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Tag: cultural interaction

Which saints do we honor on All Saints Day? It depends on what cultural tradition we're talking about.
Which saints do we honor today?

Which saints do we honor today?

Blessings on All Saints Day This is one of those “universal” days celebrated in several cultural traditions. But exactly which saints are we venerating on this day? Who are they, and where did they come from? That depends on which tradition you mean.  The ever-flexible early Christian Church adopted Celtic Samhain and reframed it in a culturally Christian way. Robust traditions in Poland and other Slavic countries point to pre-Christian roots as well. Missionary priests rediscovered it in their Mesoamerican and Filipino converts a few centuries later.  Thus, neopagans today, traditional…

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Why can’t we be friends?

Why can’t we be friends?

Sometimes folks just don’t hit it off right away. Especially if they’re different in a lot of ways. Maybe they don’t look too much alike. Maybe they come from different backgrounds, different cultures, different belief systems. Or speak different languages. Does that mean they’re doomed to hate each other? We humans get crosswise with each other, too. But heck, we aren’t even different species. Maybe the dog and the ferret are onto something. IMAGE: Many thanks to Giant Gag, via…

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Unique manifestations

Unique manifestations

Artdog Quote of the Week “Other cultures are not failed attempts at being like you.” There are people in this world who don’t see it that way. They can’t look beyond their own frame of reference, and they resist seeing their own privilege, which simultaneously insulates them and quarantines them from full participation with the rest of the world. Sadly, they miss more than they know. IMAGE: Many thanks to Quote Addicts for this image and quote. I hope you’ll also check out…

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Cultural exchange and a Japanese Cubist

Cultural exchange and a Japanese Cubist

This week’s Artdog Image of Interest: Cultural exchange flows both ways, or it isn’t an exchange. In earlier posts this month, I’ve explored Japonisme in Europe, and the influence of Katsushika Hokusai’s prints on the French painter Paul Cézanne. Japanese art clearly changed the look of Western art in many ways. But did Western art have any effect on the art of Asia? Indeed it did, and here is an example. Today, I’d like you to meet Tetsugoro Yorozu‘s Leaning Woman.  Tetsugoro…

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The Pot and the Bowl

The Pot and the Bowl

Artdog Image(s) of Interest  We often hear that the United States is a great big melting pot, where immigrants come from all over and get assimilated, so that they can become Americans. As you can see from the style of the image above, this idea has been around for a while. This “melting pot” idea assumes the cultural differences will get melted right out, and we’ll all turn into generic Americans. Everybody will share the same cultural references, speak English,…

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An impossible mission?

An impossible mission?

The Artdog Quote of the Week  I’m not sure Suzuki is correct–either that international cultural exchange is impossible, or that it is impossible to see beyond one’s own cultural context. Instead, I think that when people from different cultures interact, they almost inevitably are affected by the new ideas and approaches they encounter. Far from being impossible, it seems to me that cultural exchange is inevitable. Moreover, once cultural interaction has taken place, the new approaches or ideas (or visuals,…

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