An Exploration of Non-Western Culture Through Art

This semester, I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of regions and cultures that differ from my own through the exploration of traditional artwork in each region. In this class, I have certainly met that goal. Each of these units, I felt that I gained a deeper understanding about artwork from each of these places; the materials commonly used, the themes that were often represented whether they were religious, spiritual, sensual, or captured grief, war, life and death. In learning about the traditional art practices from each of these regions, I was able to also gain a lot of insight about culture and common life in each area that we studied. Studying art in unfamiliar territories helped me connect with their values and traditions. A lot of practices, such as the metal work we learned about in Benin, is a craft passed down in families for generations. This helped me understand the way that artwork is able to connect people to one another and serve a higher purpose. In Ethiopia, a lot of traditional pieces- such as traditional healing scrolls, are seen as magical- having the power to heal the sick and keep demons away. The meaning is so much deeper than aesthetic or entertainment- art can offer a window into what values and traditions are held within which cultures. They can also tell us about the artist as we try to question what they are trying to communicate through their work. I truly enjoyed each of these units and learned more than I even hoped to in just a semester! I feel that this has been a fully immersive experience- stimulating visually and intellectually. I love all of the pieces in this gallery, but they were hard to narrow down. Thank you for looking through, I hope you enjoy each of these pieces as much as I do!