艺术人类学的学科基础及其特质

西方现代美学选择了与古典美学相反的学术路径,批判并放弃了从理性、概念出发演绎出庞大的抽象理论体系的学术模式,追寻对有关艺术和审美的具体问题的解释,这为人类学介入艺术及审美领域提供了学术契机。而美学本身早就有着人类学表述的传统,为美学的人类学转向作了知识结构的准备,人类学一直以来热衷于对艺术的研究,积累了大量的研究成果,为介入美学和接纳美学作了经验模式的铺垫。艺术人类学就是在美学进行困境摆脱时而与人类学整合而成。在学科特质上,艺术人类学表现为以美学和艺术哲学的理论思辨作为潜在资源,以人类学的田野实证作为具体路径,以强烈的人文关怀精神和求实的参与观察方法彰显其自身的敏锐现实介入力和问题阐释力。

The Disciplinary Basis of Art Anthropology and Its Peculiarity

Modern Western aesthetics has chosen a route which is opposite to the classic aesthetics, has criticized and given up the academic model in which the enormous abstract theoretical system was deduced from rationality and concepts, and is seeking explanation about specific problems such as arts and appreciation of beauty, which has provides moments for anthropology to get involved in the fields of arts and beauty appreciation. And aesthetics itself had the tradition of expression in anthropology, which has laid the base of knowledge structure for the anthropology-orientation of aesthetics. Anthropology has long been hankering for the study of arts and has accumulated a lot of research results, which has foreshadowed the empirical pattern for involvement in and acceptance of aesthetics. Art anthropology has taken shape while aesthetics is extricating itself from predicament and integrating itself with anthropology. In disciplinary peculiarities, art anthropology shows clearly the keen power of its interposing realities and that of its interpreting problems with the theoretical speculation of aesthetics and art philosophy as the potential resource, with the on-the-spot investigation of anthropology as the specific method, and with vigorous humanities and fact-seeking spirit as the participatory conception.