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Art In American Culture

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Art from the past can depict and influence culture in a variety of ways, and can still be seen in our own culture today. At times, we might often wonder how a tradition or ritual had originally started, but never actually retrieve many answers. Fortunately, art from centuries ago could help us trace the clues to how things began. The things that we see and use nowadays could have easily be connected to the past as a sacred relic or a powerful symbol. Though we may not know it, we could very well be using some of the same customs that many have used in the past, but in our own modern way. Regardless of when it was made or where it was originated, art can take on different forms, but still hold some of the same meaning it had had from many years …show more content…
Though it seems like a melancholy occasion to most of us these days, they were considered as celebrations in the Senufo culture. Not much has changed in our current society, but when I had learned that rhythm pounders were used in the same way that flowers are used on caskets today, it peaked my interest on how similar the two practices are. When we participate in these ordeals, we’re using our own customs to pay our respects, much like other cultures have done for centuries. Thinking about that, I came to understand how the Rhythm Pounder plays a subtle role into what we do at funerals today. In the Senufo culture, art was seen as a passageway from “elder to ancestor”, and therefore symbolized the respect that the people had for their lost one (Blier, 1981). As mentioned previously, two rhythm pounders were lain on top of corpses to honor them. Today, we would often place decorative flowers on or in a funeral casket to honor the deceased. It may be a small comparison, but the similarities between the pounders and the flowers actually branches into several categories. As I’ve stated, rhythm pounders had several other functions, but they all had something to do with honoring or respecting elders and ancestors (Reif, 1995). Thinking about this, decorative flowers also have several different meanings depending on …show more content…
The research on this object has given me a small glimpse of how much art can persuade anything at all. Rhythm pounders had an important role to play when it came to honoring and respecting people from that time regardless of the occasion, which manifests itself today as offering a symbol of love in some kind of way today. Though the comparison of the two subjects didn’t seem like much at first, I learned about how the art back then still correlates to what we know now. Though the culture may be lost to some, I think that the way our modern cultures have “evolved” from generation to generation is intriguing, considering that some of us do not know where certain rituals and practices had originated from. Whether the art was a wooden statue built to respect an elder, or a bundle of flowers placed to respect the fallen, I believe that the art from the Senufo culture has broadened my horizon of how things could still have the same impact in the world even over the span of ages. Art shows its importance in many ways regarding cultures and how they change over time. There are many other forms of art in the Senufo culture, but I felt that this particular piece stood out to me the most. Looking back at it now, it makes you wonder what other customs these artworks have influenced. Exploring this culture gave me a fuller understanding of why things are the way they are. They may

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