Letter to Ellen

Letter to Ellen Dissanayake

I enjoyed reading your art articles. I thought you did a great job with the writing. I have a few thoughts however. Although I found your examples valid, your many examples were confusing. Just throwing tribal names out there, like “the people of Alor and of Tikopie in the South Seas,” may steer our attention towards how the perspective of peoples around the world are shaped by enculturation, but these reference lose value beyond that point because most of your readers are not anthropologists and would not be familiar with the numerous tribal peoples you mention.

The other problem that came to mind was your over-use of quotes from outside sources. Your many references remind me of a quote by Groucho Marx where he says, “copying a whole book is called plagiarism. But copying from a bunch of different people is called research.” I have a problem with this Ellen. When I researched a little more about who you are, I felt a bit cheated. You didn’t author “What is Art” and “What Art Does for People”. You pieced it together from the talent of others. And I feel cheated because I have read some of your other work, the material and the ideas that are yours, and I wonder why you felt the need to qualify your ideas by shoring it up by quoting everyone under the sun. What are you bringing to the table?

I think writing is art. In the future, think about your pen and paper as a blank canvas. Most of us would be highly offended if we were standing at an easel with our pigment and brushes, completely absorbed, pouring heart and soul into the process, and some jerkoff came along, rubbed his chin, and had the audacity to pick up a brush and help himself by adding to your canvas. This would be an incredible violation, a sort of rape. I’m saying that your overuse of outside sources is a violation. You are voluntarily allowing strangers to enter your sacred creativity to rape you. The more I think about it, the more appalling. You would be furious if someone defaced your artwork. Keep your work yours kiddo. You don’t have to subjugate yourself to the authority of others. It’s your work. It is an extension of you. You are the authority!

In your article Homo Aestheticus you assert that art is adaptive and necessary for the survival of the human species.

You even go so far as to insert ART into Maslowe’s Hierarchy of needs

Where it falls somewhere between Basic (survival) and Safety (comfort) needs.

Art may have the ability to gel cultural cohesion, but I think your insertion

Of art into Maslow’s hierarchy is a bit far reaching.