Lasting Influences of the Classical World: 2014

TO WHAT EXTENT WAS GREEK VASE PAINTING USED AS A VEHICLE TO VOICE CONCERNS/THOUGHTS ABOUT SOCIETY (PROPAGANDA) AND TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THIS INFLUENCED OTHER CULTURES’ USE OF THESE TECHNIQUES?

INTRODUCTION

Greek vases were used as a source of propaganda in Ancient Greece and their message has had an impact on modern artists across the world such as Marian Maguire and Ron Hutt. Both artists have been clearly influenced by Greek vases with their artworks as they have used techniques, contexts and themes similar to ones used in Ancient Greece.

PARAGRAPH ONE - CONTEXT

The context of both the Exekias and the Kleophrades vases is in and around the time of the Persian War. This war was between the Persians and the Greeks, similar to the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. The Exekias vase was created around the time of the rise of Athens so it represents Ajax and Achilles as strong Greek heroes, ready for battle. This, therefore, shows Greeks in a positive way. The Kleophrades vase then contradicts this when it was created later as it shows Greeks to be the anti-heroes of the Trojan War. This vase was created during the Persian war which meant it was relating that war to that of the Greeks and Trojans. On a PowerPoint about the Kleophrades vase it says, “...the vase represents Kleophrades Painter’s attempt to warn the Greeks about repeating any similar retribution on the Persians. This vase may be seen as a paradigm of the horrors of war; a savage act of victory and vengeance of which the Greeks were ashamed.” (Neal, 2014) Ron Hutt’s artworks were created in 2007 when two issues were particularly relevant in society; global warming and the Great Recession. These are the subject matters of his artworks ‘Athena’ and ‘Demeter’. In ‘Athena’ the Goddess of the same name fights against the global wealth distribution pushed by the furies. This is relative to the Great Recession which began in 2007 and Ron Hutt released a statement saying, “…content filtered through my own highly subjective social / cultural analysis.” (Voyatzis, 2007) The reason that Athena is used in this painting is because she is the Goddess of war and justice which fits with the subject matter of the painting. In ‘Demeter’ the Goddess of the same name encourages a pair of polar bears as they are destroying a hummer, a car known for its negative impact on the Earth. The reason that Demeter is used is because she is the Goddess of harvest. She represents a Mother Earth type figure keeping an eye out for the Earth’s wellbeing. In an article online it is stated that, “goddess Demeter is depicted as a protective earth mother and is encouraging a pair of endangered polar bears as they take apart a gas guzzling Hummer.” (Voyatzis, 2007) In Marian Maguire’s artworks the context was taken from 1867 when the artworks were set, not when 2005 the art was created like the artworks from the other time periods. The context that she used was the colonisation of New Zealand, which meant conflict between the native Maoris and the European settlers. This included the sale of Maori land and Titokowaru, the subject of both of Marian

Maguire’s works, fighting for the land that rightfully belonged to the Maoris. In Settler New Zealand “many Maori tribes opposed the sale of land.” (Sinclair, 1966) The context of these artworks shows through in the subject matters. For example, in ‘Te Whiti and Titokowaru discuss the question, “What is peace?”’ Titokowaru and Te Whiti are discussing their campaign against the settlers, as well as peace. In the ‘Bilingual Belly Amphora, 1867’ Titokowaru is located in the middle frieze, surrounded on all sides by incoming settlers ready to colonise in New Zealand. Greek vases used the issues happening in the time periods that they were created to create propaganda and try and convince the audience that the painter’s point of view is the only point of view. Similarly, Ron Hutt and Marian Maguire’s artworks also do this. They all either show one side of a story or portray one group of the conflict in a negative light, which is a representation of the painter’s opinions.

PARAGRAPH TWO - THEME, LINKING THEMES AND MESSAGE TO THE AUDIENCE

The theme of conflict from the Greek vases has also been used in Marian Maguire’s and Ron Hutt’s artworks. However, who and what the conflict is between vary over time. In Exekias’ Belly Amphora and Kleophrades’ Hydria the conflict is between the Greeks and the Trojans as they are both set during the Fall of Troy. On the ‘Exekias Belly Amphora’ the conflict is not so much between the Greeks and the Trojans but about showing the psychological tension that war creates. Although a seemingly innocent subject matter of Ajax and Achilles playing checkers, they are in the middle of the Trojan War as their armour and weapons indicate. The conflict is also between the audience and the painter as Achilles and Ajax were famous Greek heroes meaning that all of Greece knew of their stories. Both men end up dead, Achilles dies in battle and Ajax commits suicide, meaning that the audience knows of their fate even when they are pictured playing a simple game of checkers. The message to the audience is that Achilles and Ajax were great Greek heroes, which is shown through their full body armour used for the war. Their famous stories also portray them as Greek heroes; Achilles died fighting for his country and Ajax takes his own life which is seen as honourable if you have done something immoral which he had. This shows that Exekias believed that Greeks should be shown in a positive way and as heroes of the Trojan War. In the ‘Kleophrades Hydria’ the conflict is between the Greeks and the Trojans as this was created during the Trojan War. However, unlike the Exekias vase, this vase shows Greeks as the anti-heroes while they rape and kill the Trojans and sack their city. For example, King Priam is being attacked by Neoptolemus while he holds his dead and bloody grandson in his arms. This shows the Greeks as brutal and violent, which are not the traits seen in a hero. The PowerPoint on the Kleophrades vase says, “In the story presented by the Kleophrades Painter the Greeks are not seen as heroes, the only acts of courage are portrayed by the Trojans. The Greeks are seen as being almost barbarian in their desires to seek revenge.” (Neal, 2014) As the Kleophrades Painter was Greek it is unusual for them to portray their own people as anti-heroes. The message to the audience is that the Greeks are not the heroes of the Trojan War, although they came out victorious, as they were vicious and did not fight with honour.

In Marian Maguire’s work, the conflict is between Titokowaru and the European settlers. This conflict is similar to the conflict in the Greek vases as it is between two groups of people, one of which is attempting to take the home of the other. In the ‘Bilingual Belly Amphora, 1867’ the conflict is shown through the settlers surrounded Titokowaru on the outer friezes, almost as if they are taking over the vase as they did with Titokowaru’s land. Titokowaru’s slumped pose also shows that he is troubled over the European settlers and the land issues which he is fighting for. The message to the audience is that the Settlers were the anti-heroes of the time similar to how the Greeks were shown as anti-heroes in the ‘Kleophrades Hydria’. In ‘Te Whiti and Titokowaru’ the conflict is more subtle, similar to the ‘Exekias Belly Amphora’, where it is not apparent within the vase but in the backstory of the characters and the time period. In this artwork Titokowaru and Te Whiti are known to be discussing their issues surrounding the new settlers coming into New Zealand. We can see their stress represented in their slouched, tense poses, which are a replica of Ajax and Achilles’ poses on the ‘Exekias Belly Amphora’. The message to the audience is the psychological tension created by the war, parallel to the tension shown in the ‘Exekias Belly Amphora’. Just as the audience at the time knew the stories about Ajax and Achilles, the audience that Marian Maguire’s art is aimed at would know the stories of Titokowaru and Te Whiti. This would create the conflict between the audience and the artist and show the psychological tension.

Ron Hutt’s artwork portrays a different type of conflict between a Goddess and a societal issue. He uses Greek Goddesses, Demeter and Athena, to fight the social issues as they are most related to these issues. For example, in ‘Demeter’ the conflict is between Demeter, the Goddess of harvest, and global warming, which was a major issue in 2007. This is shown as she supports two polar bears with the destruction of a Hummer. The message to the audience is a warning that humans need to take better care of the environment. By using polar bears and the Hummer, which are well-known for their ties with the environment, it resonates with the target audience. In ‘Athena’ the conflict is between Athena and the furies who are driving the global wealth distribution. This is in relation to the Great Recession which began in 2007. The message to the audience is the effect that the recession has had on the rich versus the poor. By using the furies, which are known as deities of vengeance, the audience can understand that the global wealth distribution favours the rich which Athena is trying to fight.

All of these artworks have used some form of propaganda, just as the Greek vases do, to express the artist’s perspective on the issue. By only showing one side of a story or portraying one group in the conflict as anti-heroes the artist influences the audience’s views in the issue which is what propaganda is supposed to do.

PARAGRAPH THREE - TECHNIQUES, LINKING TECHNIQUES AND PATTERNS

The Kleophrades and Exekias vases both explore the techniques used in black figure and red figure in Ancient Greek vases. One of these techniques is motifs which are used on both the Exekias and the Kleophrades. The motifs are used to frame the friezes and draw the eye in such as the stylised rays on the ‘Exekias Belly Amphora’. The two Greek vases also used incision to add detail. On Ajax and Achilles’ cloaks the incision is abundant as Exekias is the master of black figure. The Kleophrades vase is able to use more techniques as red figure is more advanced than black figure. For example, the overlapping seen on Ajax, Athena and Neoptolemus’ helmets with the motifs would be impossible on a black figure vase but are possible with the red figure style. The impeccable composition of these vases is also a technique commonly seen on Greek vases. On the ‘Exekias Belly Amphora’ the backs of Ajax and Achilles curve on the same angle as the sides of the vase, the spears point directly to the handles which leads the eyes upwards and Ajax and Achilles are almost mirrored with their poses. All of these techniques make the vase aesthetically pleasing to the audience. On the ‘Kleophrades Hydria’ within the complete frieze there are several separate triangles which each focus on different events within the Trojan War. For example, one of the triangles shows the rape of Cassandra and another one shows the death of Priam. The use of the triangles is to allow the audience to focus on the smaller parts of the Trojan War while also seeing the larger picture.

Marian Maguire has used both red and black figure in her artworks, with one of them using both styles within the same painting. In ‘Te Whiti and Titokowaru’ she has used techniques seen in Greek vases such as incision on the characters cloaks which is similar to the incision used on Ajax and Achilles’ cloaks. She has also used musculature on their arms and calves showing the tension held in their limbs because of their dilemma. However, Marian Maguire has used a different style for her background. While traditional black figure backgrounds are plain with little to no detailing she has chosen to paint a background that includes colour and lots of detail in the form of trees, shrubbery and Mount Taranaki. This could be Marian Maguire’s way of indicating the setting just as on Greek vases Troy was represented by trees. Another difference with this artwork is that there are no motifs as there would have been on a Greek vase. This could be because it is in the form of a painting, not a vase as per tradition meaning that adding motifs was unnecessary. In ‘Bilingual Belly Amphora, 1867’ Marian Maguire uses a combination of red and black figure, using red figure for the main focal point and black figure for the characters on the outer bands of the vase. This meant that the techniques of both styles could be explored in one vase. Using both styles is unusual for Greek vases as the painter usually only specialised in one or the other and vases were kept to one style. Both of the styles are exact copies of the traditional black and red figure styles, in that there are no adaptations made to the techniques. The use of black figure and red figure could either be used to represent the different races or so that the black figure settlers almost act as another form of motifs. This could be because they frame the main frieze and do not have as much detail as traditional black figure so Marian Maguire may have intended them to be a form of motif.

Ron Hutt’s artworks are all painted in the Greek vase style of red figure meaning that he has used common red figure techniques such as overlapping, ¾ poses and drapery. The drapery of Athena’s peplos on ‘Athena’ is reflective of the drapery of Priam’s himation on ‘Kleophrades Hydria’. ¾ posing is visible on both paintings as Athena and Demeter stand turned both towards the front and the issue that they are facing. Also, because they are red figure overlapping is possible which is seen with Athena’s spear and Demeter’s cornucopia. Ron Hutt, like Marian Maguire, has not used traditional Greek motifs but instead used a recurring rock-like image on his paintings. This could be his way of modernizing the motifs or incorporating them into a painting where motifs usually would not be used.

Marian Maguire and Ron Hutt have used traditional techniques that were used in the Greek vases. Because these two artists were trying to replicate the style of Greek vases it is essential that they use the same techniques in order to show this replication correctly. The adaptations that they have made to their artworks can be all be explained by the time periods that they were set in and the settings which would have been hard to recognise, such as Taranaki.

CONCLUSION

Overall, Greek vases have had a significant impact on the art that is created today as artists now attempt to copy and even modernise the style in their own artworks. Marian Maguire and Ron Hutt are two of these artists who were influenced by Greek vases and have used their artworks as propaganda, a purpose similar to Ancient Greek vases. By using similar techniques, context and themes their artworks replicate those of Ancient Greece.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Neal, S. (2014). 3.5 Lasting Influence. Retrieved August 1, 2014, from Hamilton Girls' High School - Moodle: http://moodle.hghs.school.nz/course/view.php?id=455

Sinclair, K. (1966). Maori Wars. Retrieved August 1, 2014, from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/maori-wars

Voyatzis, C. (2007, December 12). RON HUTT AND THE ANCIENT GREEKS. Retrieved July 30, 2014, from Unknown: http://kostasvoyatzis.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/ron-hutt-and-the-ancient-greeks/

Lasting Influences of the Classical World

Wednesday, 13 August 2014

Artwork 1 - Exekias Belly Amphora

Artwork 2 - Kleophrades painter Hydria

Artwork 3 - Athena

Artwork 4 - Demeter

Artwork 5 - Te Whiti and Titokowaru discuss the question, 'What is peace?'

Artwork 6 - Bilingual Belly Amphora, 1867

Research - Greek Vases 1

Research - Greek Vases 2

Research - Greek Vases 3

Research - Ron Hutt 1

Research - Ron Hutt 2

Research - Marian Maguire 1

Research - Marian Maguire 2

Tables

Essay

References