The Great Big Picture

by Vanathi Kanth

edited by Uday Lingampalli, Kavya Gurunath, & Manushri Bapat; Layout by Inchara J; Artwork by Sahithi Lingampalli

Regardless of the time period, art has always been a creative outlook for people, providing a way to express any emotion about the positives and negatives of life. Since art is an expressive field, when looking at art one must consider the life of the artist which can considerably impact the opinions and feelings the artist faces and, as a result, the art created. Throughout the progression of history and the changes of perspective, art has depicted different ways of life.

The first notable works of art that the way of life has impacted was seen in the time of advanced civilizations, from the time of Mesopotamia to the fall of the Roman Empire.

During this period, several religious works of art, that are still known today, were created, as well as art displaying stories of tradition relevant to each group of people. Such pieces of art show a time where people, for the first time, were able to be influenced by societal ideals.

With the end of the advanced civilizations came the Middle Ages, which brought art with negative connotations-- often with distorted figures and harsh scenery. The darkness and pain seen in the art can describe a view of a life that was difficult, almost torturous. This can be explained by the Black Death and economic as well as cultural decline of the time. Also, there was an increase in religious works of art, indicating that religion grew to have enough importance that it became something to turn to as inspiration. However, such art was most common only in Europe. In Eastern and Southern Asia, for instance, it was architecture that correlated with religion.

After the Middle Ages came arguably one of the most important periods for art: the Renaissance. Throughout the Renaissance, art was known to pay attention to detail and realism. Emphasis on detail was new to art at the time, indicating clear development in views of life. Most prevalent was the rise of individualism and humanism, social philosophies of the time.

The brighter colors contrasted the dark nature found in the art of the Middle Ages.

Following the Renaissance, several art forms flourished, including Mannerism, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Although every art form had a distinct style and importance to life, Romanticism most distinctly showed a change in lifestyle. Unlike classical art, Romanticism placed importance on imagination and nature and rejected order, harmony, and rationality. Such ideas in art convey a newfound sense of freedom for much of the people and allow people to have an imagination, rather than be bound by a strict sense of social order or religion in life.

The modern art movement originated from realism beginning in the 19th century, with notable attention to accuracy by featuring detailed depictions of scenes of life. The attention to detail meant that people became focused on accurately capturing life, and life became more fact-based. Unlike Realism, Expressionism in the early 20th century often used distortion and strong colors to show raw emotions -- often anxiety. The display of emotion indicated a time where people were conflicted in life, showing that at the time, life became confusing and there were possibly new ideas or wars.

In the later half of the 20th century, a period of Abstract Expressionism began, where artists broke away from conventional forms of art and used improvisation to make abstract art. The breaking away from conventional ideas in art can indicate a life of fast development and change, where many people explored ideas outside usual beliefs of society. Following this came the rise of pop art, where everyday objects were used to create art that challenged mass media, which indicated a life that placed importance on consumerism. Due to its heavy importance, pop art rose to show that no “hierarchy of culture” could control the inspiration of art, showing that people were challenging the previous norms, and were making change a center in life.

Today, contemporary art has continued along with the older techniques and concepts, with several smaller movements. Our current way of life indicates a way of life that continues to challenge boundaries in society. After seeing how art has shown the development of life throughout the years, we are led to the inevitable question: how will art change to show life in the future?