Unit 03

The terminology “Paleoanthropsychobiological” is coined by Ellen Dissanayake, who is the author of this week’s reading. This adjective is a combination of paleontology, anthropology, psychology, and biology. Basically, this means everything. In the reading, Ellen states “First, that the idea of art encompasses all of human history; second, that it include all human societies; and third, that it accounts for the fact that art is a psychological or emotional need and has psychological or emotional effects.” (Page 15) Ellen uses “paleoanthropsychobiological” to define what art is.

Dissanayake mentions “making special” many times in the reading. She describes “making special” with a case of comparison between animals and humans. Ellen says “Now all animals can tell the difference between the ordinary or routine and the extraordinary or unusual. They would not survive if they were oblivious to the snapping twig or sudden shadow that means a predator may be nearby. But when joined with the other abilities that evolving humans had – intelligence, resourcefulness, emotional and mental complexity, the ability to plan ahead – the “special” could take on a significance that was more than simply alertness to possible danger.” (Page 22) Humans have special abilities to survive such as intelligence, resourcefulness and many more that other animals do not have. With these special abilities, humans can create art. Humans have all the abilities that art must contain, which fit to the adjective “paleoanthropsychobiological”. Therefore, everything humans do becomes art.

There are three main different theories that Dissanyake describes. They are modernism, post-modernism, and species-centered view. Modernism was prominent from 18^th century to 19^th century. In the reading, “Included in the many new approaches and subjects that 18^th century thinkers turned their attention to was a subject that came to be called “aesthetics” – a concern with elucidating principles such as taste and beauty that govern all the arts and indeed make them not simply paintings or statues but examples of (fine) “art”” (Page 17) From this statement, human sees art as ideology. Dissanyake also mentions, “This was that there is a special frame of mind for appreciating works of art – a “disinterested” attitude that is separate from one’s own personal interest in the object, its utility, or its social or religious ramifications.” (Page 17) Basically, it explains the movement from the art of medieval times to modernism. Post-modernism sees art as an object to interpret. In the reading, the author states, “a point of view that calls into question two centuries of assumptions about the elite and special nature of art….postmodernists are united in repudiating the “high” art view…” (Page 19) Postmodernism challenges the entire “modernist” ideology. The time period of postmodernism is late 20^th century movement. Lastly, Dissanyake introduces the species-view of art theory. This is related to the adjective “paleoanthropsychobiological”. Dissanyake mentions, “…I believe, by considering art in the broadest possible perspective- the palaeoanthropsychobiological view that I mentioned – as a universal need and propensity of the human species.” (Page 21) She combines the two characteristics of modernism and postmodernism. She also mentions “the species-centered view of art combines modernism’s proclamation that art is of supreme value and a source for heightened personal experience with postmodernism’s insistence that it belongs to everyone and is potentially all around us. It does this by thinking of artmaking and experiencing as a human behavior.” (Page 22)

Before reading this week’s assignment, I thought that the word “art” just describes literally the creatures by human such as sculpture and music and many more. I have heard that those creatures imply something, but I have never deeply thought about it and never known that the “art” mean that a lot of things. The author states, “First, that the idea of art encompasses all of human history (i.e., as far back as the Paleolithic or even earlier): Second, that it include all human societies (i.e., is anthropological or cross-cultural): and third, that It accounts for the fact that art is a psychological or emotional need and has psychological or emotional effects.” (Page 15) In the reading, the author also mentions an adjective “palaeoanthropsychobiological”, which means that the “art” includes all human history, human cultures, and human psychology by viewing “art” as an inherent universal trait of the human species. To be specific, the author explains about Western concept of art. She gives emphasis on five changes during the eighteenth century which is recognized as a focal point of modernity. The five changes are a gradual secularization of society, the rise of science, the social or interpersonal changes, an emphasis on reason as the best means for understanding and controlling the matters of life, and the great political revolutions in America and France. By looking at these changes relating to the “art”, the way of “art” has been changed along the five unprecedented changes. I remember that I have learned that there are different patterns along the centuries in high school. After reading this week’s article, I realized that the “art” is one of the ways of expressing the era when the artists lived in especially after medieval times. The author says, “In medieval times, the arts were in the service of religion…Renaissance artists gradually replaced God-centered with man-centered concerns… (Page 16) As art became man-centered, human started giving implied meaning in it and used it as representation of the truth and reality. As it evolves over time, the author comes up with species-centered view of art in the end which is beyond the man-centered art. By not confining the definition of art in the past way, this will lead “art” to a new way of expression.