Art Critisism – Last Judgement of Hu-Nefer

Last Judgement of Hu- nefer

In this assignment, my group is doing art criticism based on the painting named 'Last Judgement of Hu-Nefer' from the Book of the Dead in Chapter 7. This painting was painted on a papyrus scroll. It was found in the tomb of the scribe Hu-nefer in Thebes from the 19^th Dynasty, which is around 1280 BCE, during the New Kingdom of Egypt. This papyrus scroll is 39cm long in actual size.

We can see King Osiris on the right, dominantly. Behind King Osiris, there are two women. There is a bird-like object on the top of King Osiris and it is a falcon with a huge eye holding a feather in its claws. In front of King Osiris is a falcon-headed man, which is King Osiris's son. On the left-bottom, there is a dead man's soul being held in hand by Anubis. Anubis in the left side of the beam balance that looks like it is adjusting the beam. On top of the beam balance there is a man head of while two things at the side, which looks like a stone and a leaf.

Elements that applied in this painting which are value, lines, shapes, and texture. Value in this drawing is 2D. The lines applied in this painting are horizontal line, vertical line and curve line. Horizontal line is seen on the floor tile. Curve lines are seen on the body and head of the characters. Besides that, the painting is made up of organic shapes and geometric shapes like rectangle, square and round shapes. The texture of the painting is rough.

In addition, principles of design in this painting are scale. Scale of smaller human figures that are sons of Horus. Repetition of symbols (ankh) and human figures that appeared on top of the gods at the hall of judgement. In the painting also appeared shapes that are rectangles. The most dominance in this painting is King Osiris and the sub dominant is soul. Repetition creates rhythm that is lines and hieroglyphs that are long and short on the middle- bottom wall create flowing rhythm like a staircase. Colors used on the top-left part of the drawing are olive green, white and yellow ochre makes the subjects pop out more. In addition, the bold and thin rectangle also creates rhythm.

This papyrus scroll is created by using painting technique, by applying colors of black, olive green, white and yellow ochre. There is also drawing technique used to draw out the characters and shapes, and writing of hieroglyphs on the wall in the painting. 

For the subjective interpretation, we find that the painting looks like the first soul (bottom-left) is led towards and the other Anubis in front of the scale is weighting something while Amemet looks like a demon that is starring at the right side of the scale and also at Thoth that is recording the readings of the scale. The second soul looks like he is led by Horus towards King Orisis for some sort of judgement while Isis and Nephthys looks like they are helping King Orisis out throughout the process. On the top-left of the painting shows something like a soul is talking or praying facing the gods and witness. 

The imitative perspective on this painting of the objects are the scroll, flail and crook held by King Osiris, ankh, heart, scale, ostrich feather held by the falcon Utchat, scribes and reed brushes used to recording by Thoth. The subject matter in this painting is papyrus and ink. The ink used in this painting is the mixture of soot, vegetable gums with water on a wooden palette. Peoples in this painting are 4 sons of Horus (Imsety, Qebekh, Hapy and Duamuatef), Maat (God of scale), Amemet (Heart eater), Anubis (God of the

dead), Hu-nefer (soul), Osiris (god of the afterlife), Horus (God of sky, war and protection), Thoth (God inventor of writing), Isis, (Goddess of magic and life), Nephthys (God nature of death), Shu (God of air), Tefnut (god of emotion) Ra-heru-khuti-tem (god of sun), Geb (God of earth), Utterance, Southern, Northern, Western Ways and Perception.      


The artist's intention of painting this is to be passed down generation by generation so that their future generation knows more about the afterlife process and judgement.


The audience who appreciates the artwork is artists, museums, Egyptians, archaeologists, national art gallery, future generation, art students, and tourists. People who commissioned this artwork would be the government, artists, businessman/women and people who have interest in this artwork.


In conclusion, 'Last Judgement of Hu-nefer' tells everyone to be kind hearted and do good deed so that their heart won’t be eaten by Amemet. This painting is to be passed down generations by generations to keep their culture and beliefs recorded and spread so that Egyptian culture will never be forgotten. 

Assignment

 

1. Telekom Museum, Kuala Lumpur

Telekom Museum, Kuala Lumpur is one of the example of Greek Culture that applied in Malaysia. On my personal opinion, people added this element onto the building design is because to assort with the theme. The purpose they design this building is to lead people to recognize the building easily with their first sight with the typical retro design.

2. Oasis Damansara

Oasis Damansara located at Damansara, Petaling Jaya is one of the example of Egyptian culture that applied in Malaysia. Oasis means dwelling place or green island. In the picture above we can see that there are a row of pyramid that planted with grass on top of it. In my opinion, the purpose of building this pyramids in front of the office buildings may referred to the "feng shui". In Malaysia especially Chinese believe in "feng shui" and pyramids are built in front of the office buildings is to safeguard the success of their business.

3. Methodist Primary school in Sibu

Methodist Primary School that located in Sibu, Sarawak that applied Greek Culture in Malaysia. This school founded in the year of 1903. People added this element onto this building is because of the current trend. However at that moment, most of the architecture are built in this mode. This school architecture also know as Neo- Classical structure. Pillars are built in front of the main/ front door. It is a memorable building tend to the structure of building and the historical stories.

4. Roman footwear

The footwear worn by the Romans changed very little from the foundation of the Roman Republic in 509 B.C.E. to the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E. The basic outdoor shoe was known as the calceus. At the Roman Empire men wearing a basic Roman sandal. Romans used different footwear styles to indicate the status and power of the wearer. In the 21th century, Roman footwear are usually wore by women but lately due to the changes of trend/ fashion men also wearing roman footwear. In Malaysia, no matter men, women, and what ages are you, people love Romans footwear due to its trend, comfortably and easy to mix and match.

5. a) Panathenaic Stadium

5. b) Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur

In Malaysia, Staduim Bukit Jalil do applied the Greek Culture. This is because as i can see that the Stadium Bukit Jalil look similar to Greek Stadium in the aspect of design which is in a "U" shape or "O" shape, chairs at the side, and the purpose of the stadium. Greek Stadium function as a entertainment purpose such as a theater, sports event, meeting and etc. For Stadium Bukit Jalil also having the same function. Singer from oversea either local singer would like to held their concert at the stadium and sometimes there will be a local football match or international match. Both stadium also intend a lot of chairs to audience to sat down. 

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References

- Panathenaic Stadium. Retrieved at July 13, 2011

  http://www.greek-islands.us/athens/panathenaic-stadium/

Lu Xun

In my research about Lu Xun, i have found that there are 2 historical people called Lu Xun. One of the Lu Xun was a military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is also best known for defeating Liu Bei's forces at the Battle of Xiaoting in 222. For another Lu Xun was a Chinese literature and arts in the first decades of the 20th century.

Ai Wei Wei's

Ai Wei Wei was born at 18 May 1957. He is a Chinese artist and a political activist who is also active in architecture, curating, photography, film and social and cultural criticism. His father was a Chinese poet Ai Qing

Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium known as Bird's Nest for the 2008 Olympics. For my own opinion, Bird's Nest Stadium not only a architecture it is an art.

Bird's Nest

I have done some researched and studied on few of the Ai Wei Wei's famous art work. I would start with the Bicycles Installation.

Bicycles Installation

Bicycles was an essential mode of transportation that has become an icon of the post- revolutionary era. Made of heavy steel, these utilitarian bicycles were meant to last forever. In the hands of a master artist like Ai Wei Wei its all about meaning. Bicycles representing the power of the individual, joined together to make a structure that can rise above it all. Bicycles intersects all things, including politics, democracy, and social activism can be seen in the work and life of artist/ activist Ai Wei Wei. I can see that bicycles bodies are all joined together, wheels are free to spin independently. For my own opinion, this artwork is very impressive and can shown how the way of China citizen live at and suffering from the issue. 

Sunflower Seeds

Ai Wei Wei's with Sunflower seeds

A sea of seemingly identical sunflower seeds that located at Tate Modern's turbine hall, handcrafted by nearly 2000 workers over a period of 2 years, it's not just the scale of the piece that is impressive but its socio- political and historical scope that baffles. Each seed, each process and each hand that has gone to making these seeds has a meaning behind it and no detail has been left to chance. 

There are estimated 2 million number of seeds and its represents some suggest that it is a proportion of the population of Beijing. Others than that it also represent the percentage of the Chinese population that has access to the internet. 

Sunflower seeds themselves are symbolic of the famine and propaganda associated with Mao's reign. They are out of China's most valued export, porcelain, and were handcrafted in the Porcelain Capital, or known as Jingdezhen, a town that is famous with its production of Imperial ceramics. 

Each one was handcrafted by an artisan in one of the small-scale workshop, carefully selected by Weiwei, a method of production that he chose to purposefully contrast the mass production we typically associate with things “Made In China”.

Iron Wood

Continue with the Iron Wood of known as Tieli  wood, Qing Dynasty ( 1644-1911), that made out of tables, parts of beams and pillars from dismantled temples of the Qing Dynasty. I knew this artwork during lecture class of History Art and Design and wanted to know more about the meaning of this artwork. Through the researched that i have found, the relationships are symbolic and structural, referencing the destruction and reinvention that is a recurring theme in Chinese history. 

To be honest, when Dr. Ray explained this artwork during the lecture i was like what the heck is this. What is the main reason Ai Wei Wei's made this artwork? In my mind there is a lot of question. Yet, i done a research on this artwork, i would like to say that i could understand a little bit of this not much. I would like to do some further research to full fill my curiosity about this artwork. 

Although there are still a lot of famous and meaningful artwork of Ai Wei Wei that i haven research on. I still can conclude that Ai Wei Wei artwork are usually referred to political activism with excessive media. 

Element of Art