Art as Culture: Chapter 5 Review

Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of the Epiphany

Today's post is my summary and review of of Chapter Five of Art as Culture: An Introduction to the Anthropology of Art by Evelyn Payne Hatcher.  Chapter Five's title is "Why? Social Contexts and Social Functions," and examines three theories that attempt to explain how art helps hold societies together (i.e., its "social function").  Hatcher does this by exploring the type of situations in which visual art forms are utilized by indigenous cultures, and the reasons why.

Here's a basic outline of the chapter:

How Does Art Help Hold Society Together? There are Three Primary Theories:

     I. Art as a psychological means to social ends: Art functions as a safety release valve for negative emotions or excess energy. 

     II. Art as social setting: By providing aesthetic pleasure to large groups during gatherings, art helps to reinforce a sense of community or communitas. 

     III. Art as a symbol of society: Art can reflect and reinforce proper social relationships, through the use of collective cultural symbols.

More thoughts on Chapter 1 of Art as Culture

Ethiopian Icon: Christ in Glory with Symbols of the Four Evangelists
by Simachew Mesfin

Toward the end of my post on the Preface and Chapter 1 of Art as Culture: An Introduction to the Anthropology of Art, I mentioned a few of Hatcher's points regarding the meanings found in art objects.  She writes that there are five levels of meaning in art: subject, symbolic/iconographic, interpretation/theoretical, metaphor and ambiguity.  I'd like to compare and contrast these five levels with ideas presented in a forthcoming missions manual called Researching and Creating Together: How Local Artists Can Help Communities Reach their Kingdom Goals, which was the basis for a one week module on visual arts that I taught last year for a course at GIAL.