wondering about Vulcan art and design

[ratcreature]

To entice myself to tackle the background of my trekreversebang piece, I've been looking at Vulcan screencaps: to try to get a handle on Vulcan art and design in general, to help me draw background and decorations. I'm trying to decide what styles Vulcan stuff resembles, and on Enterprise in particular it seems somewhat Art Deco inspired, like if you look at this screencap of Vulcan buildings. Similar vistas in Reboot movie are less clear in that direction, but I can't place them otherwise either (I'm not really good at recognizing art styles).

I also looked at the other movies, but the Vulcan design there seems very stark, with not much in the way of decoration, except for the clothing with their robes and hats and such. Some of those seem kind of Asian-influenced maybe? But I couldn't say whether they resemble anything in particular, as I'm rather clueless about Asian art and design. TOS the series itself with the special effects of tv design being what they were at the time is not all that inspiring. I mean, in Amok Time we see that stone henge like circle with that elongated hexagonal gong, and T'Pau sitting on a chair (I can only assume that it seemingly being made of wood on a planet that does not have much in the way of trees makes it so special, otherwise it is rather sucky as far as impressive thrones go).

Back to the newer designs, in both the Reboot movie and in Enterprise we see quite a number of monumental statues (kind of like that giant Jesus statue in Rio, which I think is art deco too). Is there any canon that gives an explanation as to why they love monumental statues, or whom these are depicting? I'd assume at least some may be Surak, especially the ones from Enterprise that seem to stand around serenely, but there are also some with weapons and in the Reboot movie in their underground chamber some of them seem to carry weapons too, so I guess they are older pre-Reform? Or maybe a reminder not to forget the past. Are there any common interpretations? I mean, usually gigantic statues are around for a reason besides being decorative. And do you think they would put up some with weapons again when they are settling on their new planet, or would they stick with peaceful ones when they rebuild?

Anyway, overall there doesn't seem to be a single Vulcan style, which I guess makes sense as there isn't a single Human style either, and the examples are from different time periods too. Do you like any particular design choices for Vulcan better? Or find them more sensible than others? Any insights?

Then a few days ago I asked on a canon questions comm about the Vulcan scripts, but it seems we really don't have any info what the few samples we see mean. Also nobody seemed to know of any Vulcan symbols besides the IDIC one.

Comments

[shadowvalkyrie]

I like the stark, minimalistic, practical design for 23rd ct Vulcans -- it seems to fit their philosophy. And while Spock does stress upon occasion that the appreciation of beauty is not against the principles of logic, it makes sense (to my mind) that all the really beautiful pieces of art they admire and keep around would be pre-Surakian antiques (like the statue of the fire deity in Spock's room, though "beautiful" is a matter of taste there), because I have trouble believing art can be created without emotion. I also like the idea of decorative weapons. Overtly, a reminder to themselves of a past they don't want repeated, but also, I think, though more secretly, an outlet (or sort of focussing object?) for the part of their souls they normally repress, or maybe a clue for those around them that logic calm isn't all there is to Vulcans. ";-]

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

It's not Chinese-influenced design (which rules out much of Asia) - there's too many even numbers of steps, pillars etc. I think the hat on the man at the bottom right of your linked picture has a hat that I think is referencing Song Dynasty hats? (Ming Dynasty maybe?) In Amok Time, it looked to me like they were using very ancient things rather than elaborate, which makes sense for that particular ritual, I think!

The giant statues that I've seen personally have all been Buddha, but there's so much variation just there. Even Buddha sometimes has a sword, though it's said to be to banish ignorance rather than be used as a weapon, but I don't know how much of that is later interpretation!

[medie]

Well, that picture from the movie is Mount Seleya, so it's essentially an ancient temple. From the time of Surak or before. Same goes for Spock's ancestral grounds. They've been in the Clan since wayyyyy before Surak, so very much a tribal stronghold feeling going on. Most of the statues in Enterprise vibe to me as being Pre-Reformation, which holds that 'grandiose' sensibility.
(Likewise for that chamber in the movie. It was essentially an ancient graveyard or tomb -- )

It seems like, as well, there's a Roman sensibility about some things. It gets referenced in the novels a lot as well, that Vulcan estates have a focus that's inward, rather than outward, in that there's not much in the way of external decoration and that shows up with T'Pol's home in Enterprise, though, really, that's a smaller scale than, say, Spock's personal estate or family home would be.