Video Review

1. I chose this video because I was curious what legacy they were going to be discussing.
Legacy of Oppression:
The color white represents the spirits of the dead. The artists of central Africa glorified the motherness of their mothers and centralized glorified objects. They thought everyday objects had magical powers.  Forces from the land of the dead were totems of the dead which would be considered a mask. The black side of the mask is considered one of illness and was used for people to be scared and treat their elders and the handicap with respect. Masks were also used to intimate enemies in battle however; they soon realized that it would not protect them from bullets.

I chose this video because when I think of African art I think of colorful creative artwork and wanted to know more about it.
African Art: Art is an integral part of everyday life in Africa. Art has contributed to dress, hairstyles, and other forms of ornamentation. It also carries on traditional African rituals, statues, masks and other objects. Art was drawn to represent spirits of animal and rituals have been held for funerals. Egyptian art and lifestyle spread to southern Africa. African art is conceptual. Masks and sculptures were not meant to represent a person but to conjure spirits.

I chose this video because I am not knowledgeable on Buddhism.
Buddhism: Buddhism began in India. The Mohabodhi Temple is the largest Buddha shrine in the world. Bodh Gaya was a sacred city for Buddhism. Buddha wanted to share his enlightenment so founded the religion. However, Buddhism split into two groups after Buddha's death. The hinyana-individuals who wanted to cross to nirvana in a boat they built and rowed them self and
manyana-those who wanted to seek companions and wait for ferry to cross to nirvana. Sanchi is a center of Buddhist art and architecture.

I chose this video because I also am not fully informed of Hinduism and their traditions of art.
Hinduism: Varanasi is the holiest city of India. The river or Ganges is the symbol of life, death and rebirth. Hindus bath in the river to pray to god.”Aarti” is a ceremony where the Hindus honor Brahma and say that she is everything and they are nothing and all they can offer is a simple light that will be blown out. Many pilgrims want to die in the Varanasi because they believe they will skip the reincarnation process and go straight to heaven. There are many ways to Brahma and sex represents the creative life of Brahma.
2. The videos relate to the reading of the text because they discussed art and different cultures in which it represented. It also provided examples of art in both the text and videos  about African Art.
3. The videos help me understand culture in a variety of ways. Just watching the daily routine and life cycle of different cultures is very interesting to see how we differ. I like seeing visual examples of art and masks and how they are made. I am more of a visual learner.