Video Review

Videos:

African Art: Legacy of Oppression

Islamic Art: Africa and Central Asia

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

I chose African Art: Legacy of Oppression because I have not learned very much about African Art, and I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss and learn more about. The culture from which the art work has come from is intriguing to consider.

I chose to watch Islamic Art: Africa and Central Asia because I have found that the Islamic art is so beautiful that I want to learn more about it and see what other aspects of the culture have been incorporated into the art of the Islamic culture. 

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

Much of the African Art that we now see in museums is abstract, and they are not necessarily realistic portrayals of people, like many people are looking for in works of people. The masks that were created had a purpose and creatively told a person’s story.

 The mosaic style used to decorate architecture is most definitely an Islamic work of art, along with Arabic script incorporated into the mosaic art. The colors are very bright and vivid on these mosaic tiles that are used in this decoration and form of art. 

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The video African Art: Legacy of Oppression discusses the masks created by African artists, much like that of the text readings. Much of what I have learned about in terms of the African art is that a lot of the works we see today were created in relation to celebrating and/or mourning the dead. 

The text mostly shows off the mosaic decorative style used on the architecture by talking about how the designs came to be what they are today, and this is what is discussed in this video. 

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art
concepts?

The video about African art was an interesting topic for me because I do not know as much about African art as I know about other art work from around the world. This video increased my understanding along with my readings of the text as well. One of the most interesting facts to me was that the statues created by African artists were created to be abstract representations of people, while many other cultures around the world look to strive for a very realistic representation of people.

 I personally enjoyed seeing more of a thorough view of the mosaic style of Islamic art work. The finished product of the tile work has given me a whole new appreciation for the work that I did not previously know very much about. This video gave me that new understanding and appreciation.