Art of Africa, Oceania and the Americas - Initial Impressions

When you broach the topic of art, then open up the field of study to include geographic areas of Africa, Oceania and the Americas I almost feel like I don't know where to start. There are so many different variations of art to consider, view and appreciate. Each different type will have its own set of meanings and interpretations that represent a different set of values or mores.

Initially, I liked this aspect of the course overall because as someone who doesn't have much experience studying art I would like to cover more types and fields than typical. I'd also like to view and address some types of art that are less typical. As I mentioned in one of my previous message board posts, my sister and her husband got traditional Fijian tattoos on their honeymoon there - this was done respecting it as the artform it is. It was, oddly enough, my sister's very first tattoo as well. The tapping technique was fascinating to see (we viewed a video afterward) performed, and was very different from what we are familiar with in terms of the usual buzzing of a tattoo gun.

Within the initial framework of the course, I enjoy the use of voicethread because the interaction is easy to follow. It is also nice to be able to see extra examples of the art work in question.

I'll wrap up this initial impressions post with a photo of me about 16 months ago, at the National Gallery in Oslo. Who doesn't love, "The Scream"? Or "The Skrik" in Norwegian ;)