As far as prehistoric art is concerned, although the aesthetic consciousness and needs of prehistoric people are not so conscious or clear, practical and utilitarian consciousness comes first, and aesthetic needs and aesthetic creation are interdependent, obedient and mixed, all artistic forms of prehistoric art reflect the emotional expression and formal creation of prehistoric people to the greatest extent. Although various practical concepts, totem beliefs, witchcraft and sexual satisfaction are mixed in art forms, all art forms have enhanced the psychological structure of human nature, the promotion and development of aesthetic psychology and aesthetic ability to the greatest extent. Therefore, if prehistoric art bears the foundation of the origin of art and promotes the transition from non-art to art, then the most internal driving force is probably the unconscious and independent aesthetic consciousness and needs of prehistoric people. Aesthetics stimulates art, and art stimulates aesthetics. Aesthetics and art are inextricably influenced and interacted, and develop together, thus pushing art and aesthetics towards independence and civilization. Therefore, the aesthetic type of prehistoric art is still a question about the origin and driving force of art, and the aesthetic type of prehistoric art plays a fundamental role. Therefore, we try to grasp the basic characteristics of prehistoric art from the aesthetic type, and continue to explore the origin of art through the aesthetic type of prehistoric art.
First, the mysterious sublimity.
In his book Aesthetics, Hegel called the art of prehistoric times "art before art", that is, "symbolic" art. In his view, the characteristic of symbolic art is that "the idea itself has not found the desired form, so it is just a struggle and hope for the form". This art form is rough, imperfect, grotesque and exaggerated. The concept is bound by natural perceptual materials and barely attached to objects. It has no real expressive force and is just an illustration attempt. "The meaning of content can't be fully reflected in the way of expression. No matter how hard we try, the inconsistency between ideas and images can't be overcome. This is the first type of art, that is, symbolic art, its desire, its turmoil, its mysterious and lofty style. Hegel summed up the aesthetic types of prehistoric human beings with "mystery" and "sublime", which is appropriate and profound. The outstanding characteristics of prehistoric human aesthetic experience are the pursuit of strong emotional catharsis, the pursuit of direct expression of ideas, and the exaggeration of changing the original form of natural objects regardless of the perfection of form. The simple, weird and absurd animal patterns carved on the utensils and the rough, savage and crazy song and dance music clearly show the spirit of "mystery and sublimity". It can be said that mysterious sublimity is a unique aesthetic type of prehistoric art.
"Passionate emotional catharsis" is the fundamental feature of mystery and sublimity. Li Zehou reveals the emotional essence of primitive song and dance with words such as "wildness", "fanaticism" and "fiery": "This primitive aesthetic consciousness and artistic creation is not meditation or contemplation … they are a wild activity process. ..... The songs, dances, plays, paintings, myths and incantations of later generations are completely integrated in the chaotic unity of this indiscriminate witchcraft etiquette activity in ancient times, such as fire, infatuation, piety and wildness, enthusiasm and prudence. You can't despise the old and rigid image outline, you won't think it's just an absurd fairy tale, and you won't despise the seemingly calm gossip of Yin and Yang … At that time, they were all components or symbols of fiery and devout witchcraft etiquette. They are frozen representatives of magic dancing, singing and incantations. They condensed and accumulated the strong emotions, thoughts, beliefs and expectations of primitive people. " Gross also explained the "passion" state of primitive dance: "the pleasure of strenuous and rhythmic movements, the pleasure of simulation, and the pleasure of intense expression of emotions-these ingredients fully explain the passion." Therefore, "in the heat of dance, many participants blend into one, as if excited by an emotion, showing themselves as a single body." In the process of dancing, they are under a completely unified social attitude, and the feelings and actions of the dance troupe are like a single organism. The social significance of primitive dance depends entirely on the induction of a unified society. "
It is the intoxicating primitive songs and dances that bring people to a mysterious kingdom, a world of empathy between man and god, which is what Susan Langer called the "mysterious dance circle". In this magical dance circle, all the spirits have been released. "Spinning, hovering, gliding, jumping and balancing seem to be the basic postures arising from the deepest source of emotions and the rhythm of material life. Because they don't express the concept of things outside the body, they just reflect the vitality itself. " Therefore, "people don't think that dance created God at all, but use dance to express their prayers to God, declare vows, challenge and express reconciliation ... The symbol of the world, that is, the kingdom represented by dance, is this world. Dance is the activity of human spirit in this kingdom. "
"Fierce emotional awe" is another fundamental feature of mystery and sublimity, which is mainly reflected in the bronze ornamentation represented by gluttony. (Photo 1-7) At the end of primitive society, the clan tribes of the whole people became the rule of the clan nobles, and the witchcraft etiquette of the whole people became the worship of the clan nobles for majesty, will and power. Show off violence, praise martial arts, praise war and preach killing. Most bronzes in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties were made for this purpose. Thus, bronzes are no longer just bronzes, but a symbol of the spirit of the times full of war. Bronze ware embodies the aesthetic consciousness of a primitive war era. So the gluttony of eating people is the standard symbol of this era. "The decorative patterns and shapes of the whole bronze ware with them as the main body should highlight this primitive force pointing to the infinite abyss and highlight the fear, fear, cruelty and fierceness in the face of this mysterious threat." Gluttonous ornamentation is no longer a vivid, joyful and realistic image in Yangshao painted pottery ornamentation, nor is it different from the mysterious and abstract geometric ornamentation of pottery, but a completely deformed, stylized, absurd and horrible animal image, which embodies a mysterious, powerful and hideous beauty, and symbolizes barbarism and certain historical development with dignified and solid objects. As Li Zehou said, there is a profound historical force accumulating in the seemingly terrible mysterious intimidation. Its mystery and horror can only be sublime if it is combined with this irresistible historical force. ..... This superhuman historical power constitutes the ugly essence of bronze art ... This is like the fatalism that gives people a horrible effect rendered by a Greek tragedy, and it has become a beautiful art because it embodies some historical inevitability and strength. "
Second, naive harmony.
In prehistoric art, there is another aesthetic type that coexists with mystery and sublimity, that is, childlike harmony. Let's take a look at the dance patterns with decorative patterns on the inner wall of painted pottery pots unearthed in Datong, Qinghai, China in 1-6. Three groups of humanoid dance scenes are used as decorative belts on the inner wall of pottery pots, with five people holding hands and facing the same direction. There is a slope on each side of the head, which seems to be a braid; There are two people on the outside of each group, and one arm is divided into two painting methods, which seems to embody the meaning of big and frequent dance movements with empty arms; There are three lower parts of the human body, and the two vertical roads connected with the ground are two legs; The one near the lower abdomen seems to be an ornament. Active, lively and concise dance, light, neat, full of business and childish overall image, is the naive harmony of aesthetic types. Colorful dance pots provide evidence for us to understand the existence of primitive dance 5000 years ago. Let's look at the painted pottery patterns of Yangshao type and Majiayao type (see figure 1-2): "Its characteristics are precisely the reflection of this relatively peaceful and stable social atmosphere. Look at all kinds of fish, running dogs, crawling lizards, dull birds and frogs, especially the images of fish in pottery pots. Although they obviously have the totem nature of witchcraft etiquette, the specific meaning is unknown, but the artistic style and aesthetic consciousness directly conveyed from these images can clearly make people feel that there is no heaviness, terror, mystery and tension here, but liveliness and tension. These painted pottery patterns are only naive and harmonious in aesthetic type.
Let's take a look at the changes of painted pottery patterns from realistic animal images to abstract geometric patterns. The geometric patterns of China Banpo painted pottery come from fish patterns, Miaodigou painted pottery from bird patterns, and Majiayao painted pottery from bird patterns and frog patterns. They have changed from realistic, vivid and diversified animal images to abstract, symbolic and standardized geometric patterns, which are full of sense of rhythm, vividness and unity, and are free expressions of formal rhythm. Li Zehou concluded: "In this historical process from reappearance to expression, from realism to symbol, and from form to line, people unconsciously created and cultivated a relatively pure formal beauty and aesthetic sense of form. The rhythm, rhythm, symmetry, balance, continuity, interval, overlap, isolation, thickness, density, repetition, intersection, intricacy, consistency, change and unity of labor, life and natural objects with the broad world are gradually consciously mastered and concentrated here. In the Neolithic farming society, the regular forms of labor, life and related natural objects (crops) are far more prominent, clear and clear than the Neolithic hunting society. They finally fixed, accumulated and concentrated this seemingly rigid abstract decorative symbol of pottery through witchcraft etiquette, which made this line form full of a lot of original social and historical contents and rich meanings.
As two main aesthetic types of prehistoric art, mysterious sublimity and childlike harmony are closely related to human prehistoric social life and spiritual consciousness. "Mystery" and "naivety" are the embodiment of primitiveness in this historical stage. The ultimate goal of production, witchcraft, war and art is to serve primitive existence. Hunting or farming, nomadic or planting developed the initial production tools, production technologies, production materials and production relations, witchcraft rituals and totem worship developed the initial spiritual belief system of human beings, and the art associated with production and witchcraft developed the initial emotional expression and aesthetic psychological structure of human beings. In all these development processes, everything is primitive, chaotic, interactive and influential. It can be said that everything is groundbreaking, experimental and exploratory. Therefore, everything is mysterious, cruel, ruthless, horrible, hostile, unpredictable and unreasonable, dominated by mysterious and inevitable leading forces, which makes people conquer and respect; Everything is true, full of childlike innocence, innocence, simplicity, liveliness, surprise, directness and childishness. There is a natural and harmonious connection between people and the world and things, which makes people full of childlike interest and innocence. Therefore, "mystery" and "naivety" are the most basic attributes of primitive life and primitive world. Thinking is primitive thinking, which is used to organize production, witchcraft and war, unite tribes, act in unison and live together. Various prehistoric art forms play the role of media or means. Prehistoric art directly exists in the production, witchcraft and existence of primitive people. Therefore, "mysterious sublimity" and "naive harmony" are directly reflected in prehistoric art, and "mysterious sublimity" and "naive harmony" are both aesthetic types and aesthetic psychology. We can say that primitive sublimity and primitive harmony are the essential characteristics of primitive social life and primitive spiritual consciousness of human beings. Because prehistoric art and its aesthetic consciousness directly construct the unity of life experience in prehistoric society: "The unique patterns of weapons, mats and blankets, baskets and jars have become symbols of tribal alliances. Today, anthropologists rely on patterns carved on sticks or painted on bowls to determine its origin. Rituals, celebrations and legends link life and death in partnership. They are aesthetic, but not just aesthetic. Mourning ceremony expresses not only sadness; The dance of war and harvest is not just about focusing on the task to be completed; Magic is not only a way to manipulate natural forces and obey people's orders; Banquets are not just about satisfying hungry people. Each of these public activities combines practical, social and educational factors into a comprehensive whole in the form of aesthetics. They introduced some social values into the experience in the most impressive way. They connect things that are obviously important and obviously related to the substantive life of the community. Art is also among them, because these activities meet the needs and conditions of the strongest, easiest to master and remember for the longest time. However, although aesthetic clues are everywhere, they are not just art. " The most effective and beneficial influence of prehistoric art and its aesthetic spirit on the whole social life is that it can strengthen and expand social unity and unity, and contribute to the maintenance and development of the whole society. As art historian Gombrich pointed out, "unless we can try to understand the psychology of primitive people and find out what kind of experience made them regard painting as a powerful thing instead of a beautiful thing, we can't expect to understand the strange origin of art". I think that kind of psychology is actually not difficult to understand. As long as we are willing not to deceive ourselves and to see if there are still some' primitive' things in ourselves, it is enough to solve the problem. "
"Mysterious sublimity" and "childlike harmony", as two basic aesthetic types of prehistoric art, namely, two kinds of beauty and aesthetic feeling, are the earliest manifestations of human aesthetic consciousness and spirit, which have played a great role in the development and independence of human psychological structure. These two kinds of primitive beauty and aesthetic feeling, as the root and motive force, influenced Nietzsche's artistic thought. "If we not only reach the logical insight, but also reach the direct and reliable intuition, and realize that the progress of art is linked with the duality of Apollo and Dionysus, … then, we have made many achievements in aesthetic science. What is closely related to these two Greek art gods, Apollo and Dionysus, is our understanding of the great opposition in the Greek world, which is the great opposition between plastic arts (Apollo art) and non-plastic arts (Dionysus art) according to their origins and goals. Nietzsche's investigation on the origin of Greek tragedy is actually to answer the real source and motive force of art. Apollo-style art, Dionysian art, two artistic forces, two artistic impulses and two artistic instincts are actually two basic characteristics and two basic values of our life and existence. The beauty of Apollo and Dionysus echoes with "childish harmony" and "mysterious sublimity", and prehistoric art echoes with the art of civilization stage, especially in modern art, which makes us have to affirm Freud and Jung's collective unconscious thought. No matter how advanced human evolution is, no matter how superb human civilization is, our primitive instinct, primitive tribe, primitive life and prehistoric civilization have been accumulating in our lives and affecting us. Our primitive spiritual home is inseparable from our civilized spiritual home. In our artistic activities and artistic concepts, we will be awakened and stimulated consciously or unconsciously. It can be said that if we know more about prehistoric history, we will know more about contemporary life and contemporary art. Robert goldwater talked about the purpose of his book Primitism in Modern Art: "Today, it is generally acknowledged that the art created by people called primitive people is not" primitive "in itself, that is, it is neither crude in technology nor rigid in aesthetics. It has nothing to do with this. My purpose is not to establish a similarity, on the contrary: first of all, I want to point out why modern artists should look for inspiration in primitive art; Second, explain with some details that although primitive art is a source of modern art, they have nothing in common. Primitive man's art expands our concept of what art is, and makes us understand that art can take many forms, play many roles, and be the representative of comprehensive meaning and fuzziness. Primitive art therefore has far-reaching significance. As Gombrich thinks, "when we watch a masterpiece of African sculpture, it is easy to understand why such an image has such a strong appeal to a generation that is seeking to get out of the despair of western art". The twin themes of European art,' Faithfulness to Nature' and' Beauty of Ideal', never seem to disturb the hearts of those tribal craftsmen, but what their works have is exactly what European art seems to lose in its long-term pursuit-strong expressive force, clear structure and straightforward and simple craftsmanship. " . Prehistoric art and its aesthetic spirit inspire and enrich the artistic soul of our civilization era with its unique strength.