African Art The Trade Center/Royal Residence of the Great Zimbabwe Within the jungles of Southern Africa is a palace that has been standing there for more than seven centuries. This group of walls and buildings whose "beautifully coursed walls curved and undulated sinuously over the landscape, blending into the boulder-strewn terrain as if having arisen there naturally" (Tyson). Of course this was not a naturally occurring site, but the people who built

Art History: Monuments, Masks The temple complex at Angkor Wat in Cambodia is an excellent example of non-western monumental architecture. What is interesting about Angkor Wat specifically is that its motivation for being built was religious, but it survived a change in religious regime: it was built as a Hindu temple complex, but then later repurposed for Buddhism. Consequently Angkor Wat's meaning has become national rather than religion: it is depicted

She does not need to speak, the art will do it for her, but unlike the expressive purpose of museum artwork, the point of this expression is to reinforce a relationship rather than speak to strangers. There is a public, shaming potential to the pot lid's use such as using the lid when her husband is having company. Context can add to the meaning of the lid, but still, there

African cultural practices are incredibly diverse, reflecting the vastness of the continent itself and the numerous ethnic groups that inhabit it. The traditions and customs across Africa's 54 countries and innumerable communities offer a rich tapestry of cultural expressions that range from music and dance to art, language, cuisine, and religious practices. One of the most unifying elements of African culture is the emphasis on community and family. The African

His paintings were and are provocative because, instead of using personal confessions (like Dali), he uses irony and wit and intelligence to make his point hear. "The Treason of Images" is controversial in the sense that it makes the viewer question art and language and the meaning that we apply to objects. Magritte questions the assumptions made by people about the world, changing the scale of objects and defying

Upon the altar of which this piece would have been a part, the priests of the medieval age would have offered the sacrifice of the Mass -- in which the Body and Blood of the Christ would be offered in an unbloody manner through an act called Transubstantiation. This was a central portion of the Mass and was part of the belief system of the "age of faith" in