Birth of primitive art 7: After glacial epoch fine arts

 

＜ a rock art in the Levant, a mother and a child、Ｍinateda, Spain、＞

Eventually, the glacial epoch fine arts that emitted luster had declined.

This decline caused stagnation and new deployment.

We look at this big change easily.

＜　Azilian culture, painted stones and bone tools ＞

At 10000 years ago, the colorful cave paintings and movable fine arts that felt vital force no longer were made.

On the other hand, new movements happened at some places a little distant from France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and northern Spain.

One is the painted stone at 11000 years ago. Figures like characters were drawn with several red lines on the stones.

Although bone tools are also found simultaneously, the ornamented things are not found at all.

Azilian that made these on the south of the Pyrenees (Spain) disappeared within 1000 years.

＜　rock arts in the Levant　＞

                   

From 11000 years ago to 5000 years ago, many rock arts appeared in the Spain southeast part.

These are the small paintings of animal and person that are drawn on lee of rock in ravines only by red.

Although animals is drawn realistically, persons are deformed and formalized, and are also humorous.

The themes are hunting, war, a dance, Sherman, etc.  It has composition that has motion with many persons and animals.

The drawn animals are game animals and domesticated dogs, then insects such as spider and fly, etc.

The figure subjects are more male than the woman. The male take a bow and put on bracelet, a hat, etc. The woman put on a skirt and ribbon.

 

＜　Arctic art、Rock Drawings of Alta　＞

A little late, from 6000 to 2000 years ago, many petroglyphs appeared on rocks near the Northern European (especially Norway) sea and rivers.

Many of petroglyphs are carved with a line or flat surface, and they are applied with red. A large thing is a whale 8 m in length.

Many of the themes are game hunting and fishing scenes and the everyday sight are drawn in the style of a tale on it.

The drawn things are reindeer, deer, seal, whale, salmon and sled, boat.

What of the fine arts changed?

Simplify

The cave painting was lost and turned into rock-art

Human and life scene were thought as important.

＜　air temperature change during the past 160,000 years　＞

What brought about this change?

The glacial epoch finished. :  Air temperature rose abruptly from 15000-year ago, and 10,000 years ago, it became the same as the present. By this, the glacier and the reindeer went away to the north and Europe became a forest and the world of small animals from the ground of snow and ice.

Their life changed suddenly :  They repeated movement in quest of the small animals which do not make a group. It dispersed the previous big group. Preservation of meat became impossibility.  When they took all games, they moved to next place. This was the same as the hunter-gatherers of the forest before civilization.

The agricultural had diffused from the Balkan Peninsula, and spread throughout Europe at the time 5000 years ago.

At last, the brightness of fine arts in Europe had been lost until the Bronze Age comes.

Culture and art were greatly influenced by change of natural environment and a social aggregation.

Ｎext time, we look at prehistory fine arts other than Europe.

Birth of primitive art 6: perspective of glacial epoch fine arts

＜　a bison looking back：　Madeleine, 20000 years ago　＞

We have seen until now the glacial epoch fine arts that happened in Europe.

This time, we consider the meaning of the glacial arts.

＜　transition of Venus statue: left side, Czech, about30000 years ago. right side, Germany, 15000 years ago. ＞


The feature of glacial epoch fine arts

1.       What was drawn and sculpted

Although horse, bison and deer were drawn plenty, fish and reindeer that could be caught easily were not drawn little. A natural scene also was not drawn. The mammoth that could be caught rarely, the pregnant female, and the animal of one pair of male and female animals are conspicuous in there. Although the scene where peoples hunted animals were not drawn, an animal in which bow and spear were stuck, and something like trap or cage were drawn.

Male design was simple thing of two points by the circle and another was symbolization of genitals. As for female design, shape of a body was emphasized, and relief in cave and sculpture was only female images. Other sculptures of whole body were half beast and half man or personalized thing.

Else, There are hand paintings that lacked any fingers and simple and various figures. It seems that the numbers were recorded by the condition of lacked finger in hand paintings, and engraved lines recorded the calendar too. Some simple figures were broadly common.

＜　 transition of cave pictures: lift side, hyena, France,32000 years ago. right side, bison, Spain,14500 years ago ＞

2.        Technique of drawing and sculpting

The pictorial expression began from the monochromatic outline of a line, and progressed to the line drawing with inflection.

Subsequently, the details like hair were drawn additionally, the contrasting density was expressed in connection with widely painting, and then it progressed to polychromatic drawing from 2-color drawing.

Although most animal images were drawn by the side view, only the hoof was drawn by the front view. This will be because the hoof that shows health condition was thought as important. This brings my mind back to the mural painting of ancient Egypt.

Paints were devised very much and obtained the multiple colors that mixes various minerals with oil and fats, and is liquid. In Altamira, the charcoal that obtains black was selected carefully by the wooden kind. In Lascaux, the bone of the animal was burned at 400 degrees, and calcite was mixed with it, and also it became hot at 1000 times, and used it.

3．　others

There is many cave painting in the inner part of the caves that not get any sunlight. There is it in the entrance used as the place of the life. Moreover, the mural painting is drawn also on the cave in which it does not live. The animal of the cave paintings was almost painted-over picture, and probably, the peoples in those days didn’t put importance on good-looking picture.

In 20,000 years, although cave painting came to have a rich expression, Venus statue of end-stage half became a simple design. Although this Venus statue image had a commonality by the side view, it reflected the diversity of the region.

＜　hand painting in cave: France ,32000 years ago. Flute: made of bone, German, about 35000 years ago.　＞

What changed?

1.        have magical thinking　：　They expressed things that they wished and accept a value through paintings and statue, and people present their wishes to it.

2.        manipulated number and technology :  They began to record a notation or a calendar by combining. Technology was developed similarly.

3.       created and place importance on formality : Although fine arts change with the times and  reflect the diversity of the region, have a commonality.

4.      cherished these with groups : They taught pictures technique, left cave painting to the specific person, and occasionally performed the festival.

5.       moved broadly and trafficked with the long distance　：　We can guess from a stone tool, the similarity of design with fine arts, and stone tool material.

 ＜　People lived by rock shadow at 30,000 years ago　＞

What happened to human beings?

Cro-Magnon man began half-settled life with the group more than a family in arctic cold, in and around cave.

Two reasons made it possible was that they had to hunt much reindeer that do seasonal migration by group, and coldness enabled preservation of a lot of meat.

If it is hot, meat will rot. If it is cold, a reindeer will disappear and their heavy winter clothing becomes useless.

They were able to make the dress that matches their body by the needle made from a bone.

The intercommunion with a family, a group, and other groups influenced each other, and greatly developed language, child-rearing, and technology. Furthermore, culture and a sense of values (religion, art) were produced.

Next time, we will look at decline period of glacial epoch fine arts.

The election of despair７： very bad political culture ５

＜　sinking Japan　＞

Last time, we looked at the election situation of Britain, Germany, and Greece.

The tendency of small political parties also proceeded on any country.

Especially in Greece, many small parties have increased as a result of the economic crisis at a breath.

This time I will explore root causes of the problem and this series is finished.

How is the U.S. that a two-party system can regard as functioning well?

Although the President was chosen from the Democratic Party, on the House of Representatives, the Republican Party gets a majority in the election two years ago.

As the result, as well as Japan, the President faced difficulties in controlling of the government.

As shown on the chart, the long-term decline in political party approval ratings suggests the situation.

As for the decrease of party supporters, the floating votes will make the Administration unstable like Japan.

 

＜　political party approval ratings in U.S.  red＝Republican Party、blue＝ Democratic Party、black＝political independents　＞

＜　transition of voter turnout in six nations　＞

What has occurred in the West and Japan?

All the voter turnouts of major nations are in a downward tendency.

                   

 

＜　reliability to the politics in six nations　＞

Although the level of voter turnouts and reliability is not correlated, it together is in a downward tendency.

Especially note that only Japan is remarkably low.

As we have already seen, the increase in small political party and independents is progressing in parallel to decline in voter turnout.

As history illustrates, the increase in small political party causes political confusion increasingly, and it will also make collapsing society at the end.

Then, why is the distrust in politics increasing?

The situation common to these major nations has the following problem.

1.        economic stagnation: Although Japan, the U.S. and Europe powerfully accomplished economic growth after the war, but the economic growth become slowdown tendency from the 1980s. The average economic growth rate fell from 9% to 0.8% in Japan, and from 4% to 1% in EU.

2.        increase of economic differentiation: Gini coefficient is an index which shows the complaint of distribution of income and property. As shown on the chart, it shows a long-term upward tendency on many advanced nations.

 

＜　Gini coefficient in each nations、it take from 0 to 1,0= omniparity, 1= complete inequality　>

Expansion of economic stagnation and economic differentiation will be based on stiffness of social economy.

Advanced nations repeated the bubble by large credit expansion and fiscal expenditure performed after the 80s.

Each time, the economic differentiation in their nations became wide and choice of the government was increasingly restricted by the budget deficit.

On the other hand, people probably are increasing dissatisfaction and uneasiness gradually.

The People expressed dissatisfaction by refusing the existing politics.

However, it does not become the solution.

Even so, why is a situation of Japan severe?

1.        political awareness is low:  The consciousness that citizens support the politics of their country is not still growing. In the Meiji Restoration, the citizens did not become the political leading role.  The enforcement of universal suffrage was also slow.

2.       National Traits (favor to inner group etc.): Japanese people accommodate themselves to circumference and avoid conspicuous action. Although this is good when the society is in a safe state, if it become in a state of high anxiety, the people will do selfish action suddenly. This causes the result that they depend on a forcing leader by the presence of small political parties.

                                                   

I think that the signs have appeared now.

Even if the economy become well once, the fearful end may be waiting, after economic bubble burst.

I do not know the policy that overcomes this situation.

Please you be careful.

Thank you for having read for a long time.

The election of despair６： very bad political culture 4

＜　The parliament house of each country　＞

Last time, we looked at situation that people quickly abandoned the Cabinet that had been selected by the election.

It was much different from Japan that the situations of European and American advanced nations and a neighboring nation.

In this time and next time, I will explain the cause comparing with overseas situations.

Conspicuous election situations in Japan   (legislative elections)  

l      Dissipated political parties likely fog:  After the war, the political parties that　exceed 50  was born and disappeared, and 14 political parties have seats now. These many will also disappear soon in several years.

l       The seats of political parties are reversed on each elections:  2009 years and 2012 years in the Lower House election, it was greatly reversed the standings between the ruling and opposition parties. 

l      Declining turnout of voters:  in the Lower House election, the turnout is 92% in 1917, 75% in 1955, and 59% in 2012. This shows decreasing trend.

l      Increasing independents of voters:  they are increasing from 10% in 1960s to 50% in 2012 years.

These weaken political power and become a serious obstacle for reorganizing the stagnant society and economy of Japan.

Has this problem arises in European and American advanced nations?

What are as the difference between Japan and the West, or its background factor?

前回は、選挙で選んだ内閣に対して国民が短期間で興ざめする状況を見ました。

それは欧米先進国や隣国とかなり異なるものでした。

今回と次回で、その原因を海外と比較しながら探ります。

日本の目立つ選挙状況　（国会選挙）

1.        降って湧く政党　：戦後、生まれて消えていった政党は５０を越え、現在１４の政党が議席を持つ。これらの多くもやがて数年で消えるだろう。

2.        選挙毎に大きく逆転する議席　： 衆院選2009年、2012年で大きく与野党が逆転した。

3.        低迷続ける投票率　：　衆院選1917年92％、1955年75％、2012年59％となり低下傾向。

4.        増加する無党派層　：　1960年代10％から2012年50％へと増加傾向。

これらは政治力を弱くし、沈滞した日本の社会経済を立て直すには大きくマイナスとなる。

この問題は欧米先進国に起こっているのだろうか？

日本と欧米との違いやその背景には何があるのだろうか？

  

 

＜　UK general election vote share and resultant governments(1950-2010), blue=conservative, red＝labour, yellow＝liberal, gray＝others　＞

Party support increasingly has dispersed widely during the past 20 years. When they did not unite in 2010, the handling of the government by them became impossible.

In past days, the ruling and opposition parties have changed as the two-party system in each about ten years.

Differing from Japan, the third party is growing throughout several decades.

.

ここ２０年ほどで政党支持が分散する傾向に拍車がかかり、2010年には連合しないと政権運営が出来なくなった。

以前は二大政党制で大凡１０年毎に与野党が交代して政権を担っていた。

それでも日本と異なるのは、第三政党が数十年をかけて育っていることです。

 

  

＜　Historic seat distribution in the German Bundestag(1949-2009),　black＝CDU/CSU, red＝SPD, yellow＝FDP、green＝Green、gray＝others　＞

In 1983 years, the Green Party made an advance into parliament. Since then it became 4 party system. And the left-wing party was added in 2005. Since then it became 5 party system.

Germany adopts a proportional representation and combines first past the post system with it.

From a bitter experience with the presence of small political parties that became a hotbed on which Nazis gain power, if new party did not exceed 5 percent of the votes, cannot acquire the seat for Parliament.

But the presence of small political parties is becoming remarkable also here.

1983年、緑の党が議会進出し4党制となり、2005年には左翼党が加わり5党体制となった。

ドイツは比例代表制（小選挙区併用）だが、ナチス台頭の温床になった小政党乱立の苦い経験から得票率が５％を越えないと国会に議席を得られないようにしている。

しかし、ここでも小政党氾濫が顕著になりつつある。

  

 

＜　in Greece, voter support for parties and annual change in GDP ＞

We look at Greek politics that is confused at a breath, depending on falling into the economic crisis.

The beginning was the change of power in October 2009, and budget deficit that was hidden by the old government was revealed.

It developed into the big issue that involved in EU from the middle of 2010.

13 political parties fought in the election in April 2012.

The radical leftist alliance that was small political parties became the second party that has 52 seats in the parliament.

ND (New Democratic) was a dominant party of 108 seats. The seats of the party are distributed much more to a higher rank of obtained votes.

There were formerly in a two-party system of ND and Pasok (The Panhellenic Socialist Movement).

As a graph shows, the GDP falls rapidly, and the approval rating for two main political parties fall at a breath, and caused the presence of small political parties.

ここで経済危機に陥り、一気に政治が混迷したギリシャを見る。

発端は2009年10月の政権交代で、旧政府による財政赤字隠しが発覚し、2010年中頃よりEUを巻き込む大問題へと発展した。

2012年4月の選挙において13政党がしのぎを削り、少数政党だった急進派左派連合が52議席の第二党に躍り出た。ND（新民主主義党）が108議席の第一党。議席数は得票上位により多く配分されるシステムになっている。

従来はNDとPasok（全ギリシャ社会主義運動）の二大政党制だった。

グラフが示すように、GDPが急激に落ち込み、二大政党への支持率が一気に低下し、多党制を招くことになった。

＜　trust of Greeks, May 2011. blue＝trust、red=do not trust, top bar＝fellow citizens,7th＝governments, 8th＝political parties　＞

The government was not most trusted, and trust in fellow citizens also was small.

Rapid economic deterioration, subvention reduction and pension reduction by the tight budget, and the distrust of the government that caused it exploded at a breath.

This is a dangerous sign, but the election system of Greece that prevents presence of many small parties is useful barely.

Next time, we will analyze the background of this situation occurred in the world.

一番、信頼されていないのは政府であり、地域社会に対してさえ低下している。

急激な経済悪化、緊縮財政による補助金や年金の減少、それを招いた政府への不信感が一気に爆発した。

これは危険な兆候だと言えるが、小党乱立を防ぐギリシャの選挙システムがかろうじて役立っている。

次回は、世界で起きているこの選挙状況の背景を分析します。