Throughout this semester, the coursework and textbook has been organized and studied through the framework of Themes. Studying artwork by themes allows us to see the connections of many cultures throughout time.

Choose TWO themes that you have previously studied, and compare them- make sure to provide some connections between them, if applicable.

As usual, provide at least one image PER theme!

(Two replies to other posts about these topics).

1. (Both replies should be about 150-200 words long):
2. Over the years, artists have captured various moments and things in their works, which brings out various themes. Nature, knowledge and technology; reproduction and sexuality; power, politics and glory; mortality and immortality; food and shelter; and race, gender, and class are just but examples of the themes that they portray and that we have covered in the past. For this discussion am going to compare two themes, namely; mortality and immortality; and race, gender, and class. I will also provide an example of a work under each one of the two themes.  The most distinct similarity in both the themes, the artists over the years have used commemorative pieces, symbols, and items to bring about the different themes. It may have been merely a painting or something like a tomb in the case of mortality and immortality. Margaret Lazzari and Dona Schleiser in their book Exploring Art: A Global and Thematic Approach, state that to bring about and portray different themes, artists over the years have come up with commemorative pieces of arts and objects (Lazzari & Schlesier, 2016). Image B, a painting of Qin Shi Huang’s Tomb, and Image A are perfect examples and they portray the theme of mortality and immortality; and race, gender, and class respectivelyThe most distinct difference between the two is that the artworks in both themes have different purposes. Lazzari and Schleiser, state that under theme of mortality and immortality  the artist seeks to express certain cultural values and ideas and afterlife; visually establish power; to promote social and political intentions; and lastly to guarantee glory, fame or honor (Lazzari & Schlesier, 2016). For example, incoming with image B, Qin Shi Huang’s Tomb – Burial with Special Items, the artist wanted to portray how the emperor in an attempt to maintain power in the afterlife was buried with his possessions. On the other hand, Lazzari and Scheiler state that in the theme of race, gender and class the artist seeks to portray how certain gender and race characteristics, not only contribute to a person’s identity but also may also trigger discrimination and prejudice (Lazzari & Schlesier, 2016).  For example, in image A, the theme in the artwork is pain and transformation that follows a rite of passage performed in women of the Pompeii people. Women were put through initiation ceremony as a sign of conversion from one stage to another one in adulthood. In the picture, one woman in clothes standing on the right grimaces with agony on her face with a whip across her back. Standing is a naked woman who shows celebratory gestures to symbolize success in completion of the rite of passage.
3. The themes that I would like to write about in this discussion are Surrealism and Pop Art. Surrealism is a literary movement which happened in twenty century  and experimented with new mode of expression called automatism, which sought to release the unbridled imagination of the subconscious. Surrealist poets were at first reluctant to align themselves with visual artists because they believed that the laborious processes of painting, drawing, and sculpting were at odds with the spontaneity of uninhibited expression.  Pop art is an art movement that came out in the 1950s and grew up  in the 1960s in America and Britain, drawing inspiration from sources in popular and commercial culture. Different cultures and countries contributed to the movement during the 1960s and 70s.  the connection between them is that both of them exist in London and America in the twenty century. Both of them are considered modern art and are popular today and have many fans.  The Surrealist impulse to tap the unconscious mind, and their interests in myth and primitivism, went on to shape many later movements, and the style remains influential to this today. On the other hand,  Pop  artists organized exhibitions in Britain that displayed some of the first true examples of modern pop art, and their work would later on influence the direction of the movement heavily, eventually producing a similar pop art movement in the United States later on in the 1960’s. Pop Art Surrealism