Discovering Facts
Cavemen in their home cave.
For over 100 years we have searched for traces of our earliest ancestors to try to find out how our species emerged (Ape-Man Human Evolution). With the cave paintings, we are able to discover facts and possibilities from before and during the ice age concerning our ancestors and the earth’s state of life. Experts are beginning to find the meanings of the stunning pictures through new research into hallucination, the dances of the Namibian bushman and South African rock art (Ape-Man Human Evolution). Studying the cave paintings can tell us several things from the type of animals living then that are now extinct to other geometric figures.
“They (prehistoric artists) knew exactly what they were doing,” says Barbara Olins Alpert. “They knew how one’s eye could be tricked.” Alpert has penned "The Creative Ice Age Brain." It examines how art, from the Ice Age art, links with contemporary art. She started visiting private caves in France and Spain. Visiting them lead her to her exploration into the art of prehistoric drawings. That happened more than 20 years ago. One of the most exclusive cave's she visited was the Grotte de Lascaux. It features prehistoric drawings from about 17,000 years ago. "I was able to see a very important cave," she says. "All of the people on the guest book were extremely well known in the field of archeology. I vowed then and there that I would make a contribution to the field. That was the beginning to the impetus of the book." She argues that the approach of these earliest artists was not unique. She says that their approach forms part of a continuum, linking the distant past with the present (McGee).
Chuck Close, Salvador Dali, Escher, and Robert Irwin are all contemporary artists. What they have in common with prehistoric art is that something is the art of illusion. "These are contemporary artists," says the Middletown resident. "In the same context, they are relevant to 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. People like Escher and Dali use optical illusions in the same way Ice Age artists did." The artists use dots, handprints, and different types of lines to try to trick the eye. There is an aspect of playfulness. This aspect is both contemporary and prehistoric. "They are playing with perception in the serious sense of play, not in the child sense," Alpert says. "Anamorphosis - they play with that. They played with the fact that there is confusion between convex, concaves, figure, and ground. These are all things I discuss in my book." Alpert uses information from psychology and discoveries in neuroscience to approach art found in the caves of Europe. Her techniques include computerized tomography scans and functional magnetic resonance imaging (McGee).
“They (prehistoric artists) knew exactly what they were doing,” says Barbara Olins Alpert. “They knew how one’s eye could be tricked.” Alpert has penned "The Creative Ice Age Brain." It examines how art, from the Ice Age art, links with contemporary art. She started visiting private caves in France and Spain. Visiting them lead her to her exploration into the art of prehistoric drawings. That happened more than 20 years ago. One of the most exclusive cave's she visited was the Grotte de Lascaux. It features prehistoric drawings from about 17,000 years ago. "I was able to see a very important cave," she says. "All of the people on the guest book were extremely well known in the field of archeology. I vowed then and there that I would make a contribution to the field. That was the beginning to the impetus of the book." She argues that the approach of these earliest artists was not unique. She says that their approach forms part of a continuum, linking the distant past with the present (McGee).
Chuck Close, Salvador Dali, Escher, and Robert Irwin are all contemporary artists. What they have in common with prehistoric art is that something is the art of illusion. "These are contemporary artists," says the Middletown resident. "In the same context, they are relevant to 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. People like Escher and Dali use optical illusions in the same way Ice Age artists did." The artists use dots, handprints, and different types of lines to try to trick the eye. There is an aspect of playfulness. This aspect is both contemporary and prehistoric. "They are playing with perception in the serious sense of play, not in the child sense," Alpert says. "Anamorphosis - they play with that. They played with the fact that there is confusion between convex, concaves, figure, and ground. These are all things I discuss in my book." Alpert uses information from psychology and discoveries in neuroscience to approach art found in the caves of Europe. Her techniques include computerized tomography scans and functional magnetic resonance imaging (McGee).
Definitions
Anamorphosis
Archaeology
Contemporary
Extinct
Geometric
Hallucination
Impetus
Neuroscience
Resonance
Tomography
Archaeology
Contemporary
Extinct
Geometric
Hallucination
Impetus
Neuroscience
Resonance
Tomography
-An image that appears distorted unless it is viewed from a special angle or with a special instrument.
-The scientific study of material remains (as fossil relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities. The study of human cultures. The study of life and culture of the past.
-Happening, existing, living, or coming into being during the same period of time.
-No longer in exsistance, has died out.
-Of, relating to, or according to the methods or principles of geometry.
-Perception of objects with no reality usually arising from disorder of the nervous system or in response to drugs.
-Driving force, impulse.
-Scientific study of nervous system, the brain, and the biological basis of consciousness, perception, memory, and learning.
-The quality or state of being resonant, a quality of richness or variety, or a vibration of large amplitude in a mechanical or electrical system caused by a relatively small periodic stimulus.
-Any of several techniques for making detailed x-rays of a predetermined plane section of a solid object while blurring out the images of other planes
-The scientific study of material remains (as fossil relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities. The study of human cultures. The study of life and culture of the past.
-Happening, existing, living, or coming into being during the same period of time.
-No longer in exsistance, has died out.
-Of, relating to, or according to the methods or principles of geometry.
-Perception of objects with no reality usually arising from disorder of the nervous system or in response to drugs.
-Driving force, impulse.
-Scientific study of nervous system, the brain, and the biological basis of consciousness, perception, memory, and learning.
-The quality or state of being resonant, a quality of richness or variety, or a vibration of large amplitude in a mechanical or electrical system caused by a relatively small periodic stimulus.
-Any of several techniques for making detailed x-rays of a predetermined plane section of a solid object while blurring out the images of other planes
Ancient Rock Art and Cave Paintings of the World. Follow the link to see some beautiful cave paintings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3b1sX_WOlA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3b1sX_WOlA
