Art History, Threats Affecting Arts, and Construction of Megalithic Architecture

Art History
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Part A
Art refers to a range of human activities to create unique visual objects, auditory and performed artworks that express the artists' technical or imaginative skills. The creations are often intended to be appreciated for their aesthetic values. History is associated with past events. In these cases, art history is related to studying art objects within certain periods when they were created. It entails analyzing and interpreting individual art objects outside play and time, and the art's historical affiliation based on the cultural context during its creation and the artist's intention when creating it. According to the textbook's content, art historians analyze and interpret the meaning of arts based on their creation period and their contemporary meaning, which is dynamic based on the dynamism in time. This means that art created in 2500BC may not hold the same meaning in contemporary society due to cultural change. For example, a sculpture in the 17th century may have been created consisting of flowers and jewels in their structure and composition. The art might have been created out of fiction, but the presence of jewels and flowers in it shows that their existence date back to at least the 17th century and that they (flowers and jewels) had great aesthetic and political value. Therefore, the values of the jewels and flowers are not time-bound because they were significant during the creation of the art as they are in the contemporary world.
Artworks encounter several natural threats, including mudslides, floods, earthquakes, and human hazards, including damages caused when rebuilding worn-out arts and acts of war. Arts are stored for current and future aesthetic use. This means they stay for long and need to overcome challenges along the storage period. Mudslides, floods, and hurricanes come with a high magnitude that disintegrates artwork. These natural threats are caused by water which sweeps everything they meet on their way. Earthquakes have a similar effect on art as mudslides, floods, and hurricanes. They shake the crust sending their effects to objects on the earth's surface. For instance, an earthquake shook Assisi, an Italian town, on September 27, 1997, destroying the wall paintings in the 13th-century Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi (Stokstad & Cothren, 2003). That earthquake destroyed the art disintegrating the Frescos from the vaults falling to the ground. Experts have since restored the destroyed walls, and visiting tourists do not notice that the walls were not originally created by the initial artist.
Human threats are among the most rampant affecting artwork in contemporary society. People preserving the art often feel responsible for ensuring the art is lived long. In the process, they may decide to repair worn-out parts and rebuild those beyond repair. Although this is in good faith, art loses its original aesthetic values meaning tourists may not experience the original aesthetic taste of the artwork. For instance, the contemporary world attaches much value to gold and would be tempted to reinforce artwork with gold in a bid to store them for long. This changes the original and ...