Shannon E. Barry
AAD 630
Research Methodology
3/14/2015
Final Assignment
Research Proposal:
Arts Management in Ancient Cultures
Introduction:
My research interests are historical in nature. I studied history, particularly ancient history at UC Davis. This strongly influences my interests and point of view. I have formulated a fairly strong idea of what I want to research for my graduate capstone project. By choosing a capstone, instead of a group project or a thesis approach, my approach is narrowed. My idea, though it is still a work in progress is to study ‘arts management’ in ancient cultures. One idea is to study (comparing and contrasting) ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome. I need to narrow down time periods within each culture. I have begun concentrating on Middle or Old Kingdom Egypt, Augustan Rome, and a classical period (yet to be determined) in Greece. I will also likely need to limit my research to a city or a region within each culture. My main goal is to compare and contrast what types of art were created, and how art was treated and managed in these cultures. All three have overlaps, but there are vast difference in their basic civilizations, that the way they created art, curated art, and defined art, may vary.
The other way to do this research, in a more narrowed way, would be to look at one culture. To do this, I would pick either ancient Egypt, Greece, or Rome. Once focused on one civilization, I would then look at what constituted arts management, and how it changed and evolved in the duration of that culture. Each of these cultures had distinct cultural periods and how they treated and created art would evolve over time.
More than halfway through the Research Methodology class my research interest has possibly taken a turn. Though my focus is still to research ‘arts management’ in ancient cultures, I have shifted from Mediterranean cultures to Celtic civilization. I have more of a personal connection to this subject, and there is less knowledge on this topic. I have already begun to delve into the topic. While there is plenty of literature on Celtic art, it is less highlighted than any work on the famous ancient Mediterranean cultures.
My main research question will be: What constituted ‘arts management’ in ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome? OR What was ‘arts management’ in _____________ (Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, or Celtic culture) over various time periods? The following are the other questions I will use to frame my capstone project:
- What types of disciplines or works did they consider to be art?
- How was this art curated?
- Was art shown privately or publically?
- How was this art funded?
- Which types of art were considered high class and which were considered low class?
- How were artists treated in these societies/eras?
- What changed over time in these styles of ‘arts management’?
These questions are intentionally vague, and will become more specific once I have concretely chosen my topic. All of these questions need to be answered for each civilization/time period to show how they were similar or divergent from each other.
The term ‘arts management’ is a modern one. It was not used in these ancient cultures. This is an important distinction and the term needs to be identified in my research so it can be applied to the civilizations. To me, and for this project, ‘arts management’ is how art was created, how it was curated, how it was shown, how it was funded, who created the art, and what was defined as art. This definition will be more finite within each civilization (and possibly time period).
Literature Review:
Source 1:
The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, is going to be a very important source for my research. It is a collection of knowledge about all parts of ancient Egyptian history. In its 512 pages it covers chronology, history, religion, art, everyday life, science and technology, and writing. Of most interest to me is the Art section of the book. The art section is not broken into time periods, but in types of art. These include: painters and paintings, relief-carving techniques, stelae (books of stone), royal statuary, coffins and sarcophagi, the magic of jewels, ceramics, funerary masks, furniture for the afterlife, building the pyramids, the chapter also has sections on specific temples and pieces of art. These case studies on particular pieces of art provide deeper insight into certain statues, temples, and carvings. Simply looking at the basic categories also points out what most of the art was created for; the afterlife. In Egypt, death, and life after death was almost more important than the present. Ancient Egyptians spent their entire lives preparing for the afterlife, and this included creating art.
This book contributes much to my personal understanding of ancient Egypt and its art. While it goes over many kinds of art and how they were created, it also gives a basic explanation of why these artistic practices were important to daily life.
Source 2:
Akhenaten and Nefertiti, is a book that focuses on the period that the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti ruled. This period is vastly different from other eras in ancient Egypt. The religion was changed from polytheistic to monotheistic, and the art differed drastically from all other ears.
The book has an introduction titled ‘The Amarna Revolution.’ For the changes instituted in the period were truly revolutionary, and completely changed the culture of the time. The book focuses on certain types of art to show the change. These chapters include information on: monuments of the rules, the development of the Amarna Style (Early period and Late period), iconography, the character of Amarna art. The art of this period helped to define its uniqueness. The Amarna style was vastly realistic and showed different scenes than previously depicted in royal courts. This was not only an artistic revolution, but a cultural and religious one. The art reflects this. It is also important to note that after the death of Akhenaten, his religion, his art, and even his name were wiped out. Evidence survives, but this shows how reviled he became for challenging all norms of Egyptian life. The book contributes this information to my project, illustrating how important art was to all aspects of Egyptian life.
Source 3:
Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Centuries B.C., covers a very specific time period in Greece. Though I have yet to narrow down the time period I want to cover for ancient Greece. This book will provide a wonderful background and perspective for my research.
This book is a wealth of information. It is divided into two parts. The first is ‘The Third Century,’ and the second is ‘The Last Two Centuries.’ Part one is divided into chapters that include: The Alexandrian Renaissance, The Museum, Geography and Chronology in the Third Century (Eratosthenes of Cyrene), Physics and Technology in the Third Century, Library Philosophy and Religion, and Knowledge of the Past in the Third Century.
Part Two of the book is divided into similar categories. Like Part one, it has specific examples as well. By just looking at the full titles of chapters, it is evident that the book spans Greek culture in certain time periods, and all over the Mediterranean world where Greek culture spread. Greek civilization influenced many people all over the area. This shows the overlap that would come to light when studying the ancient cultures that grew up near the Mediterranean.
Source 4:
A History of Roman Art is a textbook. It covers all of the basic knowledge about Rome from the Monarchy and Republic period to the era of Constantine and Christian Rome. I am most interested in a handful of chapters that cover the Augustan period and the Empire that directly followed him. These chapters are: The Augustan Principate, Preparing for the Afterlife during the Early Empire, The Pax Augusta in the West, and The Julio-Claudian Dynasty. The chapters cover subjects such as everyday life, religion, sports, government, and art. This is a very broad view of Roman history. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the time period and civilization.
Source 5:
Celtic Art, a book sponsored by the British Museum, covers the various arts that arise in the context of Celtic culture prior to the Roman conquest. The book is less focused on history, and more focused on the history of how these objects were found, studied, and created. The chapters of the book includes: Metalworking Techniques, Art Styles, Dress and Jewelry, Weapons and Armor, and Ritual. Again, the book emphasizes how the art objects were created, where they were found and what we can learn by looking at techniques. The book is full of pictures and acknowledges that certain artifacts, even household goods and items used in war, are art not just mundane everyday items.
Each of these sources provide not only basic information on the art but how art was useful to society, how it was created and how it was important to daily or ritual life. This ties directly into its importance and into the management of such arts.
Methodological Design and Discussion:
The research methods that I plan to utilize are all types of analysis. Document Analysis will be my main way to process information. Document analysis is the “collection review, interrogation and analysis of various forms of written text as a primary source of research data” (O’Leary, 250). In this technique I will have to be wary of author bias. The other thing I need to be aware of is the credibility of my sources, differentiating between facts and opinions will be vastly important. Another technique I will use is historical analysis. This is the “collection, review, interrogation and analysis of various forms of data in order to establish facts and draw conclusions about past events” (O’Leary, 252). The definition is basically the same as that document analysis, the main difference being that “various forms of data” will be used. One of the other research methods I will use is cultural artifact analysis, which is the “collection, review, interrogation and analysis of various human-made objects in order to ascertain information about the culture of the objects’ creator(s) and users” (O’Leary, 253). All of these techniques will help me to review primary documents, histories and anthologies, new theories, and actual pieces of art and architecture from the various cultures I want to study.
Tool for Method 1:
For a typical document analysis for this project, I would find a book, whether new or old from the University of Oregon library. I prefer to have a physical copy than finding just one chapter online. I like to skim the whole book, even if only one section is of interest to my project. It vastly helps to do this to make sure you understand the point of view of the author, and to get background information. After, I would go to my area of interest in the book and read the whole relevant section of text, while taking notes. The next step would be to go back and record more specific and detailed notes. I have used document analysis many times, and I am very comfortable using this to obtain material and evidence for my capstone project.
This is a method I can use to obtain small details and larger views. For document analysis I will use both scholarly articles, books, and primary documents. This will be my main way to collect the information needed for this capstone.
Tool for Method 2:
The second method that will be used for information collection is historical analysis. This is very similar to document analysis, but it looks at various sources rather than just using documents. Possible resources that can be used for this method include looking at photos, primary documents, travel writings (still historical in nature), inventory lists, and blueprints of buildings or cities. This tactic will be used to get more context on the art and the culture surrounding it.
Tool for Method 3:
The third method is cultural artifact analysis. During the poster session, this was seen as a problem to one professor. But, I think it is necessary for this project. Looking at pieces of art, architecture, where art was found, and if art was grouped together when discovered, gives a vast amount of information. This includes how the art was shown, how it was taken care of, and the context of their placement in a building. If a statue was found in the open parts of a public temple, then it had a particular purpose and reason for being displayed publically for all to see. If a statue was found inside of a private house, or in the sacred space of a temple, then it was meant for few to see and likely had symbolic meaning or value.
Possible Issues:
There are many things I need to consider with this research. First and foremost is picking a topic! All three options are ones that I would love to research, and could spend a lifetime working on. Looking at one culture (whether that be ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, or Celtic civilization) to look at more in depth, is an appealing possibility. Delving into one culture, and spending all of my research time looking at how ‘arts management’ evolved and changed over time periods, different rulers, economic periods, and cultural shifts would be fascinating. But, I have been leaning towards my first and original option: to take snapshots from two or three of the ancient Mediterranean societies, and compare and contrast them. This more inclusive, but likely less in depth, intrigues me as I can get the chance to learn about various societies, their art, and their history. The one idea that is keeping me from making a decision, is studying Celtic culture for this capstone. I have a very strong Irish heritage, and it feels like a more unique project than picking the already very famous and studied Mediterranean cultures.
My other problem revolves around scaling the project. For each of my possible topics I need to limit my research by picking time periods. The issue then turns into picking relevant and appropriate time periods for the project. If I pick my original idea, I would need to pick eras that do not all overlap, the cultures all influenced each other, so choosing varying time periods make it more specific studies of each civilization when it was more isolated or unique. Then, when picking just one culture, I will still have to pick years to focus on. For ancient Egypt, I would want to go over each kingdom period (Old, Middle, and New) and emphasize the changes between the periods and any outlying styles (i.e.: the Amarna Revolution). Within Celtic civilization I would study from the early Bronze Age to the Book of Kells period. This way the research would cover the beginnings of artistic movements, roman conquest, and the influence of Christianity. Looking at the evolution over time would be the main way of framing this particular capstone.
Why this topic?
I know that this research does not address a problem in current arts management. It is purely a gap in knowledge. I also know that this research may not exactly help me get a job in the United States. But, it is a topic and a discipline (history) that I am passionate about. Learning about history and ‘arts management’ in the cultures I have always had interest in is the best project I could do, because I want to do it, and it will be fun, even with all of the hard work.
Bibliography:
- Aldred Cyril. (1973). Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The Brooklyn Museum in Association with The Viking Press, New York.
- Kleiner, Fred S. (2007). A History of Roman Art. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States: Thomson Wadsworth.
- O’Leary, Zina. (2014). The Essential Guide to Doing Your Research Project. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC. Sage Publications Ltd.
- Sarton, George. (1959, 1987). Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Centuries B.C. New York: Dover Publications, INC.
- Stead, Ian. (1996). Celtic Art; In Britain Before the Roman Conquest. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. British Museum.
- Strudwick, Helen (Ed.). (2006). The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. London: Amber Books Limited, De Agostini UK Ltd.