Who Should We Trust?

Question:  Wouldn’t it be more accurate to ask someone who actually lives in a culture of “primitive” art what their concept of art is, rather than trusting the theory of someone who just studies the culture?

After our discussions in class, I have realized that this question is not very relevant, because the issue at hand is not who to trust. It is whether or not there are multiple concepts of art. Although I agree with Denis Dutton for the most part, I also believe that Larry Shiner makes some good points. Overall, however, I believe that these "primitive" art objects are just examples of craft, which is a type of art. Although the functionality of these objects may be the most important factor for their creators, they are still crafts, and therefore works of art that are aesthetically pleasing and share certain criteria needed for something to be considered art.