8-3 PROJECT- Short Answer Responses: Why you believe humans have a need to express themselves through created artifacts?

8-3 PROJECT- Short Answer Responses
Name Course
HUM 100 Project
Southern New Hampshire UniversityInstructor Date
I. Explain why you believe humans have a need to express themselves through created artifacts.
Artifacts are objects created to fulfill a function and the creator's intentions are clearer if there is a cultural aspect, but sometimes it is merely the creators’ free expression of the ideas. Additionally, artifacts tend to have a historical function and can tell how a community lived and their social relations. For example, the tombs of rulers under the Silla kingdom in Korea had artifacts that signified the rulers’ power and wealth. Archaeologists often study cultural artifacts, their purpose, and the material to better understand the culture and the past. Creators create what they understand and many represent cultures in their work, but the audience may have different interpretations of their works. Creators express themselves through artifacts and while they may focus on universal human experience some focus on certain cultures and sub-cultures that are unique and specific to their cultural experiences. There are visual representations of the preferred subjects as shown in the objects, but the meaning of the objects may change over time for people in a different era and socio-cultural context.
* Explain the larger human need to express using the insights you gained from studying your artifact.
My chosen artifact is the African comb, which is an accessory that has cultural meaning and different people in Africa use the comb including wooden carved combs that symbolized beauty for women combs have unique carvings depending on the people that use them, but more carves are mostly plastic or metallic. Combs are essential for hairstyling and combing and some adorn their hair with a comb. Among the Akan of West Africa, wooden carved combs were often given to women as gifts during a marriage ceremony and even signified wealth or status (deco art Africa, n.d.). The more elaborate combs were also gifts that commemorated different special events and the iconography of the artifact often reflects the reason behind its creation. Studying the artifact provides insights into various cultures that created combs in Africa and the role and significance of these objects in their lives.
b) Detail how a person and/or concept encountered in this course has informed your explanation.
The course has helped me to look more into context to understand the role and place of artifacts during certain periods as different art forms serve different purposes. Studying art, literature, and philosophy helps to understand how cultural development has evolved and why people choose to express their cultures through certain forms of art. Culture influences the representation of art objects and certain artistic styles are people are specific periods and this partly depends on the materials available and the art that is appreciated the most. There are African communities that focused on more elaborate hairstyles that symbolize the ideal feminine beauty in these communities. Contemporary manifestations of African hair culture affect both the past and the present. There is a close link between hair and identity as there are...