ABSTRACT
In this scholarly interview conducted by co-editor Lynne Conner, evolutionary ethologist Ellen Dissanayake reflects on her research into the biological/evolutionary role of art as a meaning-making construct. Starting with an overview of some of Dissanayake’s fundamental theories about the human meaning-making apparatus (what she calls the ‘making-sense organ’) and the basic question of why Homo erectus took on the habit of ‘elaborating’ on the everyday world with symbols and metaphors, the interview then moves into the intersections of evolutionary theory, developmental and cognitive psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience as they apply to the audience experience. Over the course of the interview, Dissanayake’s overarching research question (through five major books and dozens of articles) of ‘What if Art for?’ and ‘Why do people make art?’ is extended to reflecting on why people consume/spectate art and why they continue to insist on a role in evaluating the art they experience as audience members. The conversation is full of suppositions, idea explorations, provocations and thought routes that might inspire audience research scholars to think in new and different ways.
