Question

What do you think “Man is the measure of all things” means in terms of Greek art and culture? How does art of the 21st century reflect the philosophy of our culture? Provide an example

Answer 1

Answer.

As a statement by the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras, ‘Man is the measure of all things’ indicates a humanistic idea where the individual human being, rather than a god or an unchanging moral law, is the ultimate source of value. the Greeks and the proto-Greeks including the Cycladic, Mycenaean, and Minoan cultures, were consumed with life in the here and now. Art too was ascribed with meaning in And through an understanding of an individual’s relation with the Self. This in a way has framed the backdrop of entire Western Art and cultural history where The artist’s beliefs are always wrapped up in the artwork, whether it is overt or disguised or repressed, because art does not exist in a vacuum. Thus, art of the 21st century (Western world )too more often represents the subject in an isolated frame but it questions the structuring of the audience within a controlled frame of gaze where the subject- object divisions are often blurred than being rigidly defined. For instance, Post modernist art moves in the direction of relational aesthetics that invites viewers’ participation and interaction. This is because, modern societies place greater values on competiveness and individual achievement and art and technology of the current age too are imbued with these cultural values that has resulted in the production of a visual culture which shows, but also questions this politics of ‘multiple voices’ or perspectives in an increasingly diverse society.