Video Reflection: Greek Sculpture, How Art Made the World

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Video Reflection: Visual and Performing Arts
1 Greek Sculpture (BBC- How Art Made the World)
The video, Greek Sculpture (Henri n.p.) illustrates how the Greeks used Egyptians’ rigid-style of art to develop an artistic style that could present the human body with almost every detail of the actual human body. The new Greeks style progressively developed, with each step including more details similar to that of an ideal human body. The perfections included those of actual human eyes to even a perfect copy of real human torsos. It was a great innovation because the art represented a perfect image created by the man about himself. However, most people found it very obvious, and thus boring. As a result, artists decided to create something more exciting for the viewers. They, therefore, came up with the concept of exaggeration. It is an art concept meant to enhance the physical potential of human beings. Such exaggerations are overwhelming to the audiences and they are more attractive than the perfect art image of the human body. It is an art evolution created to please the viewer's rather than to fulfill the perceptions of an artist about the human body.
2 Optical tricks of the Parthenon
One of the main elements of art is the aspect of perspective. In the video, Optical tricks of the Parthenon (PBS. n.p.) the basis into the development of the art of perspective in ancient Greece is presented. According to the video, the construction of the Parthenon was inspired by the Temple of Demeters. The temple was constructed 100 years before the Parthenon. Unlike the Parthenon, which was made of marble, the Temple of Demeters was mainly constructed with stone and it had several elements of optical illusion. The foundation and pillars of the temple were curved with few perfect right angles. The curves and imperfect right angles were meant to create mental judgment about distance and relative design. It was a method of the designers to interfere with viewers’ perception about distance, depth, and perspective. Optical illusions were intended to enhance the design and beauty of art created by the Greeks and it led to such great works suc...