Lecture I

• What is Art?
Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts
(artworks), expressing the author's imaginative, conceptual ideas, or technical skill, intended
to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. In their most general form these
activities include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history
of art, and the aesthetic distribution of art. The three classical branches of art are painting,
sculpture and architecture. Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as
literature and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of
the arts. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not
differentiated from crafts or sciences. In modern usage after the 17th century, where artistic
thoughts are supreme, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from learnt skills in
general, such as the decorative or applied arts. Though the definition of what constitutes art
is disputed and has changed over time, general descriptions mention an idea of imaginative
or technical skill stemming from human agency and creation. The nature of art and related
concepts, such as creativity and interpretation, are explored in a branch of philosophy
known as aesthetics.

The oldest documented forms of art are visual arts, which include creation of images or
objects in fields including today painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other
visual media. Sculptures, cave paintings, rock paintings and petroglyphs from the Upper
Paleolithic dating to roughly 40,000 years ago have been found, but the exact meaning of
such art is often doubtful because so little is known about the cultures that produced them.

In Byzantine and Medieval art of the Western Middle Ages, much art focused on the
expression of subjects about Biblical and religious culture, and used styles that showed the
higher glory of a heavenly world, such as the use of gold in the background of paintings, or
glass in mosaics or windows, which also presented figures in idealized, patterned (flat)
forms. Still, a classical realist tradition continued in small Byzantine works, and realism
steadily grew in the art of Catholic Europe.

In the east, Islamic art's rejection of iconography led to emphasis on geometric patterns,
calligraphy, and architecture.[37] Further east, religion dominated artistic styles and forms
too. India and Tibet saw emphasis on painted sculptures and dance, while religious painting
borrowed many agreements from sculpture and tended to bright contrasting colors with

emphasis on outlines. China saw the flourishing of many art forms: jade carving,
bronzework, pottery (including the stunning terracotta army of Emperor Qin[38]), poetry,
calligraphy, music, painting, drama, fiction, etc. Chinese styles vary greatly from era to era
and each one is traditionally named after the ruling dynasty.

Art can bring a sense of trained ability or mastery of a medium. Art can also simply refer to
the developed and efficient use of a language to convey meaning with closeness and or
depth. Art can be defined as an act of expressing feelings, thoughts, and observations.

Art has had a great number of different functions throughout its history, making its purpose
difficult to abstract or quantify to any single concept. This does not imply that the purpose
of Art is "vague", but that it has had many unique, different reasons for being created. The
different purposes of art may be grouped according to those that are non-motivated, and
those that are motivated (Lévi-Strauss).

• What is Culture?

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, surrounding

language, religion, cooking, social habits, music and arts.

Cultural universals are found in all human societies; these include expressive forms like art,
music, dance, ritual, religion, and technologies like tool usage, cooking, shelter, and
clothing. The concept of material culture covers the physical expressions of culture, such as
technology, architecture and art, whereas the immaterial aspects of culture such as
principles of social organization (including practices of political organization and social
institutions), mythology, philosophy, literature (both written and oral), and science comprise
the intangible cultural heritage of a society. The Center for Advance Research on Language
Acquisition goes a step further, defining culture as shared patterns of behaviors and
interactions, intellectual concepts and understanding that are learned by socialization. Thus,
it can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the
group.
"Culture includes religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage,
music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how
we behave with loved ones, and a million other things," Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist
at Barnet and Southgate College in London, told Live Science.

The word "culture" derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin
"colere," which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and cultivate. "It shares
its etymology with a number of other words related to actively fostering growth," De Rossi
said.

Eastern culture Eastern culture generally refers to the societal norms of countries in Far East
Asia (including China, Japan, Vietnam, North Korea and South Korea) and the Indian
subcontinent. Like the West, Eastern culture was heavily influenced by religion during its
early development, but it was also heavily influenced by the growth and gathering of rice,
according to the book "Pathways to Asian Civilizations: Tracing the Origins and Spread of
Rice and Rice Cultures" by Dorian Q. Fuller. In general, in Eastern culture there is less of a
difference between earthly society and religious philosophy than there is in the West.

Constant change

No matter what culture a people are a part of, one thing is for certain, it will change.
"Culture appears to have become key in our interconnected world, which is made up of so
many ethnically diverse societies, but also damaged by conflicts associated with religion,
ethnicity, ethical beliefs, and, essentially, the elements which make up culture," De Rossi
said. "But culture is no longer fixed, if it ever was. It is essentially liquid and continually in
motion." This makes it so that it is difficult to define any culture in only one way. While
change is predictable, the past should also be respected and preserved. The United Nations
has created a group called The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) to identify cultural and natural heritage and to conserve and protect
it. Monuments, building and sites are covered by the group's protection, according to the
international treaty, the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage. This treaty was adopted by UNESCO in 1972.