Perceptual Anthropology: The Cultural Salience of Symmetry

Abstract

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]