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art in the twenty-first century the series the artists education events discuss

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Ritual & Commemoration

detail of Smith's "Born"
Lesson 1— Re-Making Myths
above: sculpture by Smith
detail of Lin's "Vietnam Veterans Memorial"
Lesson 2—Honoring Heroes
above: memorial by Lin
detail of Orozco's "Ping Pond Table"
Lesson 3—New Rituals...
above: sculpture by Orozco
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Memory is what links the present to the past. Commemoration through public monuments, oral histories, musical tributes, and memorials are outlets for understanding and appreciating the events of the past in an effort to better understand the events that occur in the present. In making these events or people tangible, art can provide a critical forum in which to explore the stories we tell about ourselves, those around us, and those who came before us. These collective stories also suggest the things we have lost as a society and the things we desire. The lessons in this topic explore cultural identities and storytelling.
Online Resources:
Ritual & Commemoration


Examples of Art Depicting Mythological Subjects
http://www.louvre.fr/anglais/collec/ager/br0104/ager_f.htm
  “Minotaur” late 8th Century BCE
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/
  “Statuette of a man and centaur” 750 BCE
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o15050.html
  “Cult Statue of Aphrodite" 425-400 BCE
http://www.louvre.fr/anglais/collec/ager/ma0399/ager_f.htm
  “Aphrodite, known as Venus de Milo” 100 BCE
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_3_1_9b.html
  Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Venus and Cupid” 1509
http://www.thais.it/scultura/image/media/sch00150.jpg
  Michelangelo, “Bachus” 1496-97
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_3_1f.html
  Titian, “Danae” 1546-53
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_3_1_3c.html
  Peter Paul Rubens “Bachus” 1638-40
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_3_1_6c.html
  Sir Reynolds, “The Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpents” 1786-88
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/
  Gustave Moreau, “Oedipus and the Sphinx” 1864
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/
  Giorgio de Chirico, “Ariadne” 1913


The following Web sites are cited in the individual lesson plans:

Myths and Mythology
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~eslinger/myth/bibMyth.html
  The ecology of myth
http://www.loggia.com/myth/myth.html
  Greek, Roman and Celtic Mythology
http://www.mindspring.com/~jadox/Mythology_and_Folklore.html
  Arthurian Legend to modern Mythology

Commemorative Memorials and Monuments
http://www.noguchi.org/frampton.html
  Isamu Noguchi - “Sculpture in Commemorative Landscape
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/publications.burghers.htm
  Rodin’s commemorative sculpture
http://www.geocities.com/jphistoricalsociety/civil-war-monument.html
  Civil War Monument
http://www.cr.nps.gov/worldheritage/liberty.htm
  Vietnam Memorial Wall
http://www.nps.gov/wamo/home.htm
  Washington Monument

Commemorative Songs
http://www.miketodd.net/encyc/anthem.htm
  The National Anthem
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm019.html
  God Bless America

Ritual Objects in Art
http://www.tibetart.com/search/set.cfm?setID=539
  Himalayan Art
http://www.asianart.com/exhibitions/nies02/
  Asian Art
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/collection_types/w212-1.html
  Religious and Ritual objects, The Getty Museum
http://www.jewishmuseum.net/Permanent/Ritual_Objects.htm
  Ritual Objects from the Jewish tradition, The Jewish Museum

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