Homo aestheticus : where art comes from and why /
"Dissanayake argues that art was central to human evolutionary adaptation and that the aesthetic faculty is a basic psychological component of every human being. In her view, art is intimately linked to the origins of religious practices and to ceremonies of birth, death, transition, and transc...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Seattle :
University of Washington Press,
1995.
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| Edition: | First University of Washington Press edition. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "Dissanayake argues that art was central to human evolutionary adaptation and that the aesthetic faculty is a basic psychological component of every human being. In her view, art is intimately linked to the origins of religious practices and to ceremonies of birth, death, transition, and transcendence. Drawing on her years in Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and Papua New Guinea, she gives examples of painting, song, dance, and drama as behaviors that enable participants to grasp and reinforce what is important to their cognitive world"--Back cover. |
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| Item Description: | Originally published: New York : Free Press ; Toronto : Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; New York : Maxwell Macmillan International, ©1992. |
| Physical Description: | xxii, 297 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-271) and indexes. |
| ISBN: | 0295974796 9780295974798 |