Text: Seige of Osaka Castle, commissioned by Kuroda Nagamasa in the 17th century. The daimyo Kuroda Nagamasa had painters brought to the seige and their work is based on their first-hand experience. The group of artists had a much closer view of the incident than later historians. This close view, Read more…
Text: Hayama, Hiroshi. Man in a Traditional Minobashi Raincoat, Niigata Prefecture. 1956. What ways can a contemporary artist use the above photo to acquire knowledge that are unavailable to a historian? Is this artistic freedom beneficial or not when it comes to creating or gaining knowledge?
Arnold Genthe was a German photographer who took the photo below during a trip to Japan in the late Meiji era. A photographer such as Genthe has the freedom to manipulate a subject, camera settings, composition, framing, etc. to convey whatever ideas he / she wants. A historian, however, has Read more…
Text: “Japan’s Anti Nuclear Street Art” Espionart. https://espionart.com/2015/01/20/featured-artist-281-anti-nuke/ The graffiti artist 281 Anti Nuke starting posting artwork critical of the government and of TEPCO (the company responsible for the nuclear power plants) not long after the earthquake and subsequent disaster. One of the freedoms that an artist has is time. Read more…
Text: Art News. “The Largest Cave Drawings in North America Have Been Found in Alabama.” https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/cave-drawings-spirits-archaeology-1234627524/ Extract: “The largest cave drawings in North America have been discovered in Alabama, according to a study by Jan F. Simek, Stephen Alvarez, and Alan Cressler in the archaeology journal Antiquities. The five large figures discovered include three Read more…
The following piece of art by Kaori Wakamatsu is an example of a piece of art that is not tied to a specific historical individual person or event. It does, however, make of use elements from Japan’s history and it is an interpretation of the past. To what extent does Read more…
Text: “Vikta Kempner.” Rejected Princesses. https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/vitka-kempner The story of Vikta Kempner is told quite briefly on the Rejected Princesses website. The artist clearly has the freedom to tell her story in a way that a historian does not. What are the benefits and drawbacks of this “comic-style” approach to history?
6. If the artist has freedom to interpret past events in ways that are denied to the historian, is this an asset or an obstacle to our understanding of the past? Discuss with reference to the arts and history. November 2022 TOK prescribed title #6 is a bit more prescriptive Read more…
Text: Nyasha Chingono. “‘These are our local heroes’: the artist painting murals of hope in a Zimbabwe township.” https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/mar/07/these-are-our-local-heroes-the-artist-painting-murals-of-hope-in-a-zimbabwe-township Extract: “Street artist Basil Matsika paints murals of local musicians and daily life in the streets of Mbare, one of Zimbabwe’s oldest townships, in the capital Harare. With his brush and Read more…