1. Ellen Dissanayake coined the term “paleoanthropsychobiological” in the article -What is art for. (1991). She gave the definition of paleoanthropsychobiological and stated: “First, that the idea of art encompasses all of human history; second, that it include all human societies; and third, that it accounts for the fact that art is a psychological or emotional need and has psychological or emotional effects”(p. 15) she describe what is art and a basis outline of art. We can decompose the word into paleoanthropology, psychology, and biological. Paleoanthropology means the scientific study of ancient human. Psychology means study human mind and behavior. Biological means living things. So, it literally can be defined as learning the ancient human’s mind and life. Author want to use this combined word to explain the art deeper and the original of art.
2. Dissanayake mentions that “Among these tendencies, I claim, is also the behavior or propensity to ‘make special,’ particularly things that one cares deeply about or activities whose outcome has strong personal significance.” (P. 22) That means human created the art and it’s unique. Art is something to make thing special. For example, if a painting can resonate people and show its own unique feature to people, the painting is not just a painting is art. Making special in art relates to personal creativity and personal special mind. In the human history, human through various forms of art (language, performance, behavior, etc.) stimulate the development of the society and humane can survive in the society through their innovation of art. Human society is becoming stronger and stronger and human get survival.
3. I can point out 3 different periods of art throughout Western European history. Renaissance, (in the 14th century), Modernism (in the 18th century), and Postmodernism (in the 20th century). Renaissance artists “replace God-centered with man-centered, but their works continued to portray a recognizable world” and they just “represent the subject matter”. (p. 16) The next periods Modernism focus on aesthetics. Art become more clear and abstract. She mention that “There is a special frame of mind for approaching works of art- a disinterested attitude that is separate from one’s own personal interest in the object, its utility, or its social or religious ramifications.”(p.18) The third is Postmodernism. She stated that “rather than assuming that art reflects a unique and privileged kind of knowledge, postmodernists point out that any ‘truth’ or ‘reality’ is only a point of view- a representation that comes to us mediated and conditioned by our language, our social institutions,”(p.20) In this era, art can be defined broadly and interpret base on personal perspective.

Citation:

Dissanayake, E. (1991). What is art for? In K. C. Caroll (Ed.). Keynote adresses 1991 (NAEA Convention), (pp.15-26). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.