In today’s society churches are considered to be the bond between art
and spirituality. Among the pages of history it can be found that many churches
have changed functions, got destroyed and rebuild and finally resulted as being
tourist attractions. Such an architectural marvel was the Hagia Sophia, which
was an important monument for Ottoman and Byzantine Empires. In Latin, this was known as the Great
Church, and was built on pagan land.
Ordered by Constantine, the first church had a wooden-roofed basilica,
preceded by a large atrium. Famous in
particular for its massive dome, it is considered the perfect representation of
Byzantine architectureand has changed the history of architecture being known as the
largest cathedral in the world for nearly thousand years. The church contained
a large collection of holy relics and the religious focal point of the Eastern
Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years. After Muslim ruler conquered the
land, it was converted into a mosque and Islamic features like mihrab, minbar
and four minarets were added. Currently serving as a museum in Istanbul, Turkey
the Hagia Sophia is a great example of brilliant architecture and
transformation in religious turfs. In this modern world, such brilliance of architecture and culture can be found in The
Statue of Liberty, which has been representing patriotism and freedom
JA: What do you see
as the role of the visual arts in our mass-mediated world and particularly in
your profession?
LV: Visual
art is a medium of communication right? Like any sort of visual media whether
its graphic design or moving picture it’s important to influence the audience.
That’s what gets the audience excited right? To go and continue to research on
a subject and to be entertained. The role of visual art itself is to make us
relive the experience the artist had in his lifetime and share it through art.
JA: With new
communications and media technologies, imagery is almost instantly available.
Do you believe that this is having a positive or negative influence on the
industry (provide example)?
LV: I
think its definitely having a positive influence on the industry, because ever
since the Internet got invented and it integrated into our lives, it has become
easy to communicate ideas, or techniques. It is easy to access information for
anybody whether it is legal or illegal on the web and still a medium of
communication can be established.
For example, way back in the days when we had to go to the library for
research that was such a downtime. We had to wake up at a certain time, go
there and use the library card for books or even pay late fees. And sometimes
not even getting the exact research material among the books. Nowadays I can
just type a certain word in the web and get thousands of results in return.
JA: What popular
images do you see that are frequently rechanneled throughout the entertainment
industry?
LV: we see many images everyday; I mean images of rock stars
or film stars. We see many kind of promotional material for larger production
in form of imagery. This imagery can be presented in form of posters, digital
media, or photographs all these images get people to go and be a consumer. It gets people excited
about some sort of topic and then they are compelled to go and watch the movie
or buy the certain product.
JA: Are there
particular images that this industry has popularized, and or created?
LV: Yah, when
collaborating graphic and musical art field, for example the promotional
material like the Jimmy Hendrix poster in your wall. This particular poster was
published by winterland.com, so if u go to that site they will definitely have
huge collection of Jimmy Hendrix posters or other promotional material. They are
collectors and licensed publisher of those images. They are popularizing the
depiction of history of music and you having that certain poster in your wall
shows that you fit into that popular culture. That makes this art a popular
(pop) art.
JA: Who is one of
your favorite visual artist/s, and or what is your favorite style of visual
art?
LV: When talking of
favorite visual arts, I would say right this moment I couldn’t name any
particular artist from the top of my head. But if there were someone I would
truly admire, that would be director Steven Spielberg. He is a groundbreaking
visual director, and has always gifted this world with amazing movies. And also
another name like George Lucas comes to my mind as well, who is remarkable a
visual artist. He is visualizing the sound scores in a movie, and bringing that
into reality. He plays a different sort of role in the visual field, he sees
with his ears. So yah I can say these people I would look up-to when deciding
my favorite visual artist. as for my favorite style of art, I would say movies
and games have always been my top choice of visual media.
JA: How has your
knowledge of famous artworks influenced your creative process?
LV: Over the period
of formal training that I have received, yah I can truly say I have looked at
Steven Spielberg as my influence. I mean the amount of incredible work of art
that he had created have always amazed me since childhood. The movies that I
have grew up with and watched with great interest have been the Jurassic Park,
Terminator, Back to the Future. These were the movies that had left my jaw
hanging after watching. So I will always consider the man who originated these
movies, as my major influence in visual arts.
The great architectural achievements of the past are built of stone. Stone quarries supplied the large blocks of granite, limestone, and sandstone that were used for building temples and tombs. As soon as a pharaoh was named, construction on his tomb was begun. Tomb building continued throughout his life and stopped only on the day on which he died. As a result, some tombs are very large and finely decorated, while other tombs, like that of King Tutankhamen, are small because he ruled as a pharaoh for such a short time.
The Pyramids
One of the most notable and lasting achievements of the Ancient Egyptians are their pyramids. The size, design, and structure of the pyramids reveal the skill of these ancient builders. The pyramids were great monuments and tombs for the kings. They built the pyramids to protect the pharaoh's body; the pyramid was a symbol of hope, because it would ensure the pharaoh's union with the gods. The beginning of the Old Kingdom is believed to be the construction of Djoser's monument. The construction project of Pharaoh Djoser's Step Pyramid started around 2620 B.C. It was created to amaze the ancient Egyptians, and amaze them is exactly what it did. However, Djoser's pyramid was not exactly a pyramid. It was made more like steps, and not smooth on all sides like other pyramids. The first smooth sided, true pyramid was built at Meidum. When Snefru took the throne sometime near 2575 BC, Djoser's Step Pyramid was the only large royal pyramid that was completed. Snefru then became the greatest pyramid builder in Egyptian history by completing not one pyramid, but three beginning with the Meidum, then the Step Pyramid and Red Pyramid at Dashure. Two generations after Djoser's reign, the center of the Old Kingdom moved to the barren plateau of Giza. Three 4th dynasty pyramids were erected here; they are included among the Seven Wonders of the World. The largest pyramid in existence is the Great Pyramid built by King Cheops (Khufu) at Giza. The Great Pyramid measures 481 feet high, by 775 feet long at each of its four bases. Other notable pyramids include the Step Pyramid built for King Djoser, and the pyramid built for King Huni, that was a transition between the step pyramid and the smooth sided pyramid we know today.
Sculptures and Paintings
Inside the underground corridors and rooms there were art of the Egyptians reflects every aspect of their lives. Depicted in tomb and temple drawings are scenes of everyday living, models of people and animals, glass figures and containers, and jewelry made from gold and semi-precious stones. Some drawings were also used to help the deceased to live forever by giving them all of the instructions they would need as they met the gods on their way to eternal life. A variety of perspectives are often combined in Egyptian art; however, the side view is the most often seen. The artists used bright colors of blue and red, orange and white to develop pictures that tell of the life of the deceased individual.
Sculptors were important artists in Egypt. Statues were made of kings, queens, scribes, animals, and gods and goddesses. Frequently, human and godlike attributes and symbols were combined.
To this very day, we continue to look at the amazing marvels. For many years onward, they will remain important to the world to see
