Ren Groshong

Art History 9th Grade
October 8, 2024

Project European Prehistoric Art

1. Why are you an artist?

2. What is the purpose of your art?

At some time in the future they will say that art imitates life. Art is a way of expressing our life, both past and present illustrating how we lived, are living, and how we will survive into the future. I tell our stories in was that words cannot. 

My people live in what will be one day called the Vézère Valley, France, during the Upper Paleolithic era, some 40,000 years ago.

I create art on walls of our sacred spaces and homes—caves carved into the rocks of mountains of prehistoric Europe–because it is part of who I am. I was born with the gift of visual language, to continue our stories, the legacy of our generations, and I am driven to preserve our survival, our culture and beliefs to those who will come after us.

But art is not just for future generations. It is also for our people, here and now – to capture the spirit of the people, the land, and the animals that inhabit this place. It gives meaning to us. It shows the seasons, the stars, birth and death. It expresses to the way we live, hunting and gathering. And through the drawings, I can show the way to fruitful pastures and rich hunting lands, which are essential for our survival.

Most of my art is created in the dark caves by dim firelight, but in the nearby riverbanks, I have found clay to sculpt the forms of our people, and animals. I mix in natural pigments from ochre and charcoal to give these forms life and depth. We use these forms to tell the stories outside of the caves, creating small landscapes of watering holes and game trails. We also give them to young ones to play and learn what their world looks like beyond the safety of our village.

The sculptures also represent symbols of our beliefs, adorned with sticks, stones, leaves, feathers, and other natural elements that connect us to the earth and sky, hope for success, prosperity, and protection.

Art transcends language, and for every drawing or sculpture I create, our community lives on.