Subject number one. He’s tall and slender with well-combed dark hair, approximately 23. He’s wearing nice jeans, leather boots, and a wool sweater. His whole outfit seems carefully calculated and put together. He appears to put effort into presently himself nicely. He has facial hair that is groomed and maintained and his ears are pierced with small diamond studs. He seems melancholy, laid back, and easy going. On the other hand, I think his earrings and body language are giving off a feminine vibe. I think he comes from a middle class family based off the quality of his clothes and the way he’s upright in his chair like his mom told him too many times to sit up straight. I think he places a high value on his appearance and making sure that he is presentable each and every morning. Solely based on his appearance I am making assumptions that he comes from a white middle class family, is a genuinely happy person, cares about his appearance and takes pride in looking his best.

Subject number two. He’s older with graying hair pulled back into a long braid. He’s wearing glasses, a soft green button up with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of worn-in jeans. Around his brown leather belt is a small knife and in the pocket of his shirt there’s an assortment of pens and pencils. He’s wearing a sport watch and carrying a back pack over one shoulder. He appears relaxed, like he might be sitting on his porch reading the morning paper rather than in front of a chemical instrument. His braid is held in place with a silver spiral wrapping around the end. Based off his location, I can deduct that he places a high value on the scientific method. The pencils in his pocket, his glasses, and technical watch make me think he might be intelligent and place a high value on education and knowledge. His worn down sport shoes make him appear outdoorsy and I think he may enjoy going on hikes or spending time fishing. I believe his long gray braid make him appear liberal and some what free spirited. After growing up in a very liberal town (Boulder, Colorado) I see this man and can’t help but associate his style with the town.

Subject number three. A young woman, likely in her early 20’s. She has beautiful light blonde naturally curly hair. She’s wearing lululemon exercise clothes with pair of pink nike trainers. She’s at a table alone reading a book on food and culture and drinking tea out of a mug covered in pictures of her with a friend. From her appearance I can assume she values a healthy lifestyle, friends and family, and her education. From her choice of reading I’m betting she’s either a social science major or taking a general education class on the topic. Although exercise clothes are acceptable college attire, she has a backpack by her side with a protein shaker, indicating she might be on her way to or from the gym. Based off the brand of active wear she has on I believe she might come from a well-off middle class family.

Many of the assumptions I made come from my own experiences but also from interacting with people who share similar to traits to my subjects.

In Ellen Dissanayake’s keynote address, “What is Art For?” she discusses the meaning behind her term “paleoanthropsychobiological”. Looking at the word we can recognize some root words for example: paleo, anthro, psycho, biological. Paleo meaning anciet, anthro coming from human, psycho involving our minds, and bio meaning life. By breaking down the word we can begin to understand what Dissanayake might be trying to discover. The title of her speech says a lot, she is trying to find what purpose art plays in our lives. Dissanayake’s main goal was to attempt to account for every purpose of art across history and cultures and the emotional effects that art has on all of us.

Within Dissanayake’s speech she talks about a concept she calls “making special.” Making special involves finding things (activities or objects) that have personal significance for us. These special things are different from pieces of our everyday life and hold a meaning for us. Dissanayake believes that all animals can notice something special but what has set us apart from animals is that humans have deliberately set out to create something special. Human survival has relied of making special and Dissanayake makes the connection between hunting and it’s ritualistic, special role it played in society. Making special also relates to all types of art too because art sets out to make something that has meaning, significance, and is extraordinary.

Throughout her speech Dissanayake talks about several different movements and eras of art that were developed and changed our views of art. Firstly, the Renaissance era of art during medieval times “replaced God-centered [art] with man-centered concerns” (Dissanayake, p. 2). This era was a time of art that attempted to portrayed reality, whether accurately or not still remains a question. Modernism came during the 18th century and portrayed the social, political, and intellectual trends and changes of the period. The art of the modern era also transitioned to became somewhat abstract and free to interpretation since it was not always portraying reality. Following this era was postmodernism which is “a declaration of the end of all isms and movements” (Dissanayake, p. 5). Postmodernists focus on points of view or frames of references and are often critical and skeptical.

Dissanayake, E. (1991). What is art for? Keynote adresses 1991 (NAEA Convention), (pp.15-26).