Week 3: The Interpretation and Manipulation of Art

Greetings travellers,

I find myself urging to write to you to keep you up to date with my travels and discoveries. I am constantly being blown away on a daily basis by the rich and deep histories of the Silk Road, and the role of art in history's preservation. I have always been an avid art lover and so recovering ancient pieces have truly astounded me. In my previous blog entry I touched on questions regarding the Power of History, and whether it can truly be accounted as "fact" simply because it is what we have always believed. Art, in my mind follows a similar pattern, as the way in which it is interpreted can, for obvious reasons, differ. So, the question arises again, whether art, like history can be looked to as a means of understanding our historical roots, and more importantly, why that matters to us.

The Kushan sculptures tell us stories: stories of the past, stories of trade, stories of life. Historians look to pieces of art  such as these sculptures on a regular basis in an attempt to try and understand a way of life that is alien to us. Art was idolized back then and was used not only to illustrate ways of life, but also in religious practice and rituals. When we go to a church, temples, or any place of worship now a days, we still see magnificent art pieces showcased and in most cases, they are the centre of our attention. Art grabs our attention because everyone can relate to it in some way since it is interpretive. The problem with this, I suppose, is that when we want to find an accurate history of a certain group of peoples or place, we don't want interpretations, we want fact. But... where do we find this thing we claim exists? Where do we find facts?

At the end of it all, I guess my question truly wonders why we try so hard to look at art in history and try with all our might to understand it. Maybe if we were truly happy with our world and the way in which it has grown, we wouldn't be so focussed on figuring out its roots.
Maybe.

Tune in next week as I continue my adventure along the Silk Road.

Yours truly,
~ A.V