What Is Art For? Artifact
To view the original post “What Is Art For” click here.
Objective
- Consider culturally based versus universally based theories of art.
- Examine multiple perspectives for evaluating art.
- Consider the origins of art.
Reflection
In the original artifact “What Is Art For?”, I discussed Ellen Dissanayake’s speech by answering several key questions posed about the history of art. This artifact helped to solidify the objectives listed above and acted as a starting point when evaluating other units throughout the course. In my artifact, I discuss the term Dissanayake coins: paleoanthropsychobiological. It is what she believes is the reason for art; historically, culturally, psychologically, and biologically. Dissanayake also claims that, “art must be viewed as an inherent universal (or biological) trait of the human species, as normal and natural as language…” (p. 15). Dissanayake’s ideas helped to achieve the objective: consider the origins of art.
Dissanayake’s idea of making special is particularly important when evaluating art. I discussed the idea in depth in my “What Is Art For” post by saying: “Human survival has relied on 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.” The image below is a perfect example of the importance that art played in pre-historic culture to both survival and artistic development which puts the historical context of art into perspective.
Dissanayake’s address acted as a solid reference for evaluating other units in this course. In “Food As Art” and “Food, Art & Science” Dissanayake’s descriptions of art movements helped to decipher whether we could consider food to be art work. In the “Creativity & Spirituality” artifact Dissanayake’s ideas were applied to the inspirations behind works of art from different eras and how religion and spirituality have played a role. Dissanayake’s ideas were also used to decipher what category of art remix culture falls into in the “Remix Culture” artifact.
Future Directions
In the future, Dissanayake’s speech will still act as an important reference when discussing the drives behind movements of art and where certain works of art fit into. Classifying and interpreting art is important for understanding motives, references, and historical context.
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Dissanayake, E. (1991). What is art for? Keynote adresses 1991 (NAEA Convention), (pp.15-26).