What Is Art For?

This book is not light reading. One should carefully read each section, think about what it says and then read it again. Ms. Dissanayake's thesis is valid. I did a statistical study of her position on the value of surface beauty and verified it across cultural groups and age cohorts. Whatever other scholars develop in the way of theories of art, hers is the foundation. Read it first, then go on to the others.

Ellen Dissanayake has influenced my art teaching philosophy. She tries to connect art making to the biological evolution of human kind, and it gets a little wacky, but I got very interested in the idea that making and responding to art are part of human nature. I think teaching kids about art is part of teaching them to be human.

Although there may be flaws in Dissanayake's first presentation on this topic, her ideas are revolutionary and (in their more developed form) will influence ideas about the genesis of art and its evolutionary role in human experience and culture for years to come. Her ideas are pioneering and will be quoted, argued, further developed, expanded, and expounded upon. Best of all...this is a very readable book. In fact, its an exciting read; you may be challenged but you won't be bored.