Overview of Non-Western Cultures

and Arts

Asian Religions—Buddhism

• Founded by Buddha, or the “Enlightened One”

(563-483 BCE)• Searched for knowledge

through meditation• 4 NOBLE TRUTHS

1—Life is suffering

2—Cause of suffering is desire

3—One can overcome or extinguish

desire

4—To conquer desire and end suffering, one must follow the 8-

fold path.

BuddhismEight-Fold Path

1—Right understanding

2—Right Thought

3—Right Speech

4—Right Action

5—Right livelihood

6—Right effort

7—Right mindfulness

8—Right concentration

Achieving this leads to

Nirvana—the cessation of the endless cycle of painful life, death, and rebirth; it is freedom from all worldly concerns.

Hinduism—found in India• No particular “founder”• Polytheistic• Three main gods

Brahma—The Creator god(shown here on right)

Shiva—The Destroyer; often portrayed with multiple limbs and heads—Dancing

Vishnu—Preserver of the Universe; portrayed with four arms holding things; sometimes reclines on a serpent; often shown as blue or black.

Hinduism

Shiva—Lord of the Dance Vishnu—Preserver God

INDIA• Bahrat—National name

• Capital—New Delhi

• Major Cities—Bombay, Calcutta, and

Bangalore

• Major Religion—Hindu, followed by Islam

Arts of IndiaGreat Stupa of Sanchi (3rd century BCE)

Stupa—mound-like structure holding Buddhist relics

Torana—Gateway in the stone fence surrounding the Stupa

Yakshini—mythical Hindu female goddess who looks after treasures; found on the torana of the Great Stupa (like Aphrodite/Venus).

Harmika—stone railing that encloses the top of the stupa; often enclosing an umbrella-shaped object.

Arts of India

Taj Majal• 1632-1647

• Mausoleum in Agra, India

• Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, after she died while giving birth to their 14th child.

• “an elegy in marble”

• A cubed structure with four minarets and an onion-shaped dome (dome is larger than the drum).

Arts of India

• Live Rock—architecture is cut from rock in its original location in nature.

• Gopura—a massive, ornamented entrance gateway tower of a Southern Indian Hindu Temple compound.

Southeast Asia

Cambodia, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia

Main religion is

Buddhism

Southeast AsiaCambodian architecture—Hindu and Buddhist temples

are most prevalent.

Angkor Wat

Wat—Buddhist monastery

in Cambodia

Southeast Asia

Chedis—tiered, pointed spire-like Thai pagoda

Southeast AsiaIn Malaysia, Borobudur is both a shrine and

pilgrimage temple dedicated to Buddha.

Southeast Asia

There are many sculptures of Buddha in SE Asia

Mudra—is a stylized and symbolic hand gesture of Buddha

Urna—a whorl of hair, represented as a dot between the brows of Buddha; “The Third Eye”

ChinaChina is the world’s oldest continuous civilization.

Important dynasties include:

Shang (1600-221 BCE);

Zhou (1111-256 BCE);

Qin (221-206 BCE);

Tang (618-906 CE);

Song (960-1279);

Qing (1644-1911);

Ming (1368-1644).

Chinese ReligionsPeople follow the three main religions or philosophies of

Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

Confucius (551-479 BCE) preached reforms and stressed order, loyalty, personal virtue, and devotion to family and ancestors.

Chinese Religions

Taoism or Daoism—is a Chinese philosophy meaning “The Path”. Many followers believe in polytheistic gods. Nature and ancestors are worshipped.

An important symbol found in this religion is:

Yin and Yang– which represent the feminine and masculine energies in the universe. They are balanced polarities.

Yin is Feminine—cool, dark, soft, moist, weak, yielding

Yang is Masculine—hot, bright, hard, dry, strong, unyielding

Arts of ChinaOracle Bones—large, flat mammal bones or shells on which a

Chinese Shaman has drawn pictures.

Sprigging—attaching leather-hard clay ornaments to a larger form.

Chinese Arts

The Great Wall of China (220 BCE)

--Built between 5th century BCE and 16th century CE

--in northern China

--Over 4000 miles long

--Can be seen from outer space

Chinese ArchitecturePagoda—Chinese

Buddhist temple with odd number of stories and with winged eaves. Emphasis is on the horizontal lines.

Chinese ArchitectureForbidden City—Beijing, China—China’s imperial

palace complex from the mid-Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It is the world’s largest palace complex.

Chinese ArtsTerracotta Army—7000 warriors and horses (210 BCE)

were discovered around 1974 near the tomb of China’s first Qin emperor, Qin shi Huang; they are life size, around 6 feet tall.

Chinese Arts

Decorative arts include:

Bi—carved Jade disk carved as a ritual object for burial with the dead. It is a decorated symbol of heaven

T’ao-tieh—an animal mask design with a mythological beast

Chinese Woodblock Prints

JapanJapan means “sun origin”.

Japan is made up of over 3000 islands.

Japan’s highest peak, Mr. Fuji, is a volcano.

Shinto and Buddhism are the two major religions, but most people do not follow religious rituals in daily life.

Japanese History and artsNeolithic Age

(5000-300 BCE)

Haniwa are the earliest sculpted fired pottery found. These cylindrical figures are modeled after human and animal form and were found in burial mounds

Japanese artsBuddhist Temples are the

most prevalent type of architecture in Japan.

Kondo— “Golden Hall” in a Buddhist temple complex, where teaching takes place and which holds major sculptural icons.

Todai-ji in Nara (743 CE) is the largest wooden structure in the world (top picture).

Horyu-ji in Asaka (607 CE) has the oldest wooden buildings (bottom).

Japanese ArtsImages of the Buddha are prevalent in Japanese temples.The Daibutsi of Todai-ji is the largest sculpture of

Buddha, which is almost 50 feet tall.

Japanese Arts

Sumi-e—A painting technique started in China known as “wash painting” using brushes and ink.

Japanese ArtsUkiyo-e—Japanese genre woodblock paintings; the name

means “pictures of the floating world”. Artists painted actors, courtesans, sumo wrestlers, samurai warriors, and later on they painted landscapes and domestic scenes.

Japanese Arts

Japanese artist, Hokusai, painted a series of woodblock prints known as 36 Views of Mount Fuji (1832).

Japanese ArtsYamato-e painting is a native

Japanese style (meaning “Japanese pictures”) involving colorful representations of Japanese narrative and landscapes.

Artists paint on silk, screens, fans, and scrolls.

AfricaAfrica is made up of many

cultures and religious beliefs.

Many cultures are polytheistic and believe in Animism, which holds that all things in nature (trees and mountains) have souls. Each individual has a spirit, which unites humans to all things. Masks are often used to show this connection.

African ArtsCult Figures are sculptures on ancestors; they are full body

(often distorted) sculptures used for religious devotion and ritual.

Fetish Figures are objects which are believed to have magical powers and are used as good luck charms.

African ArtsMasks are leather or wooden face coverings

believed to have supernatural powers which are worn during religious rituals.

African ArtsReliquary Figures are carved guardians which stand above

baskets used for ancestral remains.

Cire Perdue is a lost waxing process. Figures are molded in clay, covered in wax, and covered in clay again. When the figures are fired, the wax melts and liquid bronze is put in the mold.

Oceania and Highland Asia

This includes Australia, New Zealand, Easter Island and Polynesia

AustraliaAborigines make up the indigenous tribes of Australia.

Australian Aboriginal art is the oldest living art tradition in the world. The cave paintings date back as far as 20,000 BCE.

New Zealand

Totem Poles are carved poles with animal and human figures used as symbols of families

Easter IslandEaster Island is the world’s

most isolated inhabited Polynesian island.

The monumental statues, called Moai, were carved out of volcanic ash between 400 and 1700 CE, using stone hand chisels. There are over 800 statues.

PolynesiaPolynesia means “many islands”

and it includes the many islands in a triangular area which includes Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island at its corners.

TAPA is a type of beaten bark cloth made from Mulberry paper that is found in these islands.

South AmericaSouth America is made up of

many cultures whose people were polytheistic and who believed in gods represented by animals.

Pre-Columbian refers to the arts Before the 14th Century.

Major cultural groups include:Olmec, Mayans, Aztecs,

Mohicans, Incas, and Tiahuanaco.

South American

The Olmec culture (1200-400 BCE) is the “Mother of all Mexican cultures”.

South AmericaTeotihuacan (100 BCE-750 CE) is the birthplace of the gods. Many

temple-pyramids and colorful frescoes of the gods were created in this time.

Pyramid of the Sun

South AmericaMayan Culture—

(250-900 CE) worshipped nature gods through pyramids, sculptures, and frescoes; they also created pottery and weavings.

South AmericaMayan Chacmool is a Mayan figure who is portrayed half-sitting

and half-lying on its back with its head up and turned to the side holding a tray over its stomach.

South AmericaAztec (1400-1600 CE)

culture created temple-oriented cities based on the many gods they worshipped.

South AmericaInca culture (1200-1532 CE) is a Peruvian culture

famous for Machu Picchu (1450 CE), known as the “lost City of the Incas”.

Native AmericaThere are many Native American tribes and cultures with

similar religions. Their legends express an appreciation for Nature and a close relationship to the Spirit World.

Major tribes include:Adena-HopewellMembress and Kuana Pueblo Mesa VerdeNavajo IroquoisCrow Mandarin

Native American Tribes

Native American ArtsPrehistoric tribes built burial mounds and fortifications in

the Ohio valley which are considered the earliest earthworks in North America.

Native American ArtsPueblo is the name of a large communal village made of

adobe brick. Adobe is a clay brick of sun-dried earth.Kiva is a large circular room used for religious rites; it is

fully or partially subterranean.

Native American ArtsMesa Verde in New Mexico

are Native American cliff dwellings built by people 600 – 1300 CE.

Native America ArtsTipi is a conical rawhide

dwelling made of buffalo hides 12-30 feet in diameter.

Totem Pole is a tall post or pillar carved with hereditary marks and emblems or badges, like a family tree.

Petroglyphs are carvings on natural rock, usually of a stylized image.

Native American ArtsNative American pottery and weavings are made with special

skills developed by craftsmen in many tribes.

The End!