A Study Of Franz Boas's Primitive View Of Art

Franz Boas of the United States is one of the few anthropologists who study primitive art.He challenges the authority of "European Civilization Centralism" and "World Cultural Hegemony" on the contrary of classical theory of cultural evolution,theory of world cultural communication,theory of imitation of primitive art,theory of religion and theory of witchcraft.Boas pays attention to the relics of the non-Western world and modern primitive tribes and emphasizes that the level of human intelligence is roughly equal,which makes researchers think again about the significance and value of "human" and make efforts to establish the cultural concept of world equality and balance.He voiced from the field of primitive art research that the real face of world cultural development must be based on field evidence.In order to maintain the authenticity of primitive culture,he proposed that four methods should be used in the study of primitive culture: field demonstration,division of cultural regions,fiction of history and cross-cultural comparison.The same is true for the study of primitive art.Boas used anthropological research methods to collect primitive works of art from various regions,and to explore the appearance and style of primitive art.He believed that primitive art was a practical activity in which primitive people pursued the complete form of objects and could express the spiritual and social features of primitive people.The occurrence of primitive art lies not only in the needs of primitive people,but also in the fact that art is a way of expression of emotion,thinking and imagination.Practical technology is the most critical factor in the occurrence of primitive art.Boas declared,"Primitive art occurs after technology matures." It can be said that Boas' s theory of primitive artistic genesis is based on the theory of practice,technology and expression.On the other hand,Boas believes that the primitive art of each region is a charming form formed in its social environment and cultural and historical background.Therefore,the aesthetics of primitive art should not only consider the formal beauty of the works of art,but also explore the deep meaning of the works of art,that is,the beauty of content.The aesthetic form and connotation of primitive art constitute the aesthetic elements of primitive art.Although artistic forms have their own characteristics,Boas also finds that primitive art forms in different regions present some regular artistic features.He hypothesizes that primitive art has the aesthetic standards of symmetry,regular repetition,symmetry and repetition.These aesthetic standards are not formed by chance,but are the universal characteristics formed in the process of primitive art practice.Boas believed that the reason for these universal characteristics was that primitive people had the same level of aesthetic mind and causal thinking ability,and consciously produced similar artistic form characteristics.And art forms have similarities as well as differences.The artistic differences of different regions form different artistic styles.Boas thinks that the simplest primitive art style is the separation of concrete art and abstract art.On this basis,primitive art can be divided into realistic art and non-realistic art.According to the function of primitive art,it can also be divided into expressive art and symbolic art,but they contain each other.Boas' s aesthetic theory of primitive art is generated from the perspective of anthropological research methods.It is mainly composed of three theories: the theory of aesthetic genesis of primitive art,the theory of creative power of primitive art and the theory of primitive artistic style.He intends to realize the real sequence of world cultural development through the study of primitive art,and construct the blueprint of world cultural development.He tried to find the truth,eliminate cultural prejudice and pay attention to the inheritance of cultural history.However,Boas paid too much attention to the form of primitive art in the course of his research,and regarded technology as the decisive factor in the occurrence of primitive art.To a certain extent,this bias contradicts Boas' s original intention of insisting on seeking cultural connotation,which makes him fail to grasp the essence of primitive art and world culture in depth.Boas' s ultimate adherence to cultural relativism and historical determinism is an unproven path,but it inspires his disciples to continue to explore.