http://ancientartpodcast.org/79

How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful materials in a Boli Ritual Object of the Bamana people in Mali, Africa. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter and beeping proximity alarms.

Permanent collection label:

Bamana sculpture often functions as a mediating force between the spirit and human realms. Ritual objects, such as this amorphously shaped boli, are commissioned and cared for by age-grade associations. A boli has a wood core wrapped with cotton cloth, into which spiritually charged packets are bound. Sacrificial materials, including animal blood and grains, are applied to its surface, giving it a crusty exterior. These sacrifices symbolize the layering of secret knowledge, imbuing the boli with nyama (life force). A boli is stored with other sacred objects in a shrine house and may only be seen by members of the association to which it belongs.

Image:

Ritual Object (Boli)

Bamana, Mali

Mid-19th/early 20th century

Wood, cloth, mud, and sacrificial material

H. 43.8 cm (17 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold X. Weinstein, 1961.1177

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http://ancientartpodcast.org/78

How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful materials in a Nkisi Nkondi Power Figure of the Vili people in central Africa. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter and beeping proximity alarms.

Image:

Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi)

Vili, Republic of the Congo or Democratic Republic of the Congo

Early/mid-19th century

Wood, metal, glass, fabric, fiber, cowrie shell, bone, leather, gourd, and feather

Art Institute of Chicago, 1998.502

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http://ancientartpodcast.org/77

How do artists' choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful materials in an African Congolese ceremonial mask of the Kuba Kingdom. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter and beeping proximity alarms.

Image:

Mask (Mukenga)

Kuba, Western Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Late 19th/mid-20th century

Wood, glass beads, cowrie shells, feathers, raffia, fur, fabric, thread, and bells

Art Institute of Chicago, 1982.1504

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http://ancientartpodcast.org/76

In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I discuss the techniques of Greek vase painting and the differences between the black-figure and red-figure styles. We also dip a toe into some Greek history, talk about the names of Greek vase painters, artists signing their works, and compare Greek vase painters to the French Impressionists. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter, construction noises, and beeping proximity alarms.

Images:

Black-figure Belly-Amphora (Storage Jar) Showing Herakles Wrestling the Nemean Lion

Attributed to the Painter of Berlin 1686 or the Painter of Tarquinia RC 3984

Greek, Athens

c. 550-540 B.C.

Art Institute of Chicago, 1978.114

Hydria (Water Jar)

Attributed to The Leningrad Painter

Greek, Athens

c. 470/460 B.C.

Art Institute of Chicago, 1911.456

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http://ancientartpodcast.org/76

In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I discuss the techniques of Greek vase painting and the differences between the black-figure and red-figure styles. We also dip a toe into some Greek history, talk about the names of Greek vase painters, artists signing their works, and compare Greek vase painters to the French Impressionists. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter, construction noises, and beeping proximity alarms.

Images:

Black-figure Belly-Amphora (Storage Jar) Showing Herakles Wrestling the Nemean Lion

Attributed to the Painter of Berlin 1686 or the Painter of Tarquinia RC 3984

Greek, Athens

c. 550-540 B.C.

Art Institute of Chicago, 1978.114

Hydria (Water Jar)

Attributed to The Leningrad Painter

Greek, Athens

c. 470/460 B.C.

Art Institute of Chicago, 1911.456

Connect:

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http://ancientartpodcast.org/75

Why are the heads, crowns, and hands of magnificent Tang Dynasty Chinese tomb figurines so startlingly bare compared to their brilliantly colored bodies? This is an excerpt from my gallery talk "Coloring the Past" in the Art Institute of Chicago from March 9, 2017. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents of background chatter, beeping proximity alarms, and echoing reverb. Please forgive the poor sound quality. Terms: sancai, glaze, funerary, earthenware, ceramic, polychromy, pigment, paint, sculpture, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism.

Gallery Talk: Coloring the Past (American Sign Language-interpreted)

Art Institute of Chicago

March 9, 2017

"How does our modern lens shape the way we see ancient works of art? Explore the use, meaning, and manufacture of color in ancient art with museum educator Lucas Livingston. This gallery talk will be interpreted in American Sign Language."

Image:

Armored Guardian King (Tianwang) Trampling Demon

China, Tang dynasty (AD 618–907)

First half of 8th century

Earthenware, glaze, and pigment

Art Institute of Chicago, 1970.1069

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http://ancientartpodcast.org/74

We examine the use of color in ancient art to designate role, status, nature, and more, and discuss causes for the disappearance of polychromy in ancient art. Side note: Why does the Egyptian God Osiris sometimes appear with black skin and sometimes with green skin? Names dropped: Zeus, Athena, Olympians, Giants, Gaia, Osiris. This is an excerpt from my gallery talk "Coloring the Past" in the Art Institute of Chicago from March 9, 2017. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents of noisy kids, beeping proximity alarms, and echoing reverb. Please forgive the poor sound quality.

Gallery Talk: Coloring the Past (American Sign Language-interpreted)

Art Institute of Chicago

March 9, 2017

"How does our modern lens shape the way we see ancient works of art? Explore the use, meaning, and manufacture of color in ancient art with museum educator Lucas Livingston. This gallery talk will be interpreted in American Sign Language."

Image:

Architectural Relief Showing Gigantomachy (Battle Between Gods and Giants)

Etruscan, 3rd-2nd century BC

terracotta & pigment

Art Institute of Chicago, 1984.2

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http://ancientartpodcast.org/73

Pliny the Elder shares with us the tale of dueling artists Zeuxis and Parrhasius as they battled for the title of who could paint a more beguilingly realistic trompe-l'oeil ("fools the eye") masterpiece. We also hear another short story of Zeuxis's dashed pride. This is an excerpt from my gallery talk "Coloring the Past" in the Art Institute of Chicago from March 9, 2017. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents of noisy kids, beeping proximity alarms, and echoing reverb. Please forgive the poor sound quality.

Gallery Talk: Coloring the Past (American Sign Language-interpreted)

Art Institute of Chicago

March 9, 2017

"How does our modern lens shape the way we see ancient works of art? Explore the use, meaning, and manufacture of color in ancient art with museum educator Lucas Livingston. This gallery talk will be interpreted in American Sign Language."

Image:

Adriaen van der Spelt (Dutch, 1630-1673) and Frans van Mieris (Dutch, 1635-1681)

Trompe-l'Oeil Still Life with a Flower Garland and a Curtain, 1658

Oil on panel

18 1/4 x 25 1/8 in. (46.5 x 63.9 cm)

Inscribed lower left: van der Spelt.1658

Art Institute of Chicago, 1949.585

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ancientartpodcast.org/72

Many sculptural works from the ancient world were once beautifully colored. This is an excerpt of my gallery talk "Coloring the Past" in the Art Institute of Chicago from March 9, 2017. Here we discuss the original polychromy of the famous Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles and the 1862 Tinted Venus by English sculptor John Gibson. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents of noisy kids, beeping proximity alarms, and echoing reverb. Please forgive the poor sound quality.

Gallery Talk: Coloring the Past (American Sign Language-interpreted)

Art Institute of Chicago

March 9, 2017

"How does our modern lens shape the way we see ancient works of art? Explore the use, meaning, and manufacture of color in ancient art with museum educator Lucas Livingston. This gallery talk will be interpreted in American Sign Language."

Image:

John Gibson (1790-1866)

The Tinted Venus, 1862

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Photo by ketrin1407, 19 July 2012

Connect:

itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627

ancientartpodcast.org/feedback

facebook.com/ancientartpodcast

youtube.com/SCARABsolutions

twitter.com/lucaslivingston

ancientartpodcast.org/72

Many sculptural works from the ancient world were once beautifully colored. This is an excerpt of my gallery talk "Coloring the Past" in the Art Institute of Chicago from March 9, 2017. Here we discuss the original polychromy of the famous Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles and the 1862 Tinted Venus by English sculptor John Gibson. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents of noisy kids, beeping proximity alarms, and echoing reverb. Please forgive the poor sound quality.

Gallery Talk: Coloring the Past (American Sign Language-interpreted)

Art Institute of Chicago

March 9, 2017

"How does our modern lens shape the way we see ancient works of art? Explore the use, meaning, and manufacture of color in ancient art with museum educator Lucas Livingston. This gallery talk will be interpreted in American Sign Language."

Image:

John Gibson (1790-1866)

The Tinted Venus, 1862

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Photo by ketrin1407, 19 July 2012

Connect:

itunes.com/podcast?id=205535627

ancientartpodcast.org/feedback

facebook.com/ancientartpodcast

youtube.com/SCARABsolutions

twitter.com/lucaslivingston