice.) This is not a formal analysis. I don’t need to know about every single detail. Just the details that matter. Yes, you SHOULD think about your object's visual/aesthetic characteristics: size, color(s), materials, textures, etc etc. But MORE IMPORTANT, consider the social & cultural CONTEXT: where/when was it made?, for whom was it made?, how was it made?, are there others like it?, was it for a private or elite audience?, or perhaps for a broader audience? Does it convey something about the intended "user” or "patron" or maybe it is more generic and may have been used by many different people or, perhaps, it appeared in a place for many people to see? How does/did the object convey its particular message/purpose and does it do so "successfully"? How did it "communicate"? What's "special" about the piece? This idea of being "special" is, of course, relative --- "special" might indicate that it was made using new technologies of the time period---technologies that may have been considered “modern”, or the workmanship was particularly exquisite, or it conveys its purpose in especially unusual ways, or it is somehow "poetic", that it may function on different levels or convey different narratives---narratives that relate to the object itself, but also to the larger culture, and relate, perhaps, even to something contemporary --- as I sometimes tried to do in class!!!



 



That is, it may have been made in a specific time and far-away place but, just maybe, it somehow speaks to something more current/contemporary to you as well. How might we think about ancient objects and then, perhaps, somehow make these things relevant to us in the present? Imagine even, that one day in the distant future, students may study your designs or artwork and question why/how those things may be significant to them? As I've said, one goal is to breathe life into this material, to imagine these things in a fully living/breathing/colorful, 3-dimensional world (not just some old stuff sitting statically and silently in a museum display case.) I think these are some of the ways we may make historical material resonate more for us. You might also contemplate such seemingly "abstract" ideas like the concept of time and perception of space which has been discussed in class. In the 21st century we all have radically different concepts of time and space --- so you might also take this into consideration. And, how might your object speak to you or perhaps make you consider your own work differently? (This would be an excellent opportunity to add something from class to your Learning Portfolio, which is something that I ask you to do anyway.)



 



Use your imagination and have some fun with this while also trying to be accurate and "scholarly" with your research. Think a bit about the film "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" which didn't directly relate to much of our subject matter yet, it beautifully addresses the very act of IMAGE & THING MAKING, of STORY TELLING & COMMUNICATION, and THE HUMAN IMPULSE TO INVENT, to SOLVE, and to be CREATIVE OR INNOVATIVE. Such an approach might open up different avenues for you to think about historical objects, and ultimately make for much richer and more interesting papers.



 



Please don't forget: it should be a minimum of 8 pages (NOT including title page, illustrations, footnotes, and bibliography), 12pt type, double-space (remember your footnote function on your laptops, as well as inserting page numbers. You want the paper to look and read like a university-level assignment, not high school, so all these little things are actually very important.) Please simply provide the basic, museum label information on the title page: name/title, type of object, date, material, dimensions, country, etc, etc. This info. is necessary but does not have to appear in the body of your papers.



 



I would like you all to consider which object you will write about for this final research paper since the semester ends next month! If you have time and feel like going to a museum at your leisure then this might be a good time to do this. Or, open up the Metropolitan Museum's website and peruse the collections. Try to find something that you not only really like but that will be relatively easy to do research on. Feel free to ask me what I think about a particular object, if you wish. I can also help you think about different ways to research and organize your paper. And remember, an Annotated Bibliography will be due approximately 2 weeks before the end of the semester.



 



AND remember:



All papers must be typed in Times New Roman font (12 points), be double-spaced, with a 1 inch margin on all sides, on white paper (size: 11” x 8.5”). Do NOT forget to put your name and a title page, and to number (paginate) your pages, and staple.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

The Lost Cultural Relics: Buddha of Medicine Bhaishajyaguru (Yaoshi fo)
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The Lost Cultural Relics: Buddha of Medicine Bhaishajyaguru (Yaoshi fo)
Fig. 1 Haogu Zhu, Buddha of Medicine Bhaishajyaguru (Yaoshi fo). Ca. 1319. Water on clay and straw, 751.8 ×1511.3 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. From: The metropolitan museum of art, accessed December 1, 2019).
Introduction
The purpose or message in an object can be derived from the cultural notions they carry which can be interpreted to show different aspects of the community that it hails. Art is one of the fields that are rich in cultural heritage that showcase practices professed by a community within the period of creation. One such painting is the 'Buddha of medicine Bhaishajyaguru' and the connections it has to the Chinese people during the Yuan Dynasty. The artwork was done by Zhu Haogu who focused on Buddhist imagery during the early fourteenth century. The painting dates back to roughly the year 1319 which lies within the reign of Yuan Dynasty which challenged the existence of Buddhism and other Chinese cultural practices. It was painted using a water based pigment over a foundation of clay and straw. The piece of art was a present by Arthur M Sackler in honor of his parents in the year 1965. This paper looks at the cultural connotations of the painting within the period it was and how it connects to the present time.
Visual and Aesthetic features of the painting
The painting consists of a sitting Buddha wearing a red robe in the middle of the frame sitting in a meditative posture. He is surrounded by other deities and standing beside him on both sides with bowls and staff. It has genius strokes of color differentiation with only three major colors used which has been used to denote value and depth. The interaction and harmony in the different deities represented in the painting are remarkable noting the limited use of color and shape with the elegance of the mural. Lines have been used to show the different clothing and the depth aspects showing the space and distance between the components in the painting to show the sky and the normal background. One of the artistic aspects of the painting is the limited use of color but still manages to show the beauty of the painting.
* Size and shape
The mural as it stands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art is an enormous painting that is 24 feet 8 inches high and 49 feet, 7 inches wide making hard to miss by viewers visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is a piece of art that is hard to miss especially due to the relative size compared to other pieces in the museum. The painting is in the shape of two rectangles a bigger one at the base and a smaller one at the top to provide a space for the Yaoshi fo to stand out among the other deities and representations in the painting. The combination of the shape produces a total of eight sides.
* Space
One of the notable features of the painting is the spatial composition of the different elements within the elements in the painting. The different elements within the painting, which represent various deities in Buddhism, are spaced wider in the middle but become concentrated as the spread towards the left and right uniformly with the congruent reflection of both sides. The spacing is also used in conjunction with an extra space above the Buddha which can be interpreted to show the comparatively more power and protection from the Buddha. The different sizes of the components as they move from the center and top show the depth and the relative distance between the elements. Overlapping lines and shapes have been used to illustrate depth in the painting and the interaction between the elements in the painting.
* Color
The painting has also a rich and complex mixture of colors with red, brown and green being the most used colors. They are mainly used to show the difference in the dressing of the various deities and warriors depicted in the painting which was a great form of differentiation in the ancient Chinese culture. The warrior deities in the presented clustered on both sides of the Buddha show the notion of protection that was associated with Buddha and soldiers as most painters during the period utilized their artistry as a representational form of the society. Brighter color shaves been used at the center; a harmony that brings out the contrasting values in the different parts of the painting which can influence the focus on different parts and makes the main focus of the painting, Bhaishajyaguru, to stand out as the other colors, brown and green, are not as shouting. The background color is light brown which differentiates it from the darker brown color used for the clothing showing the expertise of color mixing. A darker blue color has been used on the upper side to show the sky.[Department of Asian Art. Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From ]
Social and cultural context and symbolism of the painting ‘Buddha of medicine Bhaishajyaguru’
Art carries great information about the culture, time and the environment from which the art was made which exposes the estate of mind of an artist and the surrounding circumstances. The painting Baihajyaguru also has rich cultural content emanating from the Yuan Dynasty which is the timeline in which the painting was made.[Chalmers, Graeme. The Study of Art in a Cultural Context. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 32(2), 1973, pp. 249-256]
* Timeline
The painting was done during the Yuan Dynasty which was a chaotic time as the county was experiencing the first foreign rule from the Mongolian kingdom. The period saw the oppression of Chinese people which necessitated the emergence of art as a form of expression of what was the ideal culture and environment especially about the Buddhist arts which was introduced by the Mongolians to maintain power and authority over the Chinese practices. The painting, therefore, can be taken to means the artist was expressing their wishes and ideas through the painting of the Medicine Buddha. The cooperation between the deities in the picture can be taken to show the coveted togetherness of the Chinese people to achieve freedom for the Mongolian imperialists that were in control of the country at the time. The peace and tranquility realized from the calmness of the postures assumed by all the characters are not able to the viewers.[The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, Yuan Dynasty: Chinese History, (n.d.). from ]
The period was characterized by a diminishing Chinese culture as the Mongolian emperors did not care for the indigenous culture and religion. The painting can be taken as a reminder of the Chinese heritage at a time when it was being threatened of exetinction from the advent of Islam and other religions.
* Materials used in the making and the uniqueness and/or similarities
The painting was done using a water-based pigment over a foundation clay and straw. When studying Chinese art during the 9th to 14th centuries most of them including ‘Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru’ done around 1095, ‘Finches and Bamboo’ done around the 12th century during the Song Dynasty were done using ink and were imprinted on paper or silk. History also shows that most other paintings after the 'Buddha of medicine Baishajyaguru' also used ink, paper, and silk as the main materials. The Yaoshi fo stands out by the use of the clay foundation which enables it to last longer ...
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