fandomhigh | Art History, Period 1, Class 7 [3-7]

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Art History, Period 1, Class 7 [3-7]

"Today we move forward, and a little bit east, to talk about Byzantine art, centered at Constantinople, which is now Istanbul." Steve smiled. "You may have heard the song. Rome fell. The Roman empire did not; it continued in the east, in Constantinople. Now, Byzantine art is specifically religious art, but it's not the polytheistic religions we've dealt with in the past, in Egypt, Greece, Rome. This is Christianity, a monotheist religion which is uh, still around." To say the least. "This is art class, not religion class, so I'm not going to go into any detail on Christianity's tenets, so let's talk about the art."

Steve proceeded to lecture on the move from representing naturalism to more symbolic, less realistic works to represent the divine, on mosaics and icons, finally coming to the Iconoclasm. "A lot of art was destroyed at this time," Steve explained, "by people who believed it was sacrilege to represent the divine in art. I want to know what you think. Do you believe it's all right to make images of the divine, whatever it may be? And if not, is it your responsibility to destroy what other people might believe is perfectly fine; even part of how they worship? Discuss."

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She smiled slightly. Me either. Too much about human expression gets lost, and we become lesser because of it. I'm Inara, by the way.

A.J. :) Hi.

And, when he figured Inara had read that part of the note, he offered a wave from where he was sitting before she would most likely continue.

Are you an artist, too? Just an appreciator? Both?

Inara waved back, trying not to giggle.

Mostly an appreciator, though it depends on how you feel about calligraphy. Are you an artist?

Calligraphy can totally count. And I am. Well, pretend to be. But I like to think I'm pretty good at pretending in that case.

Pretend to be? She tilted her head and studied him quizzically.

Well, like, I go through all the motions. I think what I make is good, but everything about art is so subjective that I might think 'artist' and someone else might think 'what the crap is he doing, calling himself an artist?' Labels can get tricky like that. But, in the sense that I paint and draw and sculpt and mold, I guess I'm an artist. In the sense that I create art, though, is just a matter of opinion.

A.J. had put a small little sketchy comic of an artist at work, and then some guy with a moustasche and a beret and glasses coming over and looking it over and shaking his head, leaving the artist all sad and stuff, at the bottom of his reply.

It sounds like you're an artist to me. Just because you're not appreciated this minute doesn't mean anything--most true artists aren't.

She grinned at the sketch, and wished there was something she could add to it. Finally, she drew a little stick figure standing with a pin next to the guy in the moustache, aiming it at his backside.

A.J. had to bite his lip a little to keep from laughing a bit at the addition. He added another panel to the little comic, including all the current elements, with the pin figure ready to go, the moustashed man babbling with a little "blah blah blah" speech bubble above his head, and the artist whistling as he tried to look the other way, completely oblivious to any nefarious ambitions on the part of Inara's stick person.

That's what I alway say, he added to the conversation. But people tend to get touchy when I start talking about needing a tragic death to get successful.

Inara covered her mouth with her hand until she regained her composure, at least somewhat. Her next addition involved the stick person looking very, very innocent next to what was supposed to look like a deflated puddle of moustached art critic.

Yes, I can see why. She gave him a stern look. You can live a long and artistic life, and become an overnight success at seventy. It's just as effective.

The cartoon gained a caption of "And there was much rejoicing" as the remaining two figures stoically waved little flags and announced "Yay."

...But it takes a lot more patience that way, you can't deny that.

No, I can't. But isn't art--good art--worth it?

A.J. grinned a little.

Definitely. Besides, considering how long it takes me to ever finish anything, I'll actually most likely need until I'm seventy.

She couldn't help the giggle that escaped. Not slow. Patient. Exacting. Demanding.

A.J.'s nose seemed to wrinkle increasingly at each word.

You're not helping to convince me, here, y'know.

Sorry? I meant it to be complimentary.

A.J. bit his lip a little.

I was just teasing. It's just a suck at patience.

Which, really, wasn't intended to be ironic, although it was. A.J. couldn't really help it that he was completely obvious to the fact that he was actually the type of person that might be able to wait out an eternity for certain things.

She smiled slightly. He didn't seem to know himself as well as he might in a few years. Join the club. I have to meditate to get it to work.

A.J.'s head tilted a little.

I don't even think I'd have the patience to meditate. That's probably just about how, like, devoid of patience I am.

Wow. That's fairly impressive. How do you manage to wait for your paint to dry?

A.J. blinked a little at Inara's note before he could answer, because he realized he didn't immediately know the answer to that. It was just second nature, really, how he managed, so it took some thought to realize exactly what it was. When he did get to writing, he wondered if written letters could convey a tone of obviousness.

Start on something else.

She nodded as she read the note. Do you ever work on commission?

A.J.'s pencil tapped on his desk with his expression deeply thoughtful as if it was a hard question to answer before he wrote back.

Not really. Never really thought about it. I probably wouldn't say no to the idea, but if I made anything for anyone, I'd probably just feel bad charging them for what they got, and end up just doing it for free.

And he wondered why his potential future showed the whole starving artist route....

She eyed him, unsure if he understood the ramifications of what he was saying.

Would you take money for art that you made without someone in mind?

The end of his pencil scratched the side of his head a little.

If someone wanted to buy it, sure. That suggests, though, that someone would want to buy it.

Why wouldn't they?

Why would they? seems a better question, I think.

Because you've created something that speaks to them?

Hopefully, eventually, maybe. Again, though, if that were the case, I think I'd just be so glad to see that someone besides myself like it that I'd probably just give it to them.

There was a space, as if to indicate a pause.

I'll probably never be a rich artist, like, ever.

But it sounds like you'll be happy?

Below that she drew a little smiley face. A.J. wouldn't even have to tilt his head to see it.

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Art History, Period 1, Class 7 [3-7]

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