Today I’m going to talk about something
that struck me as I was reading about the tomb of Hatnofer- one of the tombs I
mentioned in my blog yesterday. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/htnf/hd_htnf.htm) It really stood out to me that the Egyptians
seemed to decorate so many “everyday” objects. For example, Hatnofer’s tomb
contained several mirrors. I’ve posted a picture of one of these, below. The
handle of the mirror shows a woman’s face with cow’s ears and a curled wig
(which symbolized Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty – the Egyptians’ entire
lives seemed to have pretty much revolved around their religious beliefs).
Although a mirror is a basic utility item, this mirror contains this artistic depiction
of a goddess, an important part of Hatnofer’s life.
I’m not sure if it was just that
the “special” items which made it into the Egyptians’ tombs, while the actual
common, everyday items weren’t decorated; or, if all utility items in Ancient
Egypt were decorated symbolically. But, it made me think about how sometimes art
is all around us. For example, my favorite coffee mug is decorated with
a strawberry pattern. I love how it looks and I bought the mug because of the
pattern. I certainly did not need any
more mugs, and the mug would certainly function just as well if it were plain
white. However, seeing those strawberries in the morning as I pour my coffee
just makes me happy for some reason.
Today, these ponderings just left
me full of random questions. What purpose does art serve in our everyday life?
To make us happy, like the strawberries on my mug? To symbolize important aspects
of our lives, like the goddesses on Hatnofer’s head? Do these things even
really “count” as art? Or, maybe, a better question is, what should the
requirements be for something to count as art? Is happiness/symbolism enough,
or do we need something else- some kind of official, technical merit, if you
will? I think, maybe, that is something every person decides for himself or
herself.
Xoxo,
Diana
No comments:
Post a Comment