Category: Unit 03

The term paleoanthropsychobiological, in my opinion , is an accurate adjective of Western art.  Created by Ellen Dissanayake and brought up in the reading,  the best way of understanding the term is to break it down piece by piece. “paleo-anthro-psycho-biological” First, that the idea of art encompass all of human society all the way back to the Palaeolithic era; Second, that include all human societies which is anthropological ;And third, that it accounts for the fact that art is psychological or emotional need and has psychological or emotion effects (p15).

When Dissanayake talks about taking an item and “making special” with it, she states on page 25 that it is to “transform the ordinary into extra-ordinary.”  Her examples of this are when she includes the celebration of holidays, rituals, or even cooking a meal.  I think it relates to art and human survival because in art, the details matter.  By making art special, it further differentiates itself from everything prior to it.  In terms of human survival, I think making special can be tied directly to the fact that if a human does not put in the effort to make their life longer in terms of health or special moments, than the life they live is bland and not full of enrichment.

In her essay, Dissanayake mentions multiple art theories including the Renaissance, modernism, and postmodernism.  The Renaissance period/theory occurred during the 14th and 17th centuries.  During that time, artists began to “replace God-centered with man-centered” (page 16) in terms of subject matter when it came to their work.   The Renaissance saw art transitioning into more proven or realistic realms.  Modernism lasted from around 1880 until 1980.  Dissanayake describes the new art scene as such on page 18: “As paintings became less and less like mirrors held up to nature… viewers could no longer decipher or naively admire them…”  Art in the modern era was an extreme innovation to what had come before it.  Traits like flatness and purity were words associated with the art that was create in this era.  Postmodernism is described by Dissanayake on page 19 as the following “…a declaration of all isms and movements… a radical change of consciousness… that challenges the entire “modernist” ideology.”  Furthermore, postmodernism only promotes the ideas of truth and reality in art.  This theory was developed in the 1980′s and continues to exist today.

 

From the reading, “What is art for?” by E. Dissanayake, there was one quote, in particular, that I wanted to discuss. This quote can be referred to on page 19, where Dissanayake states “Art is not universal”. I believe that this is absolutely true. Art is not universal because there is not just one specific style or concept. Art has and can be define in many different ways. In the past, art was used as a “service of religion” (16).  Art then progressively developed with the “gradual secularization of society, rise of science, social interpersonal changes, emphasis on reason, and great political revolutions” (17). I think what makes art great and ever evolving is the fact that there is no right or wrong way to approach it. Every work-of-art has the ability and potential to be different from every other work before it.

I believe that many people with no talent have become famous and people with incredible talent have become world famous. I also believe many people with incredible talent will never be known. A few days ago, I read an article that said a “canvas painted blue with a white line” sold for $44 million. I find this insane because I could have created the same exact painting, and I do not think that I am artistically talented whatsoever. Or maybe I am? I like to doodle drawings on my notebook. Should I be a famous artist? Who knows?  It is subjective.

I do not see this painting to be a masterpiece but others do see it as one. I think that art is subjective because its interpretations are mostly based on the perspective of the viewer. It behooves us as viewers of art to interpret it with a critical eye, yet that can very often, lead individuals to different conclusions and reactions to a work of art.