What a vivid image! "Hand of God". If I try to imagine what I would make God's hand look like I cannot begin to decide. These artists had visions that propelled their work.

One of the most amazing and rewarding things about studying art objects from the past is the history they bring into conversation. In this art history class I have not only learned to look and and describe art but also take information from the past and use it to inform my view. So, this piece gives a lot of information about and event that changed the history of England and Normandy and that informs the way I access other aspects besides context.

I really enjoy this music and I love hearing it come back and be preformed today because so much of learning about past cultures is through experience and this is a unique opportunity both for the singers and listeners. Also with the internet it is possible for me to read, and listen, and look at photographs, and have everything come together!

This is a great way to talk about experience. I feel like so much of the worship is connected to experience, so it makes sense for artists and architects to focus on creating this "immersive experience". This also reminds me a lot of the fairly secularized and more modern art of creating installation art pieces that usually aim to engage multiple senses to create an immersive experience.

I am always amazed at these red figure vases. The detail and meticulous skill that goes into the finished work blows me away. Today I think artwork has been turning away from these ornate objects towards more installation artwork that focuses on experience but view even pictures of work like this krater is still awe inspiring.

This is extremely important. As an art historian you can learn from all different visual material. Knowing that artwork is authentic and from the time that you suspect informs the experience you have with the piece and what you can share with others.

It is so interesting to me knowing the history behind how the British Museum acquired the work. It was a private citizen that initially owned them. When I think about that today it blows my mind that someone could have the money to do that. I feel like also maybe today there is much more protection placed on artifacts then 200 years ago. And sure enough it was extremely expensive to excavate those pieces so he had to sell to England where they have stayed ever since.

The British Museum is very stubborn about this battle. I know it is a huge asset to England to have such important and beautiful artwork but these pieces have so much historical value for Greece. The Acropolis Museum had recently built the perfect place to display the work right next to the cite of origin. How cool an experience would it be to see them back in Athens... but I'm worried that might never happen in my lifetime :(

This reminds me somewhat of the political statement the Athenians were trying to make when initially building the Parthenon complex. It was a one of power and defiance toward the world and more specifically the Persians that had destroyed the past temple. With this new museum Greece is trying to show that not only do they have the perfect place to showcase these pieces but the most ideal facility so that it does not seem like a question of who deserves to have them on display.

This conflict between the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum is fascinating! On a larger scale it is between the nations England, and Greece and there is an ongoing battle over these very important artifacts/artworks. One would think that having the pieces so close to their original home would add to the experience of the viewer and the pride of the homeland, but in terms of legality the British Museum does have a right to hold on to the pieces even if it seems somewhat ridiculous. I can not say what is the right thing to do and I see this being a constant battle on both side where neither really wants to compromise.

She is so beautiful. I remember one of the first times I saw a depiction of her I was so taken a back at her beauty. Did these representations of her also embody the beauty standards of this time period in this part of the world? Never the less, under our modern day beauty standards she is still stunning. Nefertiti's beauty is timeless.

This was so exciting! The Ancient Egyptians were so well thought out and elaborate with where these amazing artifacts were stored. They were using techniques in tombs like false chambers and misleading pathways. It is remarkable how much they accomplished, and how much well preserved art still remains, and maybe has yet to be uncovered.

I wonder how people today could have dealt with the same climate problems if Harappa was a modern civilization. Climate change and Global warming are some of the most pressing issues of our time. Have we taken the knowledge and made a smarter future?

I think it is a common theme throughout history that great civilizations begin to decline due to a cocktail of different reasons.

The attention to detail that archeologists give allows for the most influential discoveries. For example the "distinctive black" may seem to be a minor description, but actually provides so much information.

What an exciting and extremely intriguing question... Did this civilization actually exist? Where can one draw the line between fact and myth. I find that with these civilizations that are so ancient where history gets fuzzier and fuzzier, historians increasingly struggle to confidently confirm fact.

Humans are always working to impose structure on aspects of the human experience. By assigning labels it is a way to comprehend the world around us. In the earlier reading members of the art history community and greater world express an immediate need to really separate modern humans from our prehistoric ancestors. In addition some want to also treat our prehistoric ancestors as very primitive. In this reading it is evident that our prehistoric ancestors we similar to our modern humans at least in the same need to add structure and labels.

What an interesting way to approach a problem. Yesterday I was reminded in class that although we can try our hardest to predict what this art was used for, or why it was made, at the end of the day we will never really know. You can take an idea and run with it, his rings true for a lot of ancient art, but especially with works like the Venus of Willendorf that are before recorded history there are less and less clues pointing towards a definite answer.