Visionary Art of Aboriginal Peoples in Foreign Scientific Works

Abstract

This article focuses on the phenomenon of the visionary origins of art as a key factor in the development of creativity among indigenous peoples. The subject of the study is theoretical and empirical data drawn from international anthropological and ethnographic sources documenting the visionary origins of the art of indigenous peoples around the world. The object of the study is the indigenous art of peoples living in shamanic traditions. The article examines D. Lewis-Williams's neuropsychological theory of the origins of indigenous art. The authors pay particular attention to the documentation by anthropologists and ethnographers of the creation of images by indigenous peoples across different continents and countries as a result of altered states of consciousness. Considerable attention is given to works containing extensive studies of indigenous art. These works are of value to Russian art criticism. This article presents an analysis of international scholarly sources supporting the concept of the visionary origins of Aboriginal art. The primary research method utilized was historiographical analysis of anthropological and ethnographic works from the late 19th century to the present. The sources presented in the article are arranged chronologically. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that it is the first Russian art criticism review of international scholarly works describing the process of creating works of art by contemporary Aboriginal peoples in an altered state of consciousness. The article presents a list of sources and citations confirming the visionary origins of Aboriginal art worldwide. The scientific novelty of this work includes the professional translation from English into Russian of citations from international sources on the topic of the study. The authors actively contribute to the development of a source and methodological base for Russian ethno-art studies studying the art of local Aboriginal peoples. This study proposes applying the international paradigm of the visionary origins of art to the study of the art of the indigenous peoples of the Northeast and Far East of Russia. The main conclusion of this study is the assertion that the art of all Aboriginal peoples of the world, including Russia, is visionary, that is, its source is a shamanic trance (an altered state of consciousness). In the future, for the study of the art of aboriginal peoples, it is proposed to use a neuropsychological model of the origin of this art as a methodological basis.