Aesthetics at its very limits: Art History meets cognition
Type
Master thesisNot peer reviewed

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Date
2016-05-18Author
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The aim with this master thesis is to prove that prehistoric
art is worth the Westerners attention, not the least the
attention of art historians. I am interested in placing
prehistoric art/cave art in the spotlight, by reminding readers
about the stunning craftsmanship and timeless beauty these
paintings convey. I will do this by participating in an on-
going scientific discourse, which reflects the wide range of
scientists participating in the mystery we are facing: who
painted this and why?
I am interested in how our species started creating images,
and also how our ancestors, who had never seen a painting
before, were able to paint beautiful murals. The challenge
alone in converting three-dimensional motifs to two-
dimensional images is impressive. In terms of brain
development, such a skill proves that these early Homo
sapiens had a fully developed parietal cortex, the part of the
brain perceiving 3D, perspective etc.
My approach differs substantially from what is common in
art history, quite simply by the fact that there is no common
agreement as to whether my material is classified as art or
not, at least in a Western sense of the word art, and all
theoretical ways to explore art derives from western
philosophical Aesthetics. I therefore prefer the word
artification, as Ellen Dissanayake codes it. I am particularly
interested in art in the perspective of cognitive development
because findings within this research area are claiming that
aesthetic experiences arise from the same
neurophysiological processes that comprise the rest of our
cognitive-perceptual-emotional life.
Publisher
The University of BergenCollections
Copyright the author. All rights reserved