The Loehr and Karlgren controversy II: artistic intentions
Required readings are in attachment: 1-2 page. choose 1 option
Paper option 1. After the publication of Loehr's 1953 paper archaeology has been supplying us with artifacts and information in a flood, but can archaeology now answer all the questions about Shang bronzes that previously were addressed by art historians? Has archaeology made art history unnecessary? Are the two disciplines doing the same thing?
Paper option 2. What kind of distortion can excessive searching for underlying meanings produce? Is it true that only religious motifs have meanings? What do the quilts mean to the quilters and their families? How should we find out the meanings of art?
Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, entry no. 64 (pp. 372-377, followed by illustrations of nos. 61, 63, 62, and 61.10, as they are referred to in this order in the entry).
Bagley, Gombrich among the Egyptians, pp. 74-101 ("Meaning and Explanation") and pp. 102-119 ("Interpreting Prehistoric Designs").