Module 8

The video More Human Than Human seeks to discover why the images of the human body throughout history have not actually looked like real people. The Venus of Willendorf was extremely exaggerated. The same shape of the human body in future images differed from the Venus, but continued to be unrealistic. Ancient Egypt used a grid to create their consistent images that reflected their orderly society, but they continued to be exaggerations of the human form. The Greeks were the first to achieve the realistic image of the human body, but they quickly moved past that due to the fact that realistic bodies were just not appealing enough to the human eye. It was too boring and our brains are hardwired to want exaggeration. Which is an aspect that continues to influence our society and how we perceive perfection. The perfect body is the impossible form.
The text talked about how steadfast and consistent Egyptian art was. Watching the video that explained their grid system and showed the art and statues themselves really helped illuminate how important their art and society was to each other. Ancient Egyptian art really gives us an insight into their society because it was such a large part of their culture.
I chose the video The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure because I found the story of Ancient Greece's statues the most fascinating during the video More Human Than Human. The human body was important in their society because they believed their Gods took human forms. They believed in the nobility of the human body and soul. The Greeks started to create realism in three dimensions.
The text mentions how Greece's architecture and sculptures influenced Rome. Before that, Greece was influenced by Egypt, but once they gained knowledge of creating statues on a large scale from Egypt, they branched out to a more realistic interpretation then the Egyptians had of the human body.
The videos really helped show how societies differ, but also influence each other's works. The basic human instinct to exaggerate is ever present because perfect realism is dull and never actually perceived as perfection.