24/6/08

abstract or representational

But we must look beyond replication or illusionism to discover the basis of
anthropomorphism. All art, whether abstract or representational, is in fact
anthropomorphic if one considers art not in terms of appearances but in terms of its
function and relation to human activity. Tools, from the simplest hand implements to the
most sophisticated computers, are extensions of man's attempt to shape his
environment. And in the same sense, symbols too are human extensions.

J. W. BURNHAM