WS5 Final Paper
Submitted By heatherlenoir
Words: 2267
Pages: 10
WS5 Final Paper
Indiana Wesleyan University
ASTO042 FINA 180
July 25, 2013
Artists and Musicians work are all based on their creative input. Creative design and form have changed throughout history. This humanities course has taught us of this development of art and music through the ages. In this essay, I will discuss the differences in principles and interest throughout different time periods and some important people and elements that were along the way. The Greeks and their predecessors were documented to be from Antiquity to 100 B.C. Architecture, sculpture and music found great heritage in the Greeks. In the Medieval and Romanesque Period, from 500 to 1000 A.D., there were many advances in art and music design. Music in the Medieval period gave us Georgian chant, the kind of chant named after Pope Gregory I. This chant was considered to be an early monophonic music in free rhythm associated with the Christian Church. “All chants of the period shared four important characteristics: they were based on church modes; rhythms were derived from Latin texts; they were monophonic and their composers were unknown (Wold, Martin, Miller & E, 1996, p. 94). Expression of chant has occurred in my own life from the practice of my mother’s Catholic faith and church mass. Years of Catholic catechism helped her to understand the organization and purpose of their chant. Medieval thinkers turned their attention to music to carry their art into a new age. Organum, described as an early form of counterpoint is different from Georgian chant because composers from this era no longer claimed anonymity; they drew from artistic studies and put human feelings at the center of the piece so that the music itself would reflect the emotions of the lyrics. Singers added parallel melodies in unison, many times to the fifth interval of the piece. This harmony enriched the Gothic cathedrals worship service. There is also a relationship between the artworks from the medieval (Romanesque and Gothic) periods and beliefs and practices of the church of that time. That relationship is made evident between art and the church in medieval times, first in the creative interpretations of God through the building of churches and the art that adorned them. Many times vaulted, or domed ceilings were adorned with mosaics or artwork that gave a face to the visualization of God and his saints by the congregation. Another belief and practice of the time was the fight of good versus evil, this is displayed through art and the church because the church was known to be the guardian of the truth and all that was right, art also could depict this circumstance, however; it was considered evil for people themselves to live in the comfort. Comparing Greek and Roman sculpture, the similarities and differences result from how Greek and Roman art stylishly exhibit the worldly and godly traits of their subjects through statues. Both display quality in detail, an emulate classic art, but the main difference I see is that Romans built their own interpretation on Greek ideas of sculpture; Romans set themselves apart by defining their statues as markers or boundaries for their monuments. Moving along in time, people of the Renaissance had a new outlook on their life and a new regard for differences in ideals of church and state. Humanistic beliefs along with the new public desire to achieve personal wealth changed the direction of the arts. The most expensive investment a lover of art could make was in architecture. At this time, because it was no longer considered sacrilegious to display wealth, other building besides churches were elaborately built and decorated. Like architects and sculptors, renaissance artists were sought out and rewarded for their skill. Developments in perspective came with similar ideas of materialism because artists were using perspective to make the
