1. Describe the term paleoanthropsychobiological. Who coined this term.

The term paleoanthropsychobiological is coined by Ellen Dissanayake. She uses this term to discuss something about the history of Western art. She writes “First is that the idea of art encompasses all of human history; second is that it include all human societies; third is that it accounts for the fact that art is a psychological or emotional need and has psychological or emotional effects” (Dissanayake, 15).

2. What does Dissanayake mean by the phrase “making special”? How does it relate to art and to human survival?

I think Dissanayake means that art can have many different meanings for people with different cultures, different life styles, and etc. For example, a picture can mean something special to an artist, however on the other hand,  to a normal person, it could be just some colors on the paper. “Making special” refers to adding some extra emphasis and meaning to an artwork, although it might not apply to all the viewers; some of them could accept it. The term relates to human survival in the way that people do not have, or are not able to enjoy the arts when they can’t even feed themselves. After all, to a human, the most important thing to do is that he or she should be healthy. Without a healthy body, he or she could not do anything, even talking about enjoying the arts.

3. Dissanayake identifies many different theories/movement/periods of art throughout western european history. Name three different theories of art that Dissanayake mentions in her essay. Identify the time period when each theory developed and was prominent. Provide a brief description of the philosophies and ideas that define each theory/movement/period of art. Support your answer with quotes from the reading.

Medieval times – Dissanayake states that “Plato did not discuss ‘art’, but rather beauty, poetry, and imagemaking.” (Dissanayake, 16) Therefore, During the greek/medieval time the majority of art was poetry.

Modernism – in the 18th century, art was called “aesthetics”. In her article, she states that “a concern with elucidating principles such as taste and beauty that govern all the art and indeed make them simply not paintings or statues”(Dissanayake, 17) However, different people would like different kinds of art, and the differences mostly are different cultures, different religions and etc. Furthermore, art had become an ideology, which needs some educated people to acquire them, and not everyone can get the meaning of this.

Postmodernism – in her article, she states that “artists do not see the world in any singularly privileged way but rather interpret it according to their individual and cultural sensibilities”(Dissanayake 19) Which means that Postmodernism thinks that art is a universal language; it could be used to communicate. All people are born in different countries. However, with the freedom offered by postmodernism, people are allowed to freely express how they feel about a particular piece of art.

This week, our reading material is “what is art for” by Ellen Dissanayake. In this article, she talks about her own experiences living abroad for about 15 years. Then she has to force herself to understand the exotic cultures, and get involve in the exotic societies. She writes what “Living in another culture also makes you realize that different as other people’s beliefs may be from one’s own, we are all still recognizably people – and so wonder what is universal”(page. 16). I like the quote, “Adopting the species-centered view of art allows us personally to better appreciate the continuity of ourselves and our artmaking with nature” (p. 26). This just means that art connects people and art is beneficial to the betterment of society.

I also have some experiences which are about this topic. When I was a  middle school student in China, I had to learn how to speak English. And in that time, I just hated English, because I thought if I want to communicate with someone, I could use Chinese, even when I want to talk to someone who does not speak Chinese, I could use dictionary or translate. However, I changed this thoughts after I went to England. When I came back to China from England, I thought the language is no longer a subject. It is a tool- a tool of communication. I could use different languages to deeply comprehend different cultures. I really want to thank the people who create this diversified world. People are living in many different societies with many different cultures. Then we could feel different life styles. Personal speaking, cultures are arts. One could only deeply understand three or four cultures in his whole life at most. Because cultures should not be read in books or internet, they should be felt or touched.