Marlon’s Griffith current exhibition at York University’s gallery “Symbols of endurance” is Canada’s first solo exhibition by a Japan-based Trinidadian artist. Griffith’s works explores the relationship between the Trinidad’s carnival artistic component as well as contemporary art practices. This reciprocal connection allows for the opportunity to break free from traditional art and instead questions contemporary visual culture. Symbols of endurance curated by Emelie Chhanger, is solely an opportunity for viewers to analyze the works Griffith has put together for his previous precession “Ring of Fire.” This event emerged downtown, Toronto over the summer of 2015. Ring of Fire was a procession involving hundreds of participants organized around …show more content…
the Anishinabe Seven Grandfather Teachings: Wisdom, Courage, Respect, Honesty, Truth, Humility and Love (Brown 1). These Torontonians incorporate First Nations, individuals with disabilities, and capoeira and spoken word communities which represent a diverse cross-section of the GTA. Throughout this exhibition there are several references to humanity as well as metaphors. Girffith’s procession staged a strong response to the critical and political sense of socio-cultural environment. The creation, designs and experience from Ring of Fire is now transformed into a breath taking gallery here at York University. Symbols of endurance demonstrates how the process, performance, participation, and ephemeral characteristics all partake a dominant role in the production of the procession Ring of Fire. Griffith creates a successful message which ultimately is that the collection of symbols, public performances and narratives all make up the definition of what culture is seen as.
This event constituted a significant means of existing social material. Ring of fire emerged a sense of cultural diversity in which Symbols of Endurance displays to us. Symbols of endurance is merely a step by step interpretation of the procession which occurred and aids the viewers in understanding Griffith’s ideas through his process of developing the parade as well as the end …show more content…
result. When entering the exhibit I encountered several sketches which took me into a world of diversity. It is visually appealing. There are several rooms, each demonstrating all the hard work Griffith encountered while creating this precession. It is a well thought out event which has clearly taken time, patience and admiration. As I walked through gallery one I noticed several iconic forms installed on the, top left hand of the room above framed sketches.
These images are the Orisha symbols which were the symbols Griffith incorporated throughout his procession. The symbols come from the the seven Grandfather teachings which were dramatized in the precession. The several symbols hung from left to right were: Wisdom, courage, respect, truth, honesty, humility and love. This was a successful demonstration of the Seven Grandfather Teachings as it is emphasized so that the eye mainly focuses on these seven designs. The virtue Wisdom is represented as a Bow and Arrow, Courage is seen as Sabra, a dagger symbolizes respect, the virtue of truth is compared to an Axe, honesty is represented as crossroads, a crescent moon is presented as humility, and finally a heart is a clear depiction of love (Chhangur 11). These diverse symbols are morphological links made through Ring of Fire. Each culture has distinct practices and these symbols represent that despite our diversities we are still able to share particular practices and virtues. This work of art was well put together as viewers are able to make a connection with the theme of the procession Ring of Fire. Due to this successful representation of Griffith’s ideas we are also able to envision what his intentions were with these symbols, and how these symbols majorly influenced the performance of the
parade. Apart from this section of the gallery my eye was also drawn to the opposite wall which obtained the artistic final masks each Orator wore in the procession. Each Orator delivered messages through poems and teachings based on the Seven Grandfather teachings. From left to right the masks corresponded to each virtue. Wisdom, which represents the sun and consisted of white and gold. Courage is represented in black portraying a fierce appearance. Respect is placed right beside with colours of white, then truth which consists of the colour red. Honesty is yet another white costume based on the hummingbird. Honesty is the main character in the procession which represents indigenous people of the Carribean (Chhangur 9). This idea of honesty reflects Griffith’s works and Trinidad, which is his birthplace. Humility contains islamic script and is seen as protection. Finally, love is placed on the wall which entails an all white costume, this is a representation of the seed receiving energy from the world. These masks also successfully represent Griffith’s major theme of cultural diversity, these virtues portray the process Griffith was exposed to while he was creating this procession. These unique masks bring out the inner creativity Griffith had imagined. Overall these masks are an accurate representation of the virtues in relation to their costumes. Most appealing of all I noticed an enormous art piece of white and gold chevrons and black arrows at the end of gallery one. This art piece was exceedingly eye catching and allows for creating a relation between the significance behind this art piece and the means of Griffith’s goal. Ultimately the chevrons and arrows relate to the virtue of Respect. Respect symbolizes commitment, dedication and determination. Griffith’s idea of respect comes to life through this marvellous art piece which draws major attention to viewers. I found this art piece to be intriguing due to the position, placement and artistic structure. This structure is the core of the entire project as it unifies all the symbols. This successfully developed art piece allows for a connection between the viewers and theme of the project. This piece of art surprisingly turned out to be very effective. It definitely stands out the most as it is nearly centred in the gallery and creates attention. When entering gallery two I was mesmerized by the videos displayed on the side of the walls. These videos clips were from the parade Ring of Fire. As viewers we receive an opportunity to experience the parade for a short amount of time and visualize how Griffith’s works came to life. I appreciated this idea as it aids viewers who did not have the ability to see the parade to have an understanding of how it occurred. It also amazed me to know that large scale sentinel forms were created from students in the School of Arts, Media Performance and Design program at York University (Chhangur 14). The soundtrack in one of the videos in gallery two are a representation of songs in relation to the seven virtues : Wisdom, Courage, Respect, Truth, Honesty, Humility and Love. It was well thought out to place the print outs of these poems on the side of the entrance of this gallery. We receive a macro birds eye view of the procession in gallery three. We notice the seed that was planted in the earth that we see at the beginning of gallery one has ended up growing in the sky. This creates a sense of finalization. These clips allow us to connect to the parade and feel the works of Griffith as if we experienced it ourselves. To conclude, Symbols of endurance by Marlon Griffith took me into an imaginative world of cultural diversity. I appreciated all the process work created by Griffith, and how his creativity took a toll on society as a whole. He successfully presented to viewers how although cultures may have different practices and traditions, ultimately we are all unified and share similar characteristics such as the seven grandfather teachings: Wisdom, Courage, Respect, Honesty, Truth, Humility and Love. Overall, this gallery was effective and allowed me to appreciate art even more so.
The Armenian genocide ruins Vahan Kenderian’s picture-perfect life. Vahan is the son of the richest Armenian in Turkey and before the war begins, he always has food in his belly and a roof over his head in the book Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian. Life is absolutely quintessential for Vahan, until the war starts in 1915, when he endures many deaths of his family, losses of his friends, and frightening experiences in a short amount of time. He is a prisoner of war early in the book and is starved for days. As he goes through life, he is very unlucky and experiences other deaths, not just the deaths of his family. Vahan ultimately becomes the man his family would want him to be.
A Wall of Fire Rising, written by Edwidge Danticat, is a story about a small, poor family of three that live in Haiti. The family is composed of Guy, the father, Lili, the mother, and Little Guy, their son. Throughout the entirety of the story, the story provides the reader with in-depth details about each one of the main characters. Lili and Little Guy can fully be understood early in the story and are static characters, but the same cannot be said for Guy. although the reader is giving information about Guy early on, he he quickly changes in this story. In A Wall of Fire Rising, Lili and Little Guy are static characters, while Guy is a dynamic character, and through his action the reader can see there is more in life that he wants for his family.
In Jeannette Wall’s book The Glass Castle, the narrator and author Jeanette has had various terrifying encounters with chaos and destruction. She was burned cooking hot dogs when she was young, frozen in the winter, and starved when her family was low on money. Each time, she has pulled through and survived. In The Glass Castle, fire is a symbol representing chaos, destruction and fear. Jeanette has fought many battles involving neglect, starvation, and poverty but she has always pulled through these destructive experiences just like when she was a child burned from the hot dogs.
“A Wall of Fire Rising” is a story of poor peasant working man named Guy who is trying all his best to provide a decent living and a sincere meal and also desired the need to escape their native country for the greener meadows in America.
The order of the various pictures behind the chief, has great spiritual symbolism. The placement can be associated with the rise and fall of man.The lightning bolt symbolizes creation,a start of a new beginning. The eclipse of the moon is highly profound in the spiritual realm. According to Spiritual ResearchFoundation,
The Interpretation/Meaning (III) will be written without any guideline points, the aim of this part will be to determine what the painter wanted to express with his piece of work and what it tells us in a symbolic or not instantly clear way. This part will also handle why the artist drew the painting the way he did it and why he chose various techniques or tools.
The Warka Vase is a uniquely large piece that was laboriously built, and carefully decorated. The images on the Warka Vase are significant and have iconographic meanings unique to the Uruk people and the cult of Inana. The images reference common practices in cuneiform and iconography of the time and place the Warka Vase was made and can be cross compared with other pieces from the time to understand the symbolism of this brilliant piece of art. To understand who is in the images, what they are doing and how they relate to one another may bring unique insight to the practices of the cult of Inana.
The importance of recalling events is an integral aspect of Greek song culture. By watching the film Chunhyang, one can gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of metonymy. Metonymy is an expression by means of a connection. In the film, Chunhyang and Mongryong exchange gifts – Chunhyang gives him a jade ring and he gives her a mirror. These gifts are little memories of each other. The connection between two individuals is shown through sêma. The jade ring is one of the clearest symbols in the movie. Jade represents love in Eastern cultures. It is fitting that the ring is made from jade since the exchange of gifts is a symbol of the love they share for each other. In addition, jade was thought to preserve the body after death and could be found in the tombs of emperors. The jade ring given to Mongryong by Chunhyang is a sêma for both definitions of the word; it is a physical symbol of their trust and a physical representation of the tomb of a hero. Mongryong achieves his kleos by becoming a high ranking official and saving Chunhyang’s life. The mirror is another sêma. A mirror shows reflection and this reflection is of the memories that were shared between Chunhyang and Mongryong. A person can reflect on past events and build connections between places, objects, and people. The signs that people give to each other are important for recognition and building relationships
The statue of the Royal Scribe Yuni was found in the tomb of his father, Amenhotep. In this sculpture Yuni is shown kneeling and holding a highly decorative carved shrine. Within this shrine is a miniature figure of Osirus, the god of the underworld. Yuni is dressed in what is considered to be costume for persons of high status at the time, such as a curled wig and papyrus sandals. He wears a double-strand necklace of large lenticular beads known as the “gold of valor”. Two holes located at either side of his neck may have been for the placement of the “real garlands”. The statue of Yuni once had eyes of semi-precious stone in metal sockets. On either side of the back pillar lies a relief of Rennutet, Yuni’s wi...
There has been evidence of over two hundred human sacrifices in just one general area of Mesoamerica. Not just in an area of a city – but a “building”. Many pyramids, temples, and art forms such as sculptures were made and used just for the purpose of sacrifices and blood-letting rituals. Such violent rituals are shown in art and architecture to show the effect of symbols on the humans of Ancient Mesoamerica. The question that will be uncovered is, how far did the Mesoamericans go? To what extend do symbols effect Mesoamerican art and architecture? These effects could of course lead to the stronger subjects, specifically human sacrifices. The extent of symbols on the architecture and art therefore is reflected as the extent it had on ancient Mesoamericans. It will first be evaluated how Architecture is made to reflect their beliefs on the lives of their gods. Second, how architecture and art can depict symbols will be revealed, and lastly it will be discussed how architecture and art shows the effect of symbols on ancient human lives and interactions. Finding these things will answer the research question by revealing how much effort believers would make to please their symbols, how Mesoamericans believe their gods to be, and how far they would go with tradition or rituals.
For my final project I chose to compare two works of art from ancient Mesopotamia. A visual work of art and a literary one. The visual work of art I chose was the Statuettes of Worshipers which were created around 2900 to 2350 BCE at the Square Temple at Eshnunna, a city in ancient Mesopotamia. The literary artwork I have chosen is the Epic of Gilgamesh written roughly around 2800 BCE by author or authors unknown. It was set in Uruk, another city in ancient Mesopotamia. Both of these works of art share a common theme; the theme of immortality. It is my hopes that within this paper I can accurately show how each of these works of art express this theme, and how it relates to modern society.
Issues of cultural and spiritual backgrounds invoked by symbolist objects are commonly seen in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Goblin Market.
...social values of rich stones resembled their higher standards of living in those days. Also, two different types of art based on Indian culture and society such as “Shiva Nataraja” and “Adios, Mahatma” depicted great religious and social perspective of Hinduism and free spirit of will, respectively. Also, “Heheya Kachina” and “The Light Inside” presented two unique forms of art which is so rare or so common in the modern society that we sometime forget to notice if these types of art exist.
...ity, the positional relationship among the symbols must be examined. The deer, maize, and peyote together constitute a single concept, and they are used by the Huichols to signify their entire lives. The unity of these three symbols helps the Huichols “achieve their highest religious goals—continuity and unity on all levels, societal, historical, temporal, ecological, and ideological” (222). The deer is associated with the past when the Huichols were marked by masculine dominance. Maize, the central symbol of the complex, represents the present reality. Peyote represents the unforeseen future and the things to come. “This combination of deer, maize, and peyote represents a remarkable completeness” (227). “The deer as the past life of perfection, the maize as the mundane, human dimension, and the peyote as the spiritual, private, and free part of life merge” (262).
The role of the temple was crucial to the Ur III period as a part of its reestablishment. Seals are a major segment of this dynasty as they had originated from the ancient near east and by the time of the Ur III they were made with great sophistication. The seals showcase better engraving than those of the Post-Akkadian period. They were well executed with finer and more cultured instruments than before and moreover there was better carving, modeling and the vigor from the previous tools was eliminated. Most of the seals from this period show ritual scenes, which highlight the importance of temple in the Third Dynasty of Ur. It is at the beginning of the Third Dynasty of Ur that the iconic temple structure ‘ziggurat’ was created by Ur-Namma 's architects. Through this essay I will be analyzing the different kinds of cylindrical seals and their assertions from the Third Dynasty of