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History And Its Recognition And Integration With The Broader World

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through western eyes there are many versions of history. often, the last person to tell the story, creates the definitive history. this is particularly true when long time spans are involved and multicultural influences are at work. histories should be prefaced by the phrase, “from my point of view…………………” and so it is with art history. its origin, development and influence can be assessed differently by different observers who’s particular backgrounds and experiences shape their understanding. today, i will discuss the development of eurocentric, or western art history and its recognition and integration with the broader world. i want to acknowledge our narrow western view and its failure, until recently, to recognize, accept and…show more content…
in early history we hadn’t thought about it. things just “were.” decorated objects were plentiful. often they had religious, funerary or utilitarian purpose. paintings in churches were for the glory of god. people didn’t have paintings on their castle walls. there were artisans, but not a culture of individuals who produced art for its own sake- artists. it wasn’t until the 14th century that we began to write and think about art as a separate category of things. mimetic art looking backwards, we can see that there came into being a master narrative; that is, a set of rules and ideas which allowed one to identify art and comment on its quality and value. the art object which looked most like the”real” object won the prize. this narrative was known as the mimetic approach. artists strove to capture subjects in detail and capture reality. (i think about dutch paintings of dead birds and fruit in the 17th century.) also, romanticism played a part, with historic scenes and religious themes. beautifully painted, there was an air of distance and objectification about the work. modernism in the mid-19th century, the master narrative and rules for thinking about visual arts changed. the age of modernism began, not only in art, but in the western world. the industrial revolution, age of invention, technological advances (such as photography), philosophical and
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