EXPRESSION

Vol. 13, 2016

In picture genesis, the "abstract" precedes and enables depiction and coding

Some arguments and speculations based on the investigation of
early pictures in ontogeny

Dieter Maurer

Institute for Contemporary Art Research
Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland






Figure 8

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In ontogeny, a substantial part of the early picture development is similar for very different contexts of picture production, that is, it is cross-cultural (Figure 8).


Figure 8

Similarity in the structural characteristics of early pictures in ontogeny, related to very different contexts of picture production. Eight comparisons of pictures produced by children living in India (rural region in the south of India; mostly communities of Indigenious People; first picture of a comparison, on the left), in Indonesia (region in the mountains of Bali, second picture of a comparison, in the middle), and in Europe (regions of Switzerland, Germany and France; third picture of a comparison, on the right). – Age range of the children = c. 2 to 6.

(a) First comparison: central form and radials

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(b) Second comparison: graphic aggregates

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(c) Third comparison: early human figure drawings

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(d) Fourth comparison: early depictions of plants

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(e) Fifth comparison: "abstract" motives I

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(e) Sixth comparison: "abstract" motives II

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(f) Seventh comparison: early "abstract" picture scheme

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(g) Eighth comparison: early figurative picture scheme

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