Dissanayake discusses the idea of art for life’s sake. In order to understand the way in which art is represented is to have such a broad perspective such that it is a universal need for all. Ellen touches on the idea that, “There is no known society that does not practice at least one of the what in the West we the arts, and in many groups art-making is among their most important endeavors.” (Dissanayake 1991,21) The idea that art is so tangible to all people regardless of any socioeconomic standing or education is what makes the idea of art so fascinating. Ellen touches on the subject that in the modern world now there in generally a smaller scale of people who practice and appreciate art. The idea that anyone can be an artist is a topic that I find most people don’t consider or realize. As mentioned “everyone may be an artist- decorating their bodies and possessions, dancing, singing, verifying, performing..” (Dissanayake 1991,21) While the word artistic has been tainted so thinking how one’s ability of producing said art is compared to one another, the idea of being artistic is having the ability to express oneself in any and which way one pleases. In the last paragraph in the articles the take away message to the readers is, “ Art is normal and necessary behavior of human beings that like talking, exercising, playing, working, socializing, learning, loving, and nurturing should be encouraged and developed in everyone.” (Dissanayake 1991, 26) The way in which the articles ends is very refreshing, allowing the audience to take in the idea that art is just another way in which we can live our everyday life. Art can be personalized for each individual, by his or her tastes, current life situations, or learning about history. There are endless possibilities to what “art” can mean for a person, and how different people can interpret a painting or sculpture and have completely different views of what the said art means to them. Art is just another part of life that allows us to grow and learn about you, others, and about the artists behind the work. Being artistic doesn’t mean being great at creating a piece of work, but allowing yourself to express yourself freely and interpret the way you see the world to others. There is no wrong way in art, and that is what makes it so intriguing.
Although your main point regarding art being more accessible is valid, I do think Dissanayake does believe that some criticism toward art is warranted. You wrote, “There is no wrong way in art, and that is what makes it so intriguing.” While art does have many different forms, some level of criticism toward art is not out of place. Dissanayake noted, “Postmodernism abandons the crumbling edifice of modernist authority for an equally uninhabitable and esoteric antistructure of relativism, cynicism, and nihilism that I claim does not have to be the inevitable outcome of the matter.” (Dissanayake, 21) Dissanayake does believe that elitist authority toward art is not the answer to how the art world should be structured. However, having no legitimate feeling toward whether a piece of art should be criticized is not her ideal art world either. Finding a balance between elitist attitudes toward art and having no opinion toward art is the best outcome.
A decent compromise that a student in our group brought up is that teaching the essentials of art at a young age could be a way of bridging the gap between these two opposing viewpoints. CJB stated, “General education on art in public schools from a young age could help familiarize individuals with different forms of art, and therefore give people the confidence to appreciate it.” (CJB) If education of art was more accessible, then art collection and critiquing would not be held by only the cultural elitists.
Sources:
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.
Link to blog: http://blogs.uoregon.edu/cjb1219/2014/01/22/art-and-accessibility/
After I read your post, I was very agree with your idea. As mentioned “everyone may be an artist- decorating their bodies and possessions, dancing, singing, verifying, performing..” (Dissanayake 1991,21) All people can be a artist and art is in each part of people’s life. Just people have their own idea to understand art or we can say they have their own art style. For example, the musics people listen are different. Some people like to listen Jazz and other like to listen Rock. Even what color a person like will show his or her art style in there. I also very agree with what you said that there is no wrong way in art. Art is very free. So it can be every kind of forms. However, I still have a question. If art is very free and will not be any wrong, why people always want to match it, like music match? Is it ambivalent?