Is Primitive Art, Art?

2 Pages 378 Words

Primitive art is art. It is a different type of art. There are a lot of aspects about the cultures of these people that are unknown. Through the artifacts that have been left behind, we can start to see their world through a possible human perspective, and realize that they weren’t just cavemen running around in Flintstone type outfits hitting each other with clubs over the noggin.
The cave drawings of the Paleolithic period are wonderful examples of primitive art. Near the cave of Lascaux, in an area known as the rotunda, the painting of the bulls brings an understanding to today’s society. The larger bull’s outline and detail provides a possible insight to the motive behind the painting. Is it a target area? Like our text points out the images painted show the artists sensitivity to the anatomy and liveliness of these wild animals.
The artists of this time discovered in their own means the effectiveness of colors and how to concoct them. It was said in the text they often used different colored mineral chunks or earth materials and applied them directly to the wall for drawing. More often, they created pigments by grinding minerals and mixing them with animal fat, vegetable oil, or bone marrow. To me it takes some ingenuity to create paint from these products. How would they know what would work? These people were true artists in my opinion. Today we just go to the local craft store and get the colors we desire and a canvas to paint on. How hard is that?
The people of the Paleolithic Era put a great deal of exertion towards their portrayals of their human existence. In my opinion, portraying a culture at the time of its existence is an important aspect in the history of art. While it may not be possible to understand every entity of their existence, we can try to understand how their world made sense to them. We can also compare our values, beliefs, and sentiments to theirs. This is why I think that ...