Author: Noah Brooks (Page 3 of 3)

In class on Tuesday, we discussed how the middle ages are defined by what came before and what came after. I was intrigued by the history of the name goth, originating from different tribes as well as the history of barbarians (Vandals, Huns, Vikings, etc.) In addition, we talked about the idea of progressiveness and perspective. It was interesting to think of the idea that progression does not truly exist since saying one thing is better than another is about the perception of the individual. I agree that it is unfair to judge something on progression since nothing is teleological in life. I am excited to revisit our discussion of the art museum as I felt connected with my Italian heritage via some of the art.

After visiting the art museum, I resonated with our previous discussion about how museums are similar to holy places. The atmosphere was calming and quiet, reminding me heavily of visiting synagogue with my father on Saturday mornings. In terms of the organization, I found that the majority of the pieces were organized by location, date created, and classification. For example, I looked at Greek and Italian dating back to 2between the 4th and 6th Century. Amazingly, the characteristics of this art were very similar in terms of the craftsmanship of the handles and overall structure. I was especially impressed with the sculptures from 14-16th century Italy. After reading last night’s text, I was intrigued by the detail in such work, especially, due to the lack of technology used in creating such fine work.

One of the most interesting takeaways I had from our class was the comparison between museums and holy locations (Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, etc.) Growing up Jewish, I felt a specific connection to this aspect as silence is a ritual that demonstrates respect and helps to appreciate beauty, similar to the intended observation of a piece of art. Additionally, I appreciated the in depth look we took at the meaning of the word renaissance. Professor Plesch pointed out that sometimes, obvious meaning is hard to see, however, after discussing that the word renaissance did not just mean rebirth, but also that something had died, I found a sense of clarity with the work we discussed. I look forward to continuing to dive into such meaningful work going forward.