Mona Lisa
Are culture and expression related in any way? What role does expression play in influencing societal culture? Which aspects of culture best support viewers’ expressions?
Scenario
For the purposes of this assignment, imagine you are a researcher of human cultures, an anthropologist who is looking from the future back to our world today. In this position, you develop a natural curiosity about cultural works and how they represent a particular culture. You are also curious about how cultural works influence the environment in which they exist. You are new at your job, and your first project is to conduct a thorough analysis of today’s culture via a cultural work, looking to understand how it represents culture and how it reflects its cultural environment. The results of your analysis will be used to craft the copy for a brochure accompanying a museum exhibit about cultural works of the current year.
Analysis of a Cultural Work As an anthropologist, you will start your task by analyzing the work of human creative expression that you selected in Module Four.
With this work in mind, respond to the questions below.
Answer the following questions:
1. Describe the work in detail.
Consider the following:
a. Where did you see the work?
b. What elements or characteristics stand out to you?
2. Describe the purpose of the work.
Consider the following:
a. What do you think the creator intended to express?
b. Were they successful?
3. Use the work to explore how acts of creative expression impact and are impacted by the people and situations that surround them.
Consider the following:
a. What contributions does the work selected make to continuing a dialogue about that culture and the importance of its works?
4. State questions you have after thinking deeply about this work. What more do you want to know regarding the following?
a. The relationship between culture and expression: What is the relationship between the possible intent of the creator and your own interpretation of its meaning?
b. Explain how your values have shaped and are shaped by your expression and that of others.
