DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42067#0396
356
Conclusion
to the representative and symbolic values of form. This is no less
true in literature, music and dance. Narrative and poetry so far
as they contain intelligible words, always have a meaning which may
have a deep significance because they touch upon those aspects of
life that stir the emotions. Frequently there is an added mean-
ing, when the words have a symbolic, ulterior significance related
to religious beliefs or philosophical ideas. In music and dance also
symbolic significance is often attached to form.
We are at the end of our considerations, but one question re-
mains to be answered. We have seen that the desire for artistic
expression is universal. We may even say that the mass of the
population in primitive society feels the need of beautifying their
lives more keenly than civilized man, at least more than those
whose lives are spent under the urgent necessity of acquiring the
meagre means of sustenance. But among others also the desire for
comfort has often superseded the desire for beauty. Among primi-
tive people the xaXov x’ctyaTov coincide. Goodness and beauty are
the same. Do they then possess the same keenness of esthetic
appreciation that is found at least in part of our population? I
believe we may safely say that in the narrow field of art that is
characteristic of each people the enjoyment of beauty is quite the
same as among ourselves: intense among a few, slight among the
mass. The readiness to abandon one’s self to the exaltation induced
by art, is probably greater, because the conventional restraint of
our times does not exist in the same forms in their lives. What
distinguishes modern esthetic feeling from that of primitive people
is the manifold character of its manifestations. We are not so much
bound by a fixed style. The complexity of our social structure and
our more varied interests allow us to see beauties that are closed
to the senses of people living in a narrower culture. It is the
quality of their experience, not a difference in mental make-up that
determines the difference between modern and primitive art production
and art appreciation.
Conclusion
to the representative and symbolic values of form. This is no less
true in literature, music and dance. Narrative and poetry so far
as they contain intelligible words, always have a meaning which may
have a deep significance because they touch upon those aspects of
life that stir the emotions. Frequently there is an added mean-
ing, when the words have a symbolic, ulterior significance related
to religious beliefs or philosophical ideas. In music and dance also
symbolic significance is often attached to form.
We are at the end of our considerations, but one question re-
mains to be answered. We have seen that the desire for artistic
expression is universal. We may even say that the mass of the
population in primitive society feels the need of beautifying their
lives more keenly than civilized man, at least more than those
whose lives are spent under the urgent necessity of acquiring the
meagre means of sustenance. But among others also the desire for
comfort has often superseded the desire for beauty. Among primi-
tive people the xaXov x’ctyaTov coincide. Goodness and beauty are
the same. Do they then possess the same keenness of esthetic
appreciation that is found at least in part of our population? I
believe we may safely say that in the narrow field of art that is
characteristic of each people the enjoyment of beauty is quite the
same as among ourselves: intense among a few, slight among the
mass. The readiness to abandon one’s self to the exaltation induced
by art, is probably greater, because the conventional restraint of
our times does not exist in the same forms in their lives. What
distinguishes modern esthetic feeling from that of primitive people
is the manifold character of its manifestations. We are not so much
bound by a fixed style. The complexity of our social structure and
our more varied interests allow us to see beauties that are closed
to the senses of people living in a narrower culture. It is the
quality of their experience, not a difference in mental make-up that
determines the difference between modern and primitive art production
and art appreciation.