ABSTRACTION IN BAYEUX TAPESTRY AND TRAJAN’S COLUMN

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Abstraction in Bayeux Tapestry and Trajan’s Column

All art is abstract at some point and this concept has always existed even in the beginning of the use of art. It is this same concept that McCloud extends and expounds for the reader to be able to understand it fully and from his perspective. Mccloud explains how comics work but also defines abstraction through his writing. On page 31 of the book, we can try to understand the abstraction from humans to more of the cartoon. This is because on this page the first photo looks more like a human being and as the comics continue discussing film critics and abstraction though the literal word is not mentioned here. Therefore they discuss the idea which abstraction is generally about (McCloud, 1993).

Therefore a definition can be derived from here and state that McCloud defines abstraction as the focus on an idea and not something real or tangible just like it is cartoons as stated in the understanding comic’s book. This makes life more interesting and as stated calls for further investigation. Therefore the definition of abstraction by McCloud can be said to be a concept that focuses on ideas just like it is in cartoons and does not focus on reality. Therefore from this book, I choose symbols that represent what is being talked about and which generally are ideas and no tangible evidence of what is being talked about (McCloud, 1993). Therefore in this case we can say that symbols are what represent abstractions because they are not tangible items that can have a definite shape. And this is clear in the understanding of comics as McCloud uses cartoons to show how this is.

In Trajan’s column, we learn about time and its relation to abstraction. This is because even though it might be true that emperor Trajan at the age of 19 lead people to war to conquer a kingdom by the name Dacians it is not fully comprehensible at this period and it makes it even harder to understand because there is no evidence towards that. The remains of the evidence have been watered down by acid rain and the long period of destruction which have occurred and therefore in these recent times this dies not to act as just history with evidence but rather it becomes abstraction which we have to try and understand because we cannot fully grasp how that time was like. We cannot fully understand the aspect of having a king who is 19 years old and we also cannot fully understand what the remains mean. Furthermore, there is a little more abstraction in the issue of having the Dacians being understood. In this, it is pure abstraction since we can’t fathom what kind of kingdom it was and what how their kingdom, as well as their leadership, looked like since it was cleared from existence and consumed by the roman kingdom at that ancient time. Therefore this helps us to understand abstraction even in a more clear and complex manner.

Even though the column still exists it has suffered a lot from the history of civilization and it remains a place of history and a place of abstraction because no matter how a person tries to understand this time in age it remains an idea in their mind and it does not exist anywhere in the current sphere of reality. Therefore this is the basic idea about abstraction that ideas exist in our minds and they do not exist in reality and therefore we have to represent them either in writing them or drawing them using symbols like McCloud does in his book understanding comics. He also dissects the idea very well not only in word but also in vision whereby as the cartoons and drawings talk about the abstraction he draws them looking more like human in the first photos but at the end of the page he makes sure they look more like cartoons and symbols rather than human drawings (Lancaster, 1999).

In Bayeux Tapestry we also learn of how ancient times and color affect our understanding and creation of images due to the abstraction of a concept. This is an embroidered clothe almost 70 meters long and 50 centimeters wide. Its main depictions are the Norman conquest of England and it dates back to the 11th century (Musset, 2005). Its main characters include; William, Harold, Wessex, and many more who were involved in the activities of the norman kingdom at that period in time. The cloth has seventy scenes and all these talks of that period when England was conquered. It is embroidered and not woven and therefore it can be said to not be typically tapestry but embroidery. This, therefore, helps us to understand abstraction even in a clearer manner because we have to feed our minds with the idea that this kind of thing and vent took place especially when it is supported by evidence which does not give us the real situation but only gives us symbols to help us make the mental images. Color also plays a great role in the whole of this because we get to see which colors they liked most and in the creation of mental images as we understand abstraction we are likely to make colored images (Musset, 2005).

Therefore in conclusion we can say that understanding comics is an essential part of understanding abstraction. However, abstraction can be understood better when there is a combination with other artworks like I have discussed above the Bayeux Tapestry and the defeat of the Dacians by the emperor of the ancient roman kingdom Trajan. These two give us insights and the ability to understand abstraction more clearly.

References

Gameson, R. (Ed.). (1997). The study of the Bayeux tapestry. Boydell & Brewer Ltd.

Lancaster, L. (1999). Building Trajan’s column. American Journal of Archaeology, 419-439.

McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics: The invisible art. Northampton, Mass.

Musset, L. (2005). The Bayeux Tapestry. Boydell Press.

Richmond, I. A. (1935). Trajan’s army on Trajan’s Column. Papers of the British School at Rome, 1-40.