Anthropology of Art: Questions of Theory

10.33876/2311-0546/2024-4/217-235

Abstract

The article presents preliminary interdisciplinary criteria for understanding the subject field of art in the interaction between anthropology and art studies. It is important to highlight the methodological approach adopted in the comprehensive analysis of artistic content in relation to different geographical regions. It is crucial that scholars from diverse scientific disciplines engage in the theoretical comprehension of the Russian cultural field. The authors posit that the distinctive and particular content of the anthropology of art resides in the circumstances of culture, which may be understood in three dimensions: sacral/ethno-national-religious, socio-organisational, and nature-production. These dimensions may be conceived as parts of the "matrix of being," which is essential for scientific comprehension of the object and subjects of the discussed scientific direction. There is currently no agreed scientific or practical substantiation for the anthropological nature of art in its ethnic understanding. The systematic classification of factors of production, social and religious modes of life within the cultural context of diverse peoples, in conjunction with historical periodization, enables the introduction of a typological dimension that is characteristic of ethnic art. Accordingly, the anthropological/ethnocultural aspect of art should be examined in the context of the causal relations between the material and spiritual purpose of the 'thing' (human-function-form). It is important to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue on this topic, but it is essential to reach a consensus on the categories of subject matter and the conditions for their formulation.