The Commonality of Humans Through Art, a new 576-page volume published by Paul Holberton Publishing, assembles ten leading scholars to examine how the language of art has shaped human behavior from birth to death over the past 30,000 years. The book represents a significant departure from traditional art historical approaches by organizing its content thematically around universal human experiences rather than using standard geographical or historical arrangements.
According to John Buxton, founder of ArtTrak.com and long-time appraiser on Antiques Roadshow, this publication is "the most important book about art since H.W. Janson's History of Art." The work combines insights from neuroscience, anthropology, and art history to explore how artistic expression has influenced human life across diverse cultures.
The book features 400 vibrant color photographs of tribal and ancient art objects from globally renowned museums and private collections, creating what amounts to a centralized exhibition of humanity's artistic heritage. These visual elements support essays that examine themes including family, motherhood, conflict, warfare, sickness, healing, religion, and death.
Contributors include distinguished experts from multiple disciplines. Dr. Dahlia W. Zaidel of UCLA's Brain Research Institute contributes a chapter on "The Brain and Art," while Herbert M. Cole, Professor Emeritus of Art History at University of California Santa Barbara, examines "Motherhood and the Family." Other notable contributors include David H. Dye, Professor of Archaeology at University of Memphis, who writes about "Conflict and Warfare," and Todd J. Pesek, MD, Founding Director of the Center of Healing Across Cultures, who addresses "Sickness and Healing."
The publication has been praised by World of Interiors for its innovative approach, with the magazine noting that each essay "teases out the ways in which the language of art captures and forms social experience across cultures and history in each domain." This thematic organization allows readers to see connections between artistic expressions from different times and places that address similar human concerns.
Priced at $78.00 and available through major retailers including Amazon, the book serves dual purposes as both a valuable reference for libraries and introductory anthropology and art courses, and as an accessible coffee table book for art enthusiasts. The publisher's website at https://tcohta.com provides additional information about the publication.
This interdisciplinary approach to art history represents an important development in how we understand humanity's relationship with artistic expression. By demonstrating how art has addressed fundamental human experiences across millennia and cultures, the book offers readers new perspectives on both art history and what it means to be human. The work's emphasis on common creative threads that connect diverse cultures makes it particularly relevant in today's globalized world, where understanding shared human experiences becomes increasingly important.
