Jason Bohman Writing Assignment #1 10/04/2011

1)

"Some Long Thoughts on Early Cycladic Sculpture," by Joan R. Mertens, is the

writing sample I have decided to reflect on. This article was originally written for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in its Metropolitan Museum Journal, in 1998. Mertens is the institution's Curator of Greek and Roman Art.

2)

The thesis is stated in the following two sentences, in the second paragraph of

the article: "Within the last twenty-five years, the increase in archaeological evidence owing to excavation and the introduction of new lines of investigation have had a considerable impact upon the study of Greek culture before about 1000 B.C. Perhaps the greatest single advance has been the recognition of the degree of interconnection that exist between sites and cultures during chronologically remote periods." Mertens is attempting to correlate what was previously considered to be the isolated styles of individual Greek cultures into a more coherent aesthetic. She is connecting the Early Bronze Age to the Geometric Period through the sculpture of the Early Cycladic Period. Her argument is supported by the development, style, and execution of sculpted figures, primarily made of marble. Her main contention depends on the belief that, without a written alphabet, Greek sculptors throughout this time developed a style which collectively moved from the descriptive and into abstracted stylization. In order to accept this train of thought, the reader must believe that this shift is due to a coherent evolution of artistic sensibilities, as opposed to the old belief that the various figurines discovered in these areas over time were carved independently and without a chronological artistic direction. Mertens makes many valid points, which are illustrated by the images that accompany this article. One such supporting detail is that, apart from human figures, other schematic pieces appeared in various areas. These can be categorized as "yarn-winders," "spade-

shapes," and "violin-shapes." This information fortifies the author's point of view by connecting similar art objects with cultures located far away from each other.

3)

Figure 5 in the article powerfully illustrates Mertens' thesis. The illustration

features a series of major female figure types in Cycladic art on a timeline, between 4700 B.C. and 2700 B.C. Their general similarities are apparent, and the two-thousandyear timeframe is persuasive. Also, the visual presentation helps hammer home a point that takes some effort to extract from the dense text Mertens attempts to wow us with. Further support is lent by the mention that there is evidence that facial details were rendered in polychromy throughout this era. There may be something to this argument.

4)

I find this argument interesting, but it is hard for me to comprehend how ancient,

isolated populations could collaborate in a particular artistic movement in such a primitive time. Perhaps, though, I am a victim of my own modernism. Surely, people traveled amongst these civilizations. These pieces would have been enough of a novelty to illicit attention and encourage imitation. Another strength of this argument is the claim that wherever mainstays of civilizations develop (agriculture, the domestication of animals, permanent shelter), human and animal figures follow. Art and culture are products of every society throughout time. Another strength of the argument that naturalism begat stylization in ancient Greek culture is the presence of Geometric formulas around 1000 B.C. Proof of this would push images of the human figure towards abstraction.

5)

I see two weaknesses. The first concerns presentation, and may be just a

reflection of my personal preferences when reading art history. I like an author that lightens the tone occasionally, so that I my mind may have a chance to breath. Perhaps I am merely exposing my own intellectual ineptitude, but I found this article to be overly academic. The second weakness has to do with content. Seated harp players produced

during the Early Cycladic period are mentioned in connection with iconography. Mertens very badly wants to believe that these statuettes were more than simple representations of musicians. She wants to connect them directly with Homer, and his works Illiad and Odyssey. I can't help but think that this is a stretch. The Greek alphabet had not been yet invented. After making the suggestion, she admits that the lack of supporting information makes this unlikely to be proven. I wish she just would have skipped it. Still, I can see how that temptation could be too hard to ignore.

6)

Despite the potency of the text, it is clearly written. I had to force myself to read it

twice before anything sank in. On my second go-around, though, I was able to grasp the content. About halfway through the article, the reader gets a sense of retroactive understanding when Mertens sums up the first half of the article with a closing sentence that signals that she is entering subject matter that has a more exploratory, and less definitive, nature. Overall, the argument is solid, if a little far-fetched overall. I believe that Mertens is offering this article as a catalyst for dialogue. It is not a final product, but an interesting avenue of thought. Much of it is plausible, if not airtight.

7)

a) What, if any, similarities exist between the sculpture of the Early Bronze Age

and the Geometric Art of first-century B.C. Greek civilization? b) What significance does obsidian (volcanic glass) have in regards to ancient Greek sculpture? c) What tools would ancient Greek sculptors have used when producing sculptures according to a geometric formula?