Art
- literature
- music
- painting/drawing
- poetry
- sculpture
- theater
- use of art in society
Literature:
Most non-fiction in Lura is set on pursuit of those ever-important fifth rings. Jigo jisho journals are also heavily circulated, thanks to the printing press being recently invented. My timeline actually includes several publications, who wrote them, and what they meant to Lura.
Fiction is popular as well. There is no television, after all. :P
Music:
There is a counter-culture of youths in Shiira called the ‘third culture’. They have been popularizing music in the desert region, marrying their traditional heavy drum beats with modern strings and vocals called ‘nine echoes’. The music is usually performed within the cavernous acoustics of the ninth satrapy. The current most popular third culture band is called ‘Vocal Void’.
Painting/drawing:
Shiirans love to paint and draw. Street artists and children alike draw on the stone streets with chalk, favoring mandalas. Detailed fresco-like paintings can be found throughout the city, usually on ceilings both indoor and out. Many of them represent various gods and goddesses, and scenes from popular books and plays.
Poetry:
Poetry has been popular in Shiira only within the last hundred years. It was partially responsible for leading the youths to further developing their traditional music.
Sculpture:
With statues guarding the city, at nearly every city corner, covering business district buildings, and even covering the 8th satrapy, it would be hard to deny that sculpting was not an important part of the Shiirati heritage.
Theater:
Shiira doesn’t have any major play houses due to the city outgrowing its own walls. There are several small actor’s guilds who do street performances, but they don’t have any official venues. Some upper-class citizens travel north to Aydomar, where they can enjoy plays and operas within their famous opera house.
Use of art in society:
The Shiirati believe art is inspired by the divine. Owning a larger collection of beautiful artwork has a direct relation to status and success. A Shiirati might favor a specific restaurant over another just because it has a more beautiful interior, for instance. Traditionally, the lower your satrapy’s number, the more art you own. This is quickly changing due to the printing press. Now people are able to buy posters of beautiful artwork and decorate more easily. This has made the upper-class Shiirati put more of an emphasis on sculpting over artwork.
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