Month: January 2015

In order to dissect the true definition of the history of the Western idea of art, Dissanayake provides her own term, and it is a rather heavily weighted one – paleoanthropsychobiological. Within this term, reside four separate factors contributing to the Western idea. First, paleo makes reference to the idea that art dates as far back in history as when the first human species came about, and this may have been pre-Paleolithic age. Anthro suggests that all human species were involved in the evolution of this idea of art. Psycho addresses the idea that art is both driven by and a cause of emotion. Lastly, biological is included to address the idea that art is a characteristic that is innate within all humans.

 

Unique to the human species is a wide range of qualities and characteristics, and it is within the complexity of these intertwined traits that humans are able to make things “special.” It is not an act of claiming something as special, but rather it is directly setting out to transform an ordinary act or object into something special. To do this, humans “exert control” and “take pains” to ensure investments are completed to the best of their ability (p.9). When humans take such care in performing a task or creating something, the outcome is usually considered artistic. In terms or art, like creating a hand tool or tooth decoration, artistic quality is reached when great efforts, and possibly time, are dedicated to the creation something. In terms of survival, Dissanayake remarks on hand tools and ensuring “they worked by making them and the activities that were concerned with them special” (p.9). One of her strongest examples is of hunting and the careful considerations made before hunt – fasting, participating in rituals, bathing, and wearing the proper attire.

 

In her thorough examination of the history of the idea of Western art, Dissanayake provides insight on many theories and movements, including that of the 18^th century’s modernity movement, the Romantic Rebellion, and Modernism. Modernity encompasses several theories including secularization of society, a growth of scientific thinking, encouraged social behavior and use of reason, and great political movements. One of the greatest aspects of change was the “weakening of the nobility and clergy” that accompanied a shift from kin relationships to those “based on the exchange of money” (p.3)

During the period of the Romantic Rebellion, which followed the last mentioned theory, people voiced their dissent with the drastic changes that society had recently undergone. An increase in individual freedom led to perished ties to work and other people, and an increase in intellectual freedom resulted in uncertainty. Dissanayake writes, “to artists, as to everyone, the new order brought both liberation and insecurity, and a universal standard for art was evolving (p.3).

In contrast, the up-and-coming modernism movement of the 19^th century proposed a necessary “‘disinterested’ attitude” for the appreciation of art (p.3). Rather than individuals connecting to the subject matter of the art piece, a universality of what was and was not art was supported. The purpose of art was to provide “heightened moments,” and these moments began to belong only to higher classes that were taught this standard of art.

 

 

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

“Along with control of one’s behavior… would go making important tools and implements special, showing one’s investment in their working properly, one’s regard for their importance,” writes Dissanayake as she articulates that an investment of effort is a notable quality of art (p. 9). Similarly, Dutton explains that “doing something well” and “skilled performances” are qualities that have defined art for millions of years (Dutton, 2010). In agreement, I see this quality as an example of a possible characteristic of what we consider art today. In addition to investment of effort, dedication of time seems to be an associated quality, but to a lesser extent. Take, for example, throwing on the wheel in the art of ceramics. Perhaps one is skilled enough to create a set of nesting bowls in less than a half hour – beginners would probably need closer to a week to master this task. But, these bowls are perfectly shaped and fit one within another without uneven ridge widths or an unbalanced foot. Investment of time was not required to make such a beautiful set of dishware, but the effort put forth to learn that skill was quite the investment.

Regardless, it is this idea of actively seeking to make something “special” that transforms an object as art.

Dissanayake continues, “The reasons that we find a work accessible, striking, resonant, and satisfying are biologically endowed as well as culturally acquired” (p. 10). Although satisfaction may be a feeling that is unique to the individual, it is an innate sense of beauty, based in biological characteristics and cultural influences, that forms a universal sense of what is and what is not art. I agree with this explanation, and find that it explains timely shifts in the eras of “artworld”. Advanced biological adaptations, along with diverging social ideas and practices, contributed to different definitions of art.

 

 

 

Sources:

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

Dutton, Denis. A Darwinian theory of beauty. TED Talk. Nov 2010. Accessed: January 21, 2015.

Values

Family

Friendship

Enjoyment

Health

Personal Development

Loyalty

Integrity

Security

Location

Leadership

Community

Service

Personal Accomplishment

Expertness

Prestige

Independence

Wisdom

Creativity

Power

Wealth

 

Reflecting on my activities for the day, it was easy for me to come up with times when I exemplified my most important values – family, friendship, enjoyment, health, and personal development. I try to hold sincere conversations with my family and closest friends throughout the day, whether via phone or in person. I also try to put these people before myself, but not to the extent that my third most important value, enjoyment, is destructed. I believe that being happy and enjoying life is one of the greatest tasks that we, as humans, can take on, so I search for that daily. Health is a less arbitrary value, when compared to enjoyment and personal development, but I think it is a very important value. One must maintain decent, if not great, health to be able to exhibit any other values. Lastly, personal development allows one to learn from mistakes or positive experiences and grow. This growth will hopefully allow for the practicing of other values.

The majority of these belief patterns were inherited from my family, but they were certainly modified by my personal self. For example, a sincere conversation with a friend or family membrane may differ from person-to-person. I know my mom would rather speak to me over the phone, but my younger sister would rather rely on text messaging to share her thoughts. In response to the second question, I do not think any of these inherited belief patterns lose full validity in my thinking. My idea of enjoyment may differ from my parents’ or sisters,’ but the pursing of that enjoyment remains valid.

A few goals that I have for myself that I have yet to pursue include graduating from college, finding a burning passion for some occupation within the medical field, and reaching optimum health status. Standing in the way of graduating is time and needed credit, but I plan to overcome both in the next year and a half. In the way of finding my future career is lack of experience, but I also plan to lessen over these next several months. Reaching and maintaining a very healthy lifestyle is burdened by a lack of self-motivation and determination, but I plan to work on both over these next weeks.

Overall, I found this excerpt quite interesting, as I do not always choose to think about my own personal values, which will become the basis of my post that follows:

In the excerpt, Lewis writes, “Without clearly focused values, it is probably impossible to lead a purposeful and satisfying life,” suggesting that without awareness of one’s own values, life cannot be meaningful (p. 18). I would have to disagree with this statement because I do not believe conscious awareness of values is necessary to reach fulfillment in life. Whether we know it or not, we all have values that help direct our life choices, but regardless of our awareness of them, or lack thereof, their effects in our lives will still remain. While reading this piece, I did much reflection and could not think of a single time I chose to formulate my values without having been asked. However, I do understand that many people do perform this task, and perhaps on a regular basis, which I do believe to be advantageous.

To support my argument, I have a second line from Lewis’s work that I do agree with: “… most of the argument is over words, not the underlying concepts the words are supposed to represent” (p. 12). Here exists evidence that values may not reside in the conscious portion of the brain. We are able to choose the words we speak, but we may not be able to consciously choose the values underlying those words.

Lewis’s lists of basic and synthetic mental modes of “knowing” things were very thorough, and I enjoyed reading through the paired articulations. Lewis notes that humans formulate values based on a combination of these mental modes and that these mental modes have varying degrees of impact from person to person. I agree that this is true, and that this variance is what results in disagreement and “incessant quarrelsomeness of human values” (p. 3).

 

 

 

Lewis, H. (1990). A Question of Values: Six Ways We Make the Personal Choices That Shape Our Lives. Axios Press.