Assignment #1

            In general, art expresses culture and societies of the age because art embodies ideas of people who were living through out time. Therefore, art functions specificity in society such as to impart information or ideas, and for worship and rituals. I found two great pieces of artworks to indicate the examples of the specific functions of society in the Metropolitan Museum.

In the Arts of Africa section, I found a Headdress Effigy, which is named Harelga in Africa. The artwork  is 180 inch in height and made by bamboo. This looks long and has a big head. This artwork was especially used for dancing ceremonies for the Chachet Baining people for religious meanings. The statue appeared during the day dance, and an annual harvest ritual. At the climax of the dance, the Herelga was carried out to the dancing ground, and a person served as bases for the effigies. Using the bamboo poles, other men then lifted the Harelga atop the dancer's head into a position as close to vertical as possible. This art work expresses that Chachet baining people considered dancing is an important part of their life. Also, it shows they had great respect for their ancestors and daily life. Furthermore, Herelga is assumed to be only used by men because it is excessively heavy for women to carry out. Therefore, it represents that masculinism was one of the parts of their culture. My first impression for this artwork was familiar, because it looks similar with the Korean traditional totem pole, which is for frighten away ghosts and bed things and villages boundaries to standing  at the edge of the villages. I was suppressed Harelga was used for dancing, and the people had to carry this heavy sculpture  out.

The second art work, I found in the America section, is a ceramic sculpture, Jalisco Ballplayers. This is from Ancient Mexico. The sculpture is small, which is 50cm in height and 33cm in width. It is a human figure, which is sitting and holding a ball. Playing with a rubber ball was an important male activity. The ceramic sculpture of Jalisco was found in the family tombs, and those families were in the upper class in their society. This Jalisco sculpture indicates that people had lived in an affluent society because people had enjoyed sports, and not only focused on survival. Moreover, playing rubber ball was not a game that could be played alone. This was a group game. Therefore, we can understand that people in that period were in a collective society.