Getting Back To Basics :: essays research papers

Getting Back to BasicsIn earliest times autochthonic people made contact with the outside world through the same five senses used by people today. They could hear the sounds of animals, see objects, feel the rain down on their faces, smell the fragrance of wild flowers, and taste berries and other foods. Primitive people also expressed their feelings through device and dance. The cave paintings in Lascaux, France, which were careworn some 27,000 years ago, depicted animals of the time. Do these images show Paleolithic mans continuity with nature? It is not known whether these pictures had a methodical, or a magical or religious purpose however, they did show that primitive people had both a need and a talent for self-expression. In Suzi Gabliks book, Conversations in the first place the End of Time, Gablik touches base with several artists analyzing the discontinuity between man and nature, nature and art, and art and man. During inter enamors with each artist, philosophical qu estions arise, such as what is art for (Ellen Dissanayake), are humans unfeignedly at the apex of the pyramid (Christopher Manes), and can globe survive without modern technological civilization (Rachel Dutton and Rob Olds)? Links between ecology, psychology, and art are explored, and the consensus among the artists states that mankind needs to change how we live with the earth by getting back to the basics.What is Art For? & Making Art About CentipedesIf you were to ask Ellen Dissanayake what is art for, she would reply that art is making special. Dissanayake believes that humans, since the beginning, have been attracted to objects that were extraordinary or special, and make special things to show that we care and have regard for those things. Most importantly, art is for everyone and not totally for an elite group of artists in the art world. Upon first reading this article, I agreed with Dissanayake, however after rereading, I discovered that there was some finesse in what s he was saying. Initially, Dissanayake created a solid argument on why art is important to man, why we create art, and to whom art is created. However, when linking this to the importance that man must insure that we cannot go on living in ways that are so mechanical, materialistic and hard on the environment (Dissanayake, p.54), Dissanayake separated man into a Darwinist view of nature, and mans superiority over it. In my opinion, this view is the reason man is disconnected with nature.