Learn the History of Bas-Relief Sculpture

Learn the History of Bas-Relief Sculpture A French term from the Italian basso-relievo (low relief), bas-relief (pronounced bah ree ·leef)  is a sculpture technique in which figures and/or other design elements are just barely more prominent than the (overall flat) background. Bas-relief is only one form of relief sculpture; figures created in high relief appear to be more than halfway raised from their background. Intaglio is another form of relief sculpture in which the sculpture is actually carved into material such as clay or stone. History of Bas-Relief Bas-relief is a technique as old as humankinds artistic explorations and is closely related to high relief. Some of the earliest known bas-reliefs are on the walls of caves. Petroglyphs  were treated with color, as well, which helped to accentuate  the  reliefs. Later, bas-reliefs were added to the surfaces of stone buildings constructed by ancient Egyptians and Assyrians. Relief sculptures can also be found in ancient Greek and Roman sculpture; a famous example is the Parthenon frieze featuring relief sculptures of Poseidon, Apollo, and Artemis. Major works of bas-relief were created around the world; important examples include the temple at Angkor Wat in Thailand, the Elgin Marbles, and images of the elephant, horse, bull, and lion at the Lion Capital of Asoka in India. During the Middle Ages, relief sculpture was popular in churches, with some of the most remarkable examples decorating Romanesque churches in Europe. By the time of the Renaissance, artists were experimenting with combining high and low relief. By sculpting foreground figures in high relief and backgrounds in bas-relief, artists like Donatello were able to suggest perspective. Desiderio da Settignano and Mino da Fiesole executed bas-reliefs in materials such as terracotta and marble, while Michaelangelo created higher-relief works in stone. During the 19th century, bas-relief sculpture was used to create dramatic works such as the sculpture on the Parisian Arc de Triomphe. Later, in the 20th century, reliefs were created by abstract artists. American relief sculptors drew inspiration from Italian works. During the first half of the 19th century, Americans began creating relief works on federal government buildings. Perhaps the best known American bas-relief sculptor was Erastus Dow Palmer, from Albany, New York.   Palmer had been trained as a cameo-cutter, and later created a great many relief sculptures of people and landscapes.   How Bas-Relief Is Created Bas-relief is created either by carving away material (wood, stone, ivory, jade, etc.) or adding material to the top of an otherwise smooth surface (say, strips of clay to stone).   As an example, in the photo, you can see one of Lorenzo Ghibertis (Italian, 1378-1455) panels from the East Doors (commonly known as the Gates of Paradise, thanks to a quote attributed to Michelangelo) of the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Florence, Italy. To create the bas-relief Creation of Adam and Eve, ca. 1435, Ghiberti first carved his design on a thick sheet of wax. He then fitted this with a covering of wet plaster that, once it had dried and the original wax had been melted out, made a fireproof mold into which liquid alloy was poured to recreate his bas-relief sculpture in bronze.

Renewable Energy Systems Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Renewable Energy Systems - Research Paper Example astest power manufacturing segments of the world now and there is urgent necessity to minimise the maintenance and operation costs of electricity production. This research essay will make an earnest attempt to elucidate the wind and hydropower generation of manoeuvres of both Australian and Bangladesh government, in particular, to minimise the global warming and of that USA, China, Brazil, Russia and Canadian governments in general by giving unique attention to various empirical studies and eminent authors’ views on the subject. 1-Introduction Both wind energy and hydropower comprises of the renewable energy mix, these bring a lot of economic, technical and environmental advantages both to the developed and developing nations. Energy policy makers all around the world are now paying great attention to harness the renewable energy as they have a duty to safeguard the environment thereby by restricting greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Both wind energy and hydropower are resources which are abundantly available all around the globe, the technology has been well advanced and proven technology, are having longest plant life and lowest operating cost and the plant life can be extended at minimal costs .This research essay will analyse the hydropower and wind energy capabilities of Australia and Bangladesh in an exhaustive manner and that of USA, China, Russia, Brazil and Venezuela in a crisp. 2-â€Å"What is Hydropower?† As of date, hydropower is the largest renewable-energy source and about 16% of the globe’s electricity needs is catered by the hydropower and hydropower occupies about 80% of the globe’s renewable-energy resource. For 90% of their electricity needs, about 25 countries in the globe are now relying on the hydropower. For example, about 99.3%... This essay stresses that Australian government has set a target of 20% of Australian electricity needs to be catered from the renewable- energy sources by the year 2020. As this is an ambitious target, this can be achieved by developing and harnessing more percentage of energies from hydropower and wind farms. Hydropower is environmental friendly as it creates no pollution and maintains the stream flow of the rivers and the ecological balance. With the help of micro hydropower projects, tiny villages and remote hilly areas can be given electricity through off-grid, which would definitely help to enhance the socioeconomic growth of these remote regions. This paper makes a conclusion that Hydropower as one of the renewable energy helps to avoid about 225 million tons of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere in the USA, and this is equivalent to taking about 42 million cars out of the American roads. According to satellite imagery , the pacific Northwest which is the home of the majority of the hydropower projects in USA is an island of low carbon emission, and this is conclusive proof that hydropower can reduce the CO2 emission into the atmosphere. Thus, renewable energy like wind energy and hydropower are the energies of the future and both Australian and Bangladesh government energy policy makers should give more priority in the near future to these sectors so as to afford a clean, economical and environmental friendly energy to its citizens.

To what extent was China a Buddhist country from the third to the Essay

To what extent was China a Buddhist country from the third to the sixth centuries (200-600) - Essay Example However, it is interesting to note that Buddhism has been able to gain acceptance in China despite the age-old philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism. This paper discusses the influence of Buddhism in Chinese society during the third and fifth centuries and argues that Buddhism became a definite characteristic of Chinese society during the third and fifth centuries. The Introduction of Buddhism in China Buddhism entered China at a time when China was experiencing a new period of prosperity and wealth. During the early decades of the third century, the Han Empire was consolidating its grip over the Chinese mainland. Wright (p. 9) explains that during this period, the Han elite had established its rule over the north and south of China. A new social order was being created. An intellectual process was taking place where thinkers were building a rational structure of the political and social changes taking place during Han rule. Confucian principles and values were blended with experie nces from reality to create a code of life. However, the gradual decline of the Han Empire resulted in a loss o favour with Han Confucianism as well as Daoism. In such an environment, Buddhism found a receptive audience among monks searching for a simpler and unadulterated code of life. Buddhist Influence in China’s Intellectual and Spiritual Life Buddhism gradually accommodated itself into the intellectual and spiritual life of the Chinese elite during the fourth century (Zurcher, p. 3). Zurcher (p. 3) further explains that because of the linguistic barrier between the original Buddhist texts in Sanskrit and the Chinese language, Buddhism in China assumed a distinct form compared to Buddhism in India. He also states that Buddhism was initially the interest of monks in the southern parts of the country and also among the well-to-do common population. Zurcher’s (p. 3) argument also reveals that Buddhism was eventually assimilated into the Chinese intellectual sphere ins tead of replacing Confucianism or Daoism. This, however, does not mean that the interest in Buddhism was restricted to the south of China. While Buddhism was finding a receptive audience in Jin-ruled southern China, Buddhist thoughts were also making an influence among the non-Chinese rulers of northern China (p. 4). However, it is interesting to note that the Chinese tendency to assimilate rather than supplant philosophies with earlier ones was prevalent in the north as well as the south, although Buddhist thought took different forms in both regions. In fact, because of the external threats to China from the north and the northwest, the development of Buddhist though in the north was more dynamic than the evolution of Gentry Buddhism in southern China (Zurcher, p. 3). This form of Buddhism was developed by Chinese monks and was accepted by the gentry or nobility in southern China as a means to high culture. The evolution of Buddhism in the north after the collapse of the Han dynas ty assumed a distinct direction but remained in favour of its widespread acceptance. The most significant development in this process was the introduction of the idea of the emperor as the incarnation of the Buddha (Reat, p. 141). The non-Chinese rulers of the northern part of the country adopted Buddhism as a means of legitimizing their rule. The old order based on Confucianism was no longer valid and there was need for a new belief system to give

Evaluate the social, cultural and political context of the Beatle's Essay

Evaluate the social, cultural and political context of the Beatle's WHITE ALBUM - Essay Example The hairstyle they wore in the first part of their musical career is normally known as the ‘beatle-hairstyle’ (Hecl 2006, p. 5). They also wore round-rimmed glasses, which are referred to as ‘lenonky’ in Czech Republic. It is the type of glasses, which their famous leader, John Lennon, used to wear through the last part of the group’s career and also afterwards. Allusions to their lives and songs are normally replicated in films and TV series and most likely, a number of individuals, who have learned English, have misspelled the phrase ‘beetle’ with an ‘a’ (Hecl 2006, p. 5). The Beatles are considered to have transcended pop music, which became an element of cultural history of the world then and today. In this thesis, I will dwell upon this legendary group as not just a musical, but a cultural phenomenon, as well. The paper will evaluate the social, cultural and political context of the Beatles White Album. In order to make the reader understand the full influence of this album, this paper will also explain their rise to fame against the background of their era and to confirm that their music had an extensive effect on culture generally both in and outside England. The legacy of the 60s has been undeniably very significant for the growth of culture and society in what is usually referred to as ‘civilised nations,’ and the transformations society went through make the 60s one of the most essential parts of the 20th century, as well as a milestone people have to pass by when they endeavour to study the years that came after (Hecl 2006, p. 6). The 60s were in lots of respects ground-breaking. The changes influenced not only the civilised nations (particularly Europe and the United States) but less developed countries in South America and Africa, as well (Keith 2009, p. 15). This paper, however, will dwell on the former. Thus, it is clear that the late 50s and 60s led to significant

Violence in Mass Media

Violence in Mass Media The debates about the violence in mass media are being held for few decades, but there is still no definite answer. The main question is the influence of violence on people through the mass media: television, cinema, video games and even literature is just full of violent elements. The problem of media violence is not going away, focusing on the culture of violence, whether this is a normal part of our life, or its what causes more aggression in our society. During the day people spend a lot of time in the internet, near the TV screens, playing video games, so the result of this on people is evident mass media really has a great influence on us. Every day on TV we see images of violence: death, injury, pain, sufferings, misery, wars and conflicts it is just impossible to name everything. Daily news shows us wars and conflicts from all over the world. Films, both for adults and children, also are full of violence : fighting, murders, abuse and so on. Even books and magazines doesnt stay apart, the same situation is with the internet. That is why so many people, like scientists and just ordinary people who are not indifferent, raise the question: if media violence affect people behavior and can cause the increase of violence in real-life? There are 2 points of view: some people blame media for too much violence and want to censor violent content to protect people, and especially children from its influence. Another people think that mass media just reflects the real life as it is, and that doesnt cause violence in society. Another important aspect of this problem is the influence of violence in media on children, as children are very sensitive and very susceptible to this violence. Now, when children have an unlimited access to various forms of media, there is a great concern for how they perceive and think about the violence they see, read or hear. Some experts, like professor L. Rowell Huesmann from the University of Michigan, argue that exposure to media violence causes children to behave more aggressively and affects them as adults years later. Others, like Jonathan Freedman from the University of Toronto says that the scientific evidence simply does not show that watching violence either produces violence in people, or desensitizes them to it. (L. R. Huesmann, Laramie D Taylor) During the last 50 years there were a lot of special researches concerning the influence of media on children. They show that American children between 6 and 18 years of age spend from 2 to 6 hours each day using different kinds of media: television, video, movies, video games, radio, music, computer and the Internet. (James Steyer) This is more time than they spend on any other activity, so most of the information they perceive during the day is from mass media. A large proportion of this media acts of violence in different forms. It has been estimated that by age 18, the average young person will have viewed 200 000 acts of violence on television alone. (L. R. Huesmann, Laramie D Taylor) Prolonged access to such media shows results in increased acceptance of violence as an appropriate means of solving problems and achieving ones goals, and that television, movies, and music videos normalize using weapons and show them as a source of personal power. (J. L.Freedman). Research has associated violence in media with a variety of physical and mental health problems with children and adults: aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, fear, depression, nightmares and sleep disturbances. More than 3500 research studies have examined the connection between media violence and violent behavior, and practically 80% of them showed a real connection. (L. R. Huesmann, Laramie D Taylor) So should children be exposed to the media because of violence? And how can we protect children from violence showed in the media? Should the violence in media be censored or left free? THE PROS A lot of journalists speak about the protection of the right to free speech. Joanne Cantor argues: Censorship is not the answer, but the right to free speech is aggressively used to protect commercial interests at the same time that the free speech rights of child advocates are stifled. (Joanne Cantor, 2002) The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression lists a number of reasons to protect media violence as a form of free expression: censorship isnt likely to solve the problems of violence in society decision about what is acceptable or not is always a subjective opinion each person can choose what to see or to hear, can choose the appropriate for him variant of media information a lot of books and films with elements of violence existed in the past and now are considered to be a good classics. A lot of free expression defenders say that that mass media is only one of a number of variables that effect people behavior. Psychologist Melanie Moore says: Fear, greed, power-hunger, rage: these are aspects that we try not to experience in our lives but often want, even need, to experience vicariously through stories of others. Children need violent entertainment in order to explore the inescapable feelings that theyve been taught to deny, and to reintegrate those feelings into a more whole, more complex, more resilient selfhood. (J. Steyer) Another people say that violence in media is only a method of artistic expression and a mean of showing the life as it is. Researchers R. Hodge and D. Tripp, for example, argue that: Media violence is qualitatively different from real violence: it is a natural signifier of conflict and difference, and without representations of conflict, art of the past and present would be seriously impoverished. (D. Grossman, G. Degaetano) THE CONTRAS But still most people agree that today we have too much violence in the mass media. It cant help influencing us anyway, because at list it makes us understand that the life is not so good as we want and that the world around us is just so cruel. Violence in media makes people feel disappointed and not optimistic. Television, movies, and video games are full of acts of violence , deaths, crimes. When a child sees a violent act, he thinks it a game and may try to react it in real life. According to recent research at the University of Wake Forest, which results are presented at the conference Academy of Pediatrics, the frequency of viewing violence on television is directly related to the number of fights and other forms of destructive behavior. The results of this study are consistent with previous numerous studies of Dr. Durante, who found a significant correlation between the violence depicted and the real violence among children and adolescents. Even if some people dont believe in the results of research, in my opinion even the risk of that violence in media and real life aggression are connected is enough to convince public and government to take necessary actions, as this question is a public issue. And so the state and public organizations intervention is of great importance as concerns the censorship. Anyway media constructs reality, and influences our views on race, gender, politics, and body image, in not good way of course. Conclusion In my view, today, it seems appropriate to conduct new studies that demonstrate the influence of violence on human psyche, especially on children and adolescents, taking into account the impacts of all the kinds of media. These findings should be communicated to the public in order to protect the younger generation of excessive and unjustified demonstrations of cruelty. In this regard, so relevant is the question raised by Plato in the IV century BC: How can we so easily assume that children are listened to and perceived the soul of what horrible myths invented by just anyone and for the most part contrary to the truths that are we believe should be with them when they grow up? .

The Problem With Teaching Creationism in the Science Classroom Essay

The creation stories in Genesis, though they tackle similar themes, have different points of view and focuses as to the fundamentals of the creation process. The first story centers on the process by which God creates the universe as a whole. In essence, He imposes order upon chaos: â€Å"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep† (Genesis 1:2, King James Version). From this raw state, He delineates different aspects of the cosmos from the night and day all the way down to man and woman. The second, on the other hand, fixates on the particulars of creating a world for humans to inhabit. Unlike the first story, man is created early in God's process after which vegetation and animals are formed, the former of which for man to take care of and the latter as an aid to man. Later, the narrative turns to philosophical matters, such as introducing the concept of good and evil, in addition to explaining such things as work and pain du ring childbirth. Such ideas are not present in the first story, which, as mentioned, takes less of an interest in the specific impact of mankind's presence in the world and more of one at the cosmic level. These stories find their roots in the cultures that surrounded the Hebrews at the time of their writing. They share motifs with other creation stories of the Near East. The flood account in The Epic of Gilgamesh, when compared with the flood narrative in Genesis, is often cited as an example of such a similarity between Genesis and other Near Eastern texts. However, the creation stories of the first two chapters of Genesis find links with other Near Eastern creation myths. The Enuma elish is a Near Eastern creation myth that contains a god who creates the... ...the Board's ID Policy violates the Establishment Clause† and that â€Å"ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents† (Kitzmiller v. Dover). Leaving aside all personal opinions about religion and issues of biblical scholarship, creationism in the science classrooms of public schools is just not legal. Whether it is right or not, it has no place there; the Constitution guarantees that. It is not a scientific theory; it is a religious belief whether it pretends to be otherwise or not. It has a place in the social sciences if any place at all, not the natural sciences. Works Cited "Kitzmiller v. Dover: Intelligent Design on Trial". National Center for Science Education. October 17, 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2015. Gabel, John B. and Charles B. Wheeler. The Bible as Literature: An Introduction. New York: Oxford U P, 1986.

Branch and Palm Trees Essay

It was raining, I didn’t like rain. In fact, I didn’t like any kind of weather. That was why I only left my house when I had to. I was just heading to my bed so I could relax and finish the book that I was currently reading, it was about†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦wait, I forgot the name†¦..it was something about a girl who volunteered for her little sister to fight to the death†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.wait! It was called The Hunger Games! Then It was all a blackout and I was sound asleep. I woke up to the sound of crashing waves and the taste of salt and sand grains in my mouth. I opened my eyes, and at first I thought I was dreaming. Somehow, after a while, I could tell it wasn’t a dream. It was real. All I could see was blue salt water crashing on the sand shore in front of me. I stood up and touched the water, it felt fairly warm so I could tell I was somewhere besides California (where I lived at the time). I look over the horizon to see only blue skies. This worries me. I am still in my pajamas that are yellow with green palm trees. I turn around and see a fairly sized island with mostly all palm trees packed together into groups. I start walking to the palm trees, my feelings to what has just happened were kind of jumbled and I was confused. I’m halfway to the closest palm tree when I hear the bushes on my left side rustling. It could be my imagination or it could be the ocean breeze. I didn’t know which. To my surprise, it was neither. I push aside the bush only to see a huge lizard lumber out. I shook that off and continued walking towards the palm trees again. I reach the edge and start walking in. The farther I went in the darker it would get because of the dense vegetation. I had nothing else to do, so I continued walking farther and farther in. I tried carving lines into every tree trunk I passed so I could possibly find my way back. Eventually I gave up on that (It was to much work). The sun was going down and now all I was thinking about was where I was going to sleep. I came up with the idea to make a cushion of some kind and then put it up in a stable tree branch. I took the most comfortable looking leaves, stacked them on top of each other and hoped for the best. I woke up in the morning dazed and I could feel the sun rays beaming across the side of my face and my shoulders. The sun is out, but it’s still freezing. I started looking around for food because my stomach was growling, and to my surprise there was a pile of mangos piled neatly at the foot of a tree trunk. At the moment, I wasn’t thinking about how they got there like that, I was thinking about how delicious they looked. I reach over, grab the best looking one I can find, and shove almost half of it in my mouth and I dropped the second half. There was a haggard looking man walking toward me with a knife pointed toward me. At first he was yelling at me saying things, like it took him 3 days to get the mangos. Then he was questioning me, asking, How did you get here? Where are you from? and what do you want? I told him that I didn’t know how I got here, I was from California, and all I wanted was to go home. He told me that if I was hungry he could provide me with some, but very little food. I thought it was better than nothing so I followed him. He stopped in front of a fairly sized hut made out of palm tree branches and bamboo sticks. It sure did look a lot better then the leaf ‘†bed† I made. He pushes aside the seaweed curtain and proceeded to lead me in. There is no kind of furniture, but I am not surprised. I sit down around the fire he had going. He walks back to the fire with a dead, skinned monkey on a stick. Doesn’t look very appetizing but it’s better than nothing. He holds over the fire and slowly turns it until it is done cooking. He rips off a leg and hands it to me. I reach for it reluctantly. Right away he bites down into the monkey. He must have been very hungry, but so am I. I bite down into the thigh and it tastes a lot better than I thought it would. I am alarmed by the sounds of a helicopter. I rush out to see that helicopter landing on the open beach. Once it had landed I ran toward the window and started banging on it. All I wanted to do was return home. After a while of speaking to the men from the helicopter they told me they actually weren’t looking for me but for the haggard man I was with. He had been on that Island for 4 years! Then they tell me that they will only have room for him. They say that they will have to come back for me later. But how much later? Great.