ART is EXPRESSION

SCULPTURE

Art is the expression of creativity or imagination. The word art comes from the Latin word ars, which, loosely translated, means "arrangement". Art is commonly understood as the act of making works (or artworks) which use the human creative impulse and which have meaning beyond simple description. While art is often distinguished from crafts and recreational hobby activities, this boundary can at times be hard to define. The term creative arts denotes a collection of disciplines whose principal purpose is the output of material for the viewer or audience to interpret. As such, art may be taken to include forms ranging from literary forms (prose writing and poetry); performance-based forms (dance, acting, drama, and music); visual and "plastic arts" (painting ,sculpture, photography, illustration); to forms that also have a functional role, such as architecture and fashion design. Art may also be understood as relating to creativity, æsthetics and the generation of emotion.

Cave Paintings

Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for Cave of the Hands) in Argentina. The paintings of hands date from between 13,000 and 9,300 years ago

Cave Paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest known European cave paintings date to 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the cave paintings is not known. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that are not easily accessed. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of transmitting information, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose.

Native Arts of Oceania

From earliest times, the natives of Australia, often known as Aborigines, have been creating distinctive patterns of art. Much of Aboriginal art is transitory, drawn in sand or on the human body to illustrate a place, an animal totem, or a tribal story. Early surviving artworks of the Aborigines are mostly rock paintings. Many are called X-ray paintings because they show the bones and organs of the animals they depict. Some Aboriginal art seems abstract to modern viewers; Aboriginal art often employs geometrical figures and lines to represent landscape, which is often shown from a birds-eye view. For instance, in Aboriginal symbolism, a swirl stands for a watering hole. The Bradshaws are a unique form of rock art found in Western Australia. They are predominantly human figures drawn in fine detail with accurate anatomical proportioning. They have been dated at over 17,000 years old and debate rages as to who actually created them.