Perceptual Anthropology
The Cultural Salience of Symmetry
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2462269 |
|---|---|
| Authors | D K Washburn (0000-0002-9696-9101, Maryland Institute College of Art, corresponding author), Dorothy Washburn |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 547-562 |
| Publication date | 1999-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Anthropologist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7294 • E-ISSN: 1548-1433 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1525/aa.1999.101.3.547 |
| OpenAlex | W2133291651 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 33 |
| References cited | 97 |
In this paper, I advance the position that knowledge about the universals of form perceived by the visual system is fundamental to a theory of how art communicates. I focus on how the perceptual system uses the universal property of symmetry to recognize and classify form. I propose that the symmetries that structure design parts in non-representational geometric patterns metaphorically encode a culture's fundamental relationships about the world. This metaphorical use of the property of symmetry is illustrated by showing how bifold symmetries in ceramic design embody Puebloan concepts of life. [symmetry of pattern, perceptual universals, worldview in design structure, metaphorical readings
Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Epistemology · Geometry · Linguistics · Perception · Problem of universals · Property (philosophy · Salience (neuroscience · Sociology · Symmetry (geometry · Aesthetic Perception and Analysis · Color perception and design · Computer Science · Mathematics · Multisensory perception and integration · Philosophy · Psychology
Symmetry and Color Perspectives on Basketmaker Cultural Identities
Wholes, Halves, and Vacant Quarters
Learning to Make Pottery in the Prehispanic American Southwest
Comparative Analysis of Three Analytical Methodologies for Polychrome Design
Cognitive archaeology
Rock art and social networks among hunter gatherers of north-central Chile
Shared Image Metaphors of the Corn Lifeway in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest
Arquitectura y materialidad de la interacción social en la comunidad aldeana del Chañarcito, Los Molinos, La Rioja
The Invisible Rendered Visible
Reflection as transformation
Los Petroglifos del curso medio del arroyo Salado (Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina) desde una mirada cercana y lejana
Rock paintings, soot, and the practice of marking places. A case study in North-Central Chile
Visual style hermeneutics
Painting as Agency, Style as Structure
How the Pueblos Got Their Sprachbund
Remembering Things Seen
The Social and Historical Context of Short-Term Stylistic Replacement
Monitoring Cultural Change through Ceramics from the Prehispanic Tarascan Region
Lives of Stone, Lives of People
Antecedents, Continuities, and Experimental Stages in a Design System
Symmetry Analysis of Hopi Yellow Wares
Continuities and Changes in the Structure of Ceramic Design
Western Basketmakers
The Representation of Plants in Hohokam Pottery Design
Designs on Pots
Pattern Symmetries of the Chaco Phenomenon
A Symmetry Analysis of Design Structure
They Go Along Singing
Perceptual Anthropology
Assimetria e saliência
Signaling Theory, Strategic Interaction, and Symbolic Capital
Sociopolitical, Ceremonial, and Economic Aspects of Gambling in Ancient North America
Spatial and temporal trends in the distribution of engraved eggshell fragments
Structure and cognition in art
Metaphor
The Social Use of Metaphor
The Taste of Ethnographic Things
More than Cool Reason
Art and Visual Perception
Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising
Metaphors We Live By
D arwin's D angerous I dea
Beyond literal similarity.
Mental Rotation of Three-Dimensional Objects
The Psychological Foundations of Culture
Some informational aspects of visual perception.
Different Bodies, Different Minds
Human (Homo sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection
The Varieties of sensory experience
Ancestral connections
Archaeological Approaches to Cultural Identity
Young Children's Comprehension of Simple and Complex Metaphors Presented in Pictures and Words
Metaphor in Visual Displays Designed to Guide Action
Where Do Metaphors Come From
Or What's a Metaphor For
Developmental Studies of Perception and Metaphor
An ethnoarchaeological perspective on textile categories of identification and function
Emergence of Symmetry in a Visual Conditional Discrimination by Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes)
Emergence of Symmetry in a Visual Conditional Discrimination by Chimpanzees ( Pan Troglodytes )
Metaphor in Pictures
Counterpoint in Maori Culture
Symmetry 2; Unifying Human Understanding
The Golden Relationship
Perception of symmetry in infancy
To Weave and Sing
Symmetries of Culture
Symmetry and Entropy
The Mission of Metaphor in Expressive Culture [and Comments and Reply]
Art as a Structural System
Human facial beauty
Role of symmetry in pattern reproduction
Color patterns on Paracas necropolis weavings
Art and Religion as Metaphor
Symmetry as a Superprinciple of Science and Art
Symmetry and Symbolism in Ban Chiang Painted Pottery
Counterpoint in Maori Culture
The Cosmic Zygote
Anthropology and Psychology
Africa Counts
Perceptual Anthropology
| Unique citing works | 33 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,22 |
| Citation span | 1999 - 2026 (28) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 32 |