How Art Changed theWorld
This documentary by BBC is based on ancient art practices and how it has impacted the way the people of today think; the primary focus of this documentary being the body. The video shows how the definition of a perfect body has evolved through the centuries, through different forms of art - like sculptures and paintings.
The first thing the documentary covered was a very small sculpture, called the "Venus of Willendorf" from a small town called Willendorf. It was a figurine of a lady with extremely exaggerated features; like the breasts, stomach and thighs. They were exaggerated to an unattainable extent - an extent which is impossible for any human to achieve. Apart from that, the face of the lady was half covered, and the half that was exposed had no features carved on. Basically, no importance was given to the face at all, which is a pretty questionable thing. This shows that the idea of very prominent features on women is not just a modern-day thing, but something which has consistently been there from centuries ago.
The second form of art covered were the paintings from the Egyptian civilisation. It was shown that there was a fixed style of painting the humans and it was seen that the position of each body part and the dimensions of the humans drawn were exactly the same in all the work seen. Apart from that, the alterations made to the human body through the paintings were rather questionable - in the sense that the changes made weren't changes or exaggerations we consider "appealing" or "ideal" in today's day and age. The changes made were those like how the eyes on the face were placed in an abnormal manner - extremely towards the side; and that all the fingers were of the same length and abnormally elongated.
The third thing covered in the documentary was the sculptures made during the Greek Civilisation. Sculptures of the Gods were made - very muscular in an exaggerated manner - which made the male population wish to attain "Godliness" or feel equal to God by trying to build themselves in the same manner. Naturally, this resulted in a very high standard set for the Greek men; and as we can see today, the entire population of men as well.
As we can see from these 3 examples covered in the documentary, art over the centuries has impacted the way we think and our mindsets and expectations of the body.
This documentary by BBC is based on ancient art practices and how it has impacted the way the people of today think; the primary focus of this documentary being the body. The video shows how the definition of a perfect body has evolved through the centuries, through different forms of art - like sculptures and paintings.
The first thing the documentary covered was a very small sculpture, called the "Venus of Willendorf" from a small town called Willendorf. It was a figurine of a lady with extremely exaggerated features; like the breasts, stomach and thighs. They were exaggerated to an unattainable extent - an extent which is impossible for any human to achieve. Apart from that, the face of the lady was half covered, and the half that was exposed had no features carved on. Basically, no importance was given to the face at all, which is a pretty questionable thing. This shows that the idea of very prominent features on women is not just a modern-day thing, but something which has consistently been there from centuries ago.
The second form of art covered were the paintings from the Egyptian civilisation. It was shown that there was a fixed style of painting the humans and it was seen that the position of each body part and the dimensions of the humans drawn were exactly the same in all the work seen. Apart from that, the alterations made to the human body through the paintings were rather questionable - in the sense that the changes made weren't changes or exaggerations we consider "appealing" or "ideal" in today's day and age. The changes made were those like how the eyes on the face were placed in an abnormal manner - extremely towards the side; and that all the fingers were of the same length and abnormally elongated.
The third thing covered in the documentary was the sculptures made during the Greek Civilisation. Sculptures of the Gods were made - very muscular in an exaggerated manner - which made the male population wish to attain "Godliness" or feel equal to God by trying to build themselves in the same manner. Naturally, this resulted in a very high standard set for the Greek men; and as we can see today, the entire population of men as well.
As we can see from these 3 examples covered in the documentary, art over the centuries has impacted the way we think and our mindsets and expectations of the body.
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