2013, No. 2 (5), Genealogies of Culture

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Andrzej P. Kowalski
The Origins of Art in the Light of René Girard’s Anthropology

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Keywords: R. Girard, mimetic theory, totemism, exogamy, social differences, Paleolithic art

Abstract:
R. Girard’s mimetic theory, inspired by the work of S. Freud, is usually regarded as an anthropology that examines the origins of religion, mainly sacrificial rituals and mythologies. The paper discusses such elements of Girard’s theory which can be applied to research on the origins of art. Girard’s thesis about archaic crises leading to violence is pre/historical in character. In the context of discussing a lack of art in Neanderthal communities, a question arises about the cultural conditions of the birth and function of primitive production. The Homo sapiens probably used elements of art (ornaments, figurative and schematic drawing) in order to show group (clan, totemic) differences. The Neanderthal culture was homogeneous, mimetically uniform and repetitive. Group differences could be signaled by acts of direct violence. The Homo sapiens sublimated aggression and created social semiotics of the oldest artistic artifacts. Imitations became more difficult to do, they required specialisation. As a result of primitive art, violence took on a symbolic meaning.

About Author:
KOWALSKI ANDRZEJ P. – philosopher, anthropologist of culture, Professor in the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Gdańsk.