Beyoncé's performance at the Grammays

Beyonce’s performance of Sandcastles and Love Drought were powerful in rendition. Her performance included the use of holograms, head pieces and digital screens. She, through her performance, evoked religious symbolism from the goddess of Hindu and Virgin Mary of Christianity. The performance stunning, though she performed while being pregnant with a set of twins, and her mother’s introduction attached more weight in meaning. Her pregnancy hindered her performance from being energetic. She made use of gravity defying chairs in place of standing to reduce stress. There were many symbols from her performance that visual references of historical art that caught my interest. For example, one of the references was of the Yoruba River/love goddess Oshun considered as sweet, kind, generous, calm, and loving. However, the projected video revealed the African water goddess Mami Wata, the goddess for Hindu Kali, and Venus the goddess of Romans. Her performance depicts medieval and renaissance Christian art in Europe especially the headdress she wore. It had radiating crowns that relate to saintly beings in traditional art. The radiant halo seems to have rays diverging outwards like the iconography of the Byzantine in the 10th century (Art History Experts). The medallion on her abdomen and the regal dress resembles the ones of the medieval Byzantine jewelry in several artworks such as paintings.The historical reference in pop culture depicted by Beyonce in her performance is great since it gives some clue to the life in the past. It helps people to learn about the cultural norms of the artist who produced the work. The performance is full of symbolism related to virtues that were valued during various periods. For instance, the chastity of a woman was greatly respected and Beyonce depicts this by putting on a headdress signifying saintly beings (Art History Experts). The Virgin Mary is one of the women honoured in history and the halo worn by Beyonce resembles that found in Mary's portraits. Historical art helps people to understand who they are through gathering inspiration from the message displayed in the symbols.It matters a lot that not everybody knows the references in Beyonce performance related to historical art. People need to understand where they come from and the living styles of their ancestors since it can help them in building their lives. For instance, historical art reveals the role and expectations of women in the society such as being virtuous. Motherhood was also respected and understanding historical facts is very important. If people do not understand the references they may never get the meaning of the performance leading to wrong judgement.People may not get the message without some knowledge of iconography and may need someone to explain to them. For instance, the appearance of Beyonce may appear just entertaining to some individuals but they will never get the message being presented. The purity of women and motherhood are clear themes in her performance but people with no historical knowledge of art cannot interpret the actions.People can only get the message without doing a research through seeking explanations from the ones that know the historical importance of the displayed art. They can also discuss with friends and those in attendance during presentations and brainstorm about the themes depicted in the performance. For instance, Beyonce unique dressing and headdress have various interpretations in art history.The manner in which people get the message is related to some exercises done in class such as discussions that involve analysis of artwork by looking closely at an object to note all the features. The best method used in class include describing the art, analysing it, interpreting, and evaluating it importance in the world of art (Beyoncé and the Grammays). For instance, Beyonce wears a golden dress, which may have important meaning in historical art. To understand Beyonce performance one must go through the four steps before coming up with a conclusion regarding its meaning.Works CitedArt History Experts Explain Beyoncé's Epic Grammys Performance". MTV News, 2017, http://www.mtv.com/news/2983457/art-history-experts-explain-beyonce/.Beyoncé and the Grammays. Youtube.Com, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Y5g-0kqx8.