From Paul Mealing
What is missing from the discussion of Vilayanur Ramachandran’s theory of art is the role of imagination, which inhabits all art, be it visual, dramatic, poetic or musical (5 August, p 44). I am one of those who believes that it was art that first separated us from the other primates because it not only allowed expression for flights of the imagination, but also allowed us to project our ideas, thoughts and emotions.
Art is distinguished from other forms of expression because it conveys an emotional message as well as an intellectual one. Music epitomises this better than any other medium, but it applies to all art. My own area of expression is writing, and fiction must convey an emotional message or it is dead. It is not just the ability to create or copy scenarios, narratives and characters that distinguishes fiction from non-fiction like this letter, but the necessary conveyance of feelings, sensations and emotions. Without this emotional message in all forms of art, the work of art would only be appreciated by the artist, and not by others. This leads to the idea that art is like the peacock’s tail and was one of the drivers in the evolutionary development of the human brain.
Melbourne, Australia
