Civilisations

BBC Episode 1. Simon Schama - Second moment of creation. This episode talks about how art is in itself a form of creation that has helped empires run -and see- the world in different ways. It starts by comparing how the creation of the biggest dome (St. Peter's) became a competition between West and East. It talks about the genious of Michael Angelo and how his vision became apredominant way of seeing the world in the West. A similar process happens in the East but to somewhat more attenuated degree, making Western art a prevailing force in Human History. Episode 2. Mary Beard - How do we look? Indeed. According to Mary througout history many civilisations have had different ways of seeing. Even the Greeks who developed the sculpture form of art to new heights, had different ways of seeing themselves. Just compare early sculptures to those in the Greek revolution: two different takes. The first were more human whose aime was to reflect to make you think, to make you see yourself through the eyes of the sculpture. The second were more done to show off how art could embody movement, emotion but not really to engage with the observer. This second view of art became predominant by making Apollo Belvedere the most beautiful work of art accoridng to Johan Joaquim Winkelman's infatuation with Apollo. Chines, Egyptiams meant somthing different when doing sculptures. Chines were occupied with creating systems, Egyptians were more concerned with showing off, showing who was in power. But the real question is this: how much of Winkelman's view have pervaded how we look and conceive civilization (as an extension of idialized Greek civil viewpoint) to the detriment of other cultures. The example of the Olmec Wrestler and its possible fakery just to prove that olmecs were indeed as civilised as the Greek is just missing the point really. Episode 3. Simon Schama - Picturing Paradise. Another way of looking at art is as scape form. As a way of idolising (and never quite achiving) perfection, aspirations, eternity. He starts by showing pictures of a prisionar in China's Mao in the 1970's and carries on into describing why mountains (etereal at the very top, almost gone there) describe from the 900's how Chinese landscapes depict scaping to a better, more eternal world than the one we live in. He then carries on seeing another art form, gardening or landscaping and how it originated in Muslim tradition because they were a description of the Koran's Heaven. They became popular in Italy because of a very influential work of art that compelled everybody to be a gardener (of the Eden kind) prompting a revolution among rich people to become urban gardeners. Epidosde 4. The Eye of Faith. Episode 5. The Triumph of Art Episode 6. First Contact. Epidosde 7. Radiance Episode 8. The cult of Progress Episode 9. The Vital Spark BBC