Mrs.G’s Art Room

Sarah

I have been researching my project on Japanese art and have found some interesting things that I have never really thought about before. For instance, I had never taken the time to realize what and impact government and social systems have on art. During the years 1466-1590’s, Japanese art consisted of many warriors and “masculine” paintings. You could say, “That was just their lifestyle,” but that is not entirely true. During those years, series of civil wars were held in the city of Kyoto; however, war was not a major part of their society. During “peaceful” times, art depicted their landscape and beautiful animals. When the art of dance grew, so did the paintings depicting dancing women. I learned that art does not just depict one lifestyle, but the many changes it goes through, and depending on the artist portrays a specific area of that life. (“Japanese prints” by: Gabriele Fahr-Becker )An example of this could be if a king hired an artist and told him to paint the city. Naturally the artist would only paint the “good” because that is what the king would want to see. The painting might include the castles and lavish filled areas, while excluding the poor lives of the peasants and lesser peoples. Maybe this is just me, but for some reason I found it very interesting. What are your thoughts, and do you agree with art being affected by society and the perspective of the artist?