Dear reader,
Before my lyrical interlude, I left off at pre-historic art. The discussion is: Is art an integral part of our life or something supposed and agreed upon by people – a kind of social construct one can interact with or not according to his own preference.
In the post “Beginnings” I showed evidence of art activity in the very first places of human habitation discovered right alongside tools and shelter.
Another evidence I find applicable here is the fact that (to my knowledge) there is no culture or any group of people existing anywhere that do not have objects and customs that we today would consider art. As I’ve said before, I’m using the word art in its broadest sense – things painted, carved, man-made for esthetic purpose, narrative like myth, stories, music and songs, rituals. It is important to remember that exactly these things were the foundation of today’s symphonies, pop songs, museum material, theaters, and movies.
A second, and subsequent, fact I want to emphasize here is not only that every culture has these “artistic” phenomena, but that they were also performed for a very specific purpose. That purpose was always connected with the well-being of the people – rites and rituals were done to bring health, harvest, good weather – sun or rain, good crops, protection from storms, pestilence, wild beasts or enemies. And always these include some form of interaction with spirits – invisible beings and personal qualities in real objects like earth, sun, rivers, trees.
A very interesting book on this subject is «The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World» by anthropologist Wade Davis. Even though I don’t agree with many of his conclusions and explanations, his in-depth research into a variety of cultures shows how deeply «artistic» activities were integrated in the lives of people. There was no thought of our contemporary notion of re-creation or entertainment. All activities were vitally important to the necessities of life and well-being.
As this post in getting too long, in the next one I will introduce an example from Bulgarian culture. Coming soon: the ritual of Kukeri.
Art and the Invisible 