Museum Visit: Dallas Museum of Art

Sculpture: Shiva Natraja (bronze)

I went to the Dallas Museum of Art for my Museum Project. The sculpture of Shiva Natraja was quite interesting and unique. And so I decided to analyze the elements and design of this antique piece of art, that also very closely represents the Hindu culture and heritage.

Shiva Nataraja was first represented in a beautiful series of South Indian bronzes dating from the tenth amd twelfth centuries A.D. Shiva, represented in this bronze statue, is one of the three major Hindu deities. This high relief statue represents apocalypse and creation as he dances away the illusionary world of worldly pleasures transforming it into power and enlightenment. The bronze structural form came into existence in Chola dynasty and then continued to be reproduced in metal, stone, and other substances. The sculpture was made by molding bronze.

Shiva Nataraja sculpture is made with precise understanding of Indian mythology.After closely analyzing the Shiva Nataraja structure a lot of hidden symbolism can be revealed from the choice of each gesture and form used to build the structure. The gestures of the dance represent Shiva’s five activities, creation (symbolized by the drum), protection (by the “fear not” hand gesture), destruction (by the fire), embodiment (by the foot planted on the ground), and release (by the foot held aloft).

In this bronze structure, Nataraja dances with his right foot supported by a crouching figure and his left foot elegantly raised. In India, dance has been one of the most basic and relevant forms of expression since ancient times. Here, Shiva dances within a circle of flames, representing cosmic order and radiance of his dance. The drum in his right hand ticks our time into existence, and flame in his left hand ends our existence. Shiva’s raised foot symbolizes salvation. His right foot stamps on the prone figure of ignorance. He wears two earrings, one a man’s and the other a woman’s, signifying the duality of our nature. A cobra uncoils from his lower right forearm, and the moon and a skull are on his crest. He dances within an arc of flames This dance is called the Dance of Bliss, anandatandava.

Different elements and principles of designs are implied to create this piece of art. The significance of Natraja is said to be that Shiva is shown as the source of all movement within the cosmos, represented by the repeated arch of flames. In this three-dimensional sculpture, motion is implied. Shiva is shown in the dance of destruction and recreation of the universe. The movement is reinforced by his untamed hair flying everywhere. Use of curvy lines to make his dance posture, and repeated arms depicts motion as well. The sculpture is made of bronze. The texture of hand and feet are lifelike to the degree where it’s soft like skin. Mass in this sculpture is in open form, which is supported by the unkempt hair, four arms stretched in different directions, and gesture of his feet.
Repetition and rhythm is created with his hair streaming out on either side of his face. Two of his hands are joined together on one side; however this is balanced by the demon under his foot. Furthermore, his raised foot is also balanced by the resolution of weight, stress, and tension of his posture. The repeated fiery ring surrounding Shiva emphasizes the representation of the universe with all its illusion, suffering, and pain. The outer edge is fire, and the inner edge the oceans. Nataraja dances above the body of the demon, Apasmara, who represents the ignorance of teaching. Dwarfing the demon subordinates its existence and emphasizes Shiva’s supreme power. In the sculpture Shiva’s limbs, hair, and flames fan outward from his torso like spokes in a wheel, with the center at his navel. With the use of various stated elements and principles of design Shiva’s perpetual motion and the sense of unearthly power is fully expressed in this sculpture of Shiva Natraja.

By:

Natasha KC

Museum Visit: Dallas Museum of Art

Paragone Discussion: Group Summary

Dear All:

As a summery of the Paragone we as a group decided that there were some strong and some weak parts of the discussion. Some of our group members could relate to the last part of Leonardo's discussion since it pointed out that paintings have 2 perspectives and sculpting has none, and how paintings are more beautiful because of the perspectives and color. Our group thought that his strongest point was the fact that sculpting requires physical fatigue and in painting you have more mental fatigue. However, the weak part of the discussion was how painters have to carefully evaluate quality and quantity of shadow and light, and then saying nature provides this for a sculptor. The sculptor like a painter has to think about what shadows will be created from different light angles. The sculptor's on the other hand had a strong argument that they almost can’t mess up, because they can’t paint over it, if they chizzel away to much marble then they can go back and reattach it. They had a weak point when saying that "his work is more enduring, for it to fear from humidity, as well as fire, heat, and cold." All of these components can more negatively affect painting if left out than a sculpture. Both are susceptible to the elements. Despite of both sides of the argument being quite convincing we as a group decided that comparing the two different mode of art would be like comparing apples and oranges. There are too many significant differences to ever say one is better than the other. The whole point is that sculpture and painting are two different media, and cannot be compared, any more than you could say that a piano is a "better" instrument than a violin- each is unique. Each expresses in a unique way. We believe that both the form of art is quite challenging and noble. It is only in the mind or ego of an artist that arguments about one medium being intrinsically better or nobler than the other take place.

Monet Group

My Museum Visit

Nancy Graves- Wheelabout
By: Brandon Litaker

I went to the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth. I choose a piece that was created by Nancy Graves called Wheelabout. This piece was very interesting to me and it stood out the most in my mind while walking through the museum. Nancy Graves likes to try combining shapes and forms you can find in nature with objects found in everyday life. She used many ordinary objects in this artwork including a c-clamp and a drainage pipe, she combined these with bronze and stainless steel to create one interesting piece of art. There are parts that resemble a bicycle, what looks like handle bars and a twisted wheel with spooks. The three wheels that are touching the ground are representative of her playful spirit. There is some empty space created inside the upper curve of the S-shape, the lower part of the s-shape has twisted wheel shape in front of it with other lines behind it. The object is not small at all, it is quite large and many odd shapes are used, which catch you a little off guard at first. It takes a few minutes to process this piece of art because is so complex. The objects are very intense bright colors, they are very warm colors very few cool colors were used. There are not a few colors used but a whole assortment of colors, which she used as another indicator of her playful spirit. The colors used were not compliments or analogous, they appear to be more randomly chosen. The texture is smooth but the twisted angles and multiple spooks on the twisted wheel make it appear rough. The curved s-shaped part of the artwork is curved but there are straight bars connecting to curved upper pieces to the chain bottom piece, this gives the artwork a balance between the two. There are handle bars that hang down from the s-shaped curves that indicate the playful spirit again. There is a pattern created using the colors painted on the chain part of the s-shape, it draws your eye even more to the artwork because you are trying to understand the all the colors. The S-shape helps to balance the object as a whole; it draws your eye across the artwork. As your eyes follow the s-shape you find more and more complexity to this art work. There are many focal points with this piece; Nancy Graves wanted people to have many focal points and changing perspectives as the looked at the artwork. There is a lot of repetition in the colors that are painted on along with many curved pieces and straight pieces. Polyurethane paint was used and it helped to add more detail to the artwork because it added more lines and depth to the artwork. This artwork was constructed using an additive process which had to take some strength considering that it is constructed of bronze and stainless steel that she had to bend and twist into the shape she liked. This art work is a very complicated piece that needs to be looked at carefully and you will continue to find more levels of complexity.