1. Susane K. Langer separates presentational abstraction from generalized abstraction, asserting “In scientific thinking, concepts are abstracted from concretely described facts by a sequence of widening generalization...” Is Picasso's bull series not a sequence of widening generalizations, not merely “derived from some single instance under proper conditions of imaginative readiness.”? [161-162]
2. “Samuel Johnson Defined the outcome of an abstraction as ‘a smaller quantity containing the virtue or power of a greater.’” At what point does that occur in Picasso’s bull, is that precisely why he drifted away from the ‘cow’ and brought back the shoulders?
3. If abstractions are often culturally based, is it an ideal window into another cultures perspectives? Is the art of previous societies a view into their abstractions or is it the stylistic means of representation [see geometric period].
4. If you choose to paint what you see without your glasses on, is the representation abstract or is it in fact “syncretistic perception.” [168]
No comments:
Post a Comment