Paul Gauguin, the Father of Modern Primitivism Essay

Paul Gauguin, the Father of Modern Primitivism - Essay Example The essay "Paul Gauguin, the Father of Modern Primitivism" discovers the Father of Primitivism, Paul Gauguin. We have become societies that live within the symbols we’ve created rather than beings who live as we were meant to, through all of our senses, which, David Howes argues, is the only way in which we will be able to once again feel fulfilled. â€Å"If we do no ‘come to our senses’ soon, we will have permanently forfeited the chance of constructing any meaningful alternatives to the pseudo-existence which passes for life in our current 'Civilization of the Image.'" Further, we have had several individuals willing to show us the way whom we have instead labeled as primitive because they did not relate to the world at the same superficial level that we did. By taking a look at both high fine art such as that produced by Paul Gauguin and the ‘primitive’ cultural products of the Inuit tribes, we can see that what we have traditionally defined as pr imitive is not necessarily an accurate term, or perhaps is a term that needs redefinition. In terms of discussing an artist such as Paul Gauguin, Oliver Sacks has helped us define the deviations of vision as the product of a savant mind, a mind that works in sharp contrast to the standard variety brain. According to the current research, the savant mind is able to more accurately and quickly process information than the average mind, by utilizing a full complement of information coming in from all of the senses, even questioning whether there might not be more.