Is art a form of communication? If so, what does art express or represent? How should we interpret the meaning of works created by more than one artist? Is art an adaptation, via natural selection? In what ways is art similar to—and different from—language? In Art as Communication: Aesthetics, Evolution, and Signaling, I employ information theory, the theory of evolution, and the newly developed sender-receiver model of communication to reason about art, aesthetic behavior, and their communicative nature. In this book, I consider whether art, from a biological point of view, is the province of only humans or whether animals might reasonably be said to create art. Examining the work of evolutionary biologists, art theorists, linguists, and philosophers—including Charles Darwin, Stephen Davies, H. Paul Grice, and others—I assess how well different theories of communication explain meaning and expression in art and argue that art is much more continuous with other forms of communication than previously thought.


Book Outline:

Introduction

Chapter 1.  Theories of Representation and Expression in Art
     1.1  Setting the Scene
     1.2  Art, Imitation, and Representation
         1.2.1  Resemblance
         1.2.2  Representation
         1.2.3  Neo-representational Theories
         1.2.4  The Problem of Realism
         1.2.5  Resemblance Again
         1.2.6  Illusion
         1.2.7  Conventionalist Theories
         1.2.8  Neo-naturalism
     1.3  Art, Emotion, and Expression
         1.3.1  Emotion
         1.3.2  Expression Theories
         1.3.3  Experience
Chapter 2.  Signs, Signals, and Meaning
     2.1  The Sender-Receiver Model
     2.2  Comparisons
         2.2.1  C. S. Peirce
         2.2.2  H. Paul Grice
         2.2.3  The Ostensive-Inferential Model
     2.3  Robinson Crusoe and the Wine
     2.4  Meaning
     2.5  If a Lion Could Speak...
​Chapter 3.  Group Communication​
     3.1  Group and Joint Communicators
     3.2  Three Debunking Views
         3.2.1  Metaphor
         3.2.2  Hobbes
         3.2.3  Shorthand
     3.3  Real World Cases
     3.4  Animal Groups
Chapter 4.  Art as Communication
     4.1  The Universal Language
     4.2  A First Sketch
     4.3  Paintings, Drawings, and the Like
     4.4  Song and Dance
     4.5  Scores
     4.6  Statues and Monuments
     4.7  Film
     4.8  Collective Art
Chapter 5.  Art and Evolution
     5.1  Contemporary Theories
     5.2  Art as Fitness Signal
     5.3  Art and Group-level Selection
     5.4  Animal Art
​Chapter 6.  Maps, Blueprints, and Other Communicative Devices
     6.1  Lines on Paper
     6.2  "X" Marks the Spot
     6.3  Fathoming It Out
     6.4  The Cartography of Power, Thematic Maps, and Other Odds and Ends
     6.5  Below Deck: Visions of Home, Bones, and the Starry Sky
     6.6  Dead Men Tell No Tales? Or All Hands On Deck?
     6.7  Land Ho!
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Postscript

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Now available... Published by Lexington Books and Bloomsbury Publishing

Bloomsbury's advertisement page: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/art-as-communication-9781666924350/
​

Reviews:

"Although defended by commentators like Tolstoy, the notion of art as communication has not received much attention by philosophical aestheticians as of late, but as the title signals, Art as Communication intends to redress that lacuna. Shawn Simpson puts his theory in the context of traditional theories of art as well as setting forth the approach to communication he intends to apply to art—the sender/responder model—in terms of its historical antecedents in addition to cutting-edge contemporary research. Though the material is complex, the clarity of the text is exemplary and the generous use of artistic examples engrossing in their own right. Not only is Simpson’s book a novel challenge to the debate among philosophers of art. It can serve as a welcoming introduction for ordinary consumers of art who are curious about its nature."
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— Noël Carroll, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York


“With refreshing frankness and simplicity, Art as Communication returns us to age-old questions about what matters most about art and sheds new light on them by bringing to bear a model of communication, the ‘sender-receiver’ model, that is more biologically-grounded than its traditional philosophical competitors. His discussion is grounded in a wealth of specific examples drawn from a wide-range of artforms. Shawn Simpson is admirably patient and thorough in building its case that the sender-receiver model affords a more comprehensive and unified understanding of individual and collective communication across the arts and across the human/animal divide.”

— Kristin Boyce, Vanderbilt University


                                    Errata/Corrections to the Printed Text:

Note: A number of minor errors/typos that were not in the final edited manuscript seem to have been introduced during the printing/type-setting process. I've also found some infelicities in Chapter 2 that make the argument a bit confusing or difficult to follow. I've worked with my editors to make sure these will be corrected in the next round of printings, which should be out shortly. Documents containing details on corrections are posted below. I kindly ask reviewers or researchers who are hoping to cite this work to consider these corrections as they will be critical for a proper understanding of the text and the larger argument. Reviewers may also email me for instructions on how to receive a corrected version of the text for their reviewing process.

Full List of Errata --> Full List of Errata/Corrections.
Chapter 2, Syntax Analysis Corrections --> ​Syntax Analysis Corrections.
Sample Chapter (w/ corrections) --> Chapter 5. Art and Evolution.


Image Notes:
The details of some figures are a bit tricky to see in the black and white version of the text. This makes it difficult to understand some of the points I make using those images. I've included color versions of those figures below. All images are in color in the e-book version of the text.

Image credit: "Galactic Broken Yoke" (2022) [mixed media]. Michael Tapia & Shawn Simpson