Striving Towards Perfection: The Sistine Chapel “Creation of Adam” (1511)

Striving Towards Perfection- An Introduction

Art is a means of expressing one's emotions. Whether it be through sculpting, painting, or designing, a work of art can convey a strong message that may reflect upon the opinions of a generation of people. As time continues, the human race's perception of what is considered to be perfect changes as the world evolves around us. Dating back to the Classical Period of Greece up until modern day, this blog observes the human race's approach at achieving perfection through exploring art such as the Parthenon, The Discus Thrower by Myron, "The Creation of Adam" on the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, Piet Mondrian's "Broadway Boogie Woogie", and designs by Bauhaus. Essential questions that readers should keep in mind while exploring the blog include: How does one's perception of perfection change? What can be inferred about the people of each time era based upon their views of what perfection is?

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Sistine Chapel “Creation of Adam” (1511)

“The Creation of Adam,” by Michelangelo is part of a series of paintings that were painted onto the roof of the Sistine Chapel in 1511. Michelangelo was commissioned to paint 12,000 square feet by the Pope of Rome. This specific portion of the ceiling illustrates the Biblical story of the birth of Adam from the Book of Genesis. Famous painters before Michelangelo have painted the same picture of a naked Adam sparked to life by the magical touch of God however no one has come close to portraying the “greatness of the mystery of creation with such simplicity and force” (Phaidon).
An anatomical theory from The Journal of the American Medical Association states that God and the angels behind him form the shape of the human brain which can be seen as God is part of Adam’s imagination and only exists in his mind. Furthermore, the green cloth hanging below God can be seen as a freshly cut umbilical cord(Wikipedia, The Creation of Adam). The umbilical cord can be seen as a symbol of the birth of Adam, or the birth human kind.

“God's right arm is outstretched to impart the spark of life from his own finger into that of Adam, whose left arm is extended in a pose mirroring God's, a reminder that man is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26)”(Wikipedia, The Creation of Adam). At the time the project was commissioned, the church was the most powerful institution in the world and the vastness of the Sistine Chapel served as a constant reminder of the power of religion. An important point is that God is placed higher than Adam because God is seen as the most perfect being and Adam shows his longing to be perfect and for closeness to God by the direction of his eyes and arm which are reaching towards God. Because Adam is the “father of human kind”, paintings such as this one, give people the hope of striving towards godliness. In essence, by having a deep understand of religion and God, one is coming close to achieving God’s perfection.(Museum)

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Extra Element: Sounds of Nature

Link: Image vs. Substance: Perceptions of Beauty

In Avery Ponce's Image vs. Substance: Perceptions of Beauty, she states "Our perceptions of an ideal and beautiful person have changed dramatically throughout the centuries." In Avery's blog, one of her main ideas is how the perception of perfection in females has changed throughout time based upon the cultural and historical background of the time period. Such examples are portrayed in Queen Marie Antoinette by Adolf Ulrich Wertmuller and Andy Warhol's rendition of Elizabeth Taylor. " Wertmüller’s Queen Marie Antoinette perfectly depicts the idea of beauty in eighteenth-century French society (PBS). Beauty was measured by material means; wealth, clothing, looks, and social class" (Ponce). Additionally, in Warhol's painting, he focused on the culture of the 1960 and "

the message it was portraying; that beauty was reduced to sex appeal" (Ponce). Avery brings about the idea that oftentimes society creates an idea of what perfection is; however, oftentimes this image is unattainable and "unrealistic", as she states. This "unrealistic" ideal is also displayed on my blog with the Ancient Greek's portrayal of the ideal male form in The Discus Thrower and additionally in Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. Both male figures are depicted with broad shoulders and perfect, lean muscles that are realistically almost unobtainable. Consider this question: Why does society find the need to continuously create false images of commonly unobtainable beauty that are misleading? This false image is part of the reason behind the large amount of female consumption of beauty products in an effort to chase after the idea of “Striving for Perfection”.

http://beautyovertime.blogspot.com/

Link: Narcissism in Art

In Madison Henn's Narcissism in Art, she talks about the human obsession with self image and self importance over the centuries. "People feel a connection with others when they feel that others care about how they look, what they are doing, and how they feel" (Henn). The main connection between Striving Towards Perfection and Narcissism in Art is both themes have to do with human awareness of self-image and the constant need to achieve or be perfection. However on one hand, Narcissism is Art is about those who believe that they are perfection, therefore narcissists; whereas, the works of art featured in Striving Towards Perfection shows multiple attempts of achieving perfection. For example, in Caravaggio's Narcissus "Caravaggio utilizes body positions to demonstrate Narcissus’s admiration for himself: he is leaning his body and tilting his head toward the pond in a loving manner almost as if he is trying to kiss the reflection. Additionally, his left hand seems to be in the water, which shows him trying to touch the image in the water in an attempt to get closer to his “love" (Henn). Consider this question: Why have humans, specifically females, been and are so obsessed with self image? Back in the 1600s when all a woman can aspire for was beauty, women were conscious about their images; however nowadays in a world where women are offered limitless opportunities, we still dwell on the idea of achieving physical perfection. Why is this?
http://madison-narcissisminart.blogspot.com/