Who Lives Here?
Who Lives Here?
Decoration, Design, and Ornamentation on Objects and Surroundings
Chapter 6 follows the aesthetic impulse full circle and explores the human need to decorate objects and surroundings, as well as the marking of property and status in the public domain. Furthermore, it looks at phenomena such as folk art, street art, and graffiti. The purpose of the chapter is to show that such extravaganzas too make biological sense and thereby strengthen the argument that aesthetic behavior is natural for humans. Decorations signal personal fitness, ability, care, effort, resources, as well as power, because they ensure social status, for instance to attract more sexual partners. Like our body ornamentation, decoration is immediate communication transmitting key social and evolutionary information to the surroundings.
Keywords: folk art, graffiti, tags, street art, decoration, design, personal fitness, status, ornaments, stimulation-seeking
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