Page 22 - Studio International - April 1974

functions inherent to them may lend its appearance, even when the mound is a Footnotes
significance to their existence. composite of unbonded, independent particles 1 Webster's New World Dictionary (New York:
The World Publishing Company, 1964), p. 961.
I do know that my personal interest in mounds such as sand or gravel. Rudolf Arnheim, 'Perceptual Abstraction in Art,'
resulted to some extent from some (4) A tendency for the forces surrounding the in Toward a Psychology of Art (Berkeley: University
fundamental qualities exerted in my own work, form (air currents or water) to bend around it. of California Press, 1966), pp. 27-50; and Arnheim,
Visual Thinking (Berkeley: University of California
as well as some fundamental qualities present in In this respect the relative absence of sharp Press, 1968).
my mind prior to their appearance in my work. edges and flat, resistant surfaces increases the 3 A. J. Ayer, 'Phenominalism,' in Human Factual
During 1966 and 1967, I was doing a series of duration of the form, unlike a pyramid which Knowledge, edited by Mark Levensky (Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971), pp. 147-72.
drawings using lunar surface landscapes. is commonly assumed to be a persistent form. Michael Polanyi, Knowing and Being: Collected
I was then intrigued with the aged and The mound form is relatively resilient in relation Essays, edited by Marjorie Grene (Chicago:
scarred memory-markings on the moon's to its surroundings rather than rigid. Both its University of Chicago Press, 1969), p. 79.
5 Trieschmann has found the disparity between the
surface. I was struck by what appeared to me perimeter and its parameter are defined by concerns of the behavioural sciences and those of the
to be an array of inverted solar system head what is not seen of it as much as by what is seen. physical designer to be caused, to a major extent, by
stones caused by vast interstellar surface It is an implicative form. a stratification occurring between the formation of
designs and their actual application, including the
probings occurring through eons of time.17 (5) The mystery of containment within the form `middleman in the guise of corporate developers,
During the time of my interest in craters, elicited by its low profile and lid-like structure. code writers, bankers, and commercial lessees.'
another thought occurred to me : that the (6) The relaxed and waiting nature of the form, G. V. Trieschmann, 'On Relationships Between
Physical Form and Human Behaviour,' Leonard I V13
craters are inversions of the earth's dentured crouching in its silent vigil. (Summer, 1972), pp. 227,229.
surface. It seemed enlightening that the surface (7) A visual sensation of inner pressure due to the 6 G. V. Trieschmann, op. cit., p. 229. For those
of the body encircling the earth was relatively slightly curved and bulging shape of the form. unfamiliar with the concept, the MERG study
process may be best defined as 'a non-lineal
antithetical to it both in apparent cause and in This aspect is obviously the result of the form's integration of visually recorded overt behaviour with
effect, one resulting from outer impact, the life-cycle. projective statements from the professional designer
and subjective responses of users.' Through the
other from inner pressure. (8) The variety of appearances of the mound
MERG process, the necessity for specific design
form, particularly in the natural environment, functions may be established at a level significantly
some very rounded, some with gradual in line with those most directly affected by it.
Allen Watts, 'The Non-verbal,' The Centre Magazine
inclinations, others slightly irregular, etc.
3 (July 1970), p. 71.
8 Robert Leeper. 'Development of Sensory
IV Organization,' Pedagogical Seminary 46 (1935),
Some further characteristics of mounds A variety of mound forms exists both as man- p. 41; and also E. H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion
include: made objects and as shapes in the natural (New York: Pantheon Books, Inc., 1960), pp. 53-55.
9 James R. Simms, A Measure of Knowledge (New
(1) The tendency for the form to directly and environment. In the habitats and artifacts York: Philosophical Library, Inc., 1971), p. 7.
intimately integrate with the horizontal place of man the over-riding enticement of the mound 10 Ibid., p. 19.
11 Ibid., p. x8.
below it. Mounds seem to 'grow' or emerge form has been its adaptability as a container, 12 J. W. Davis, Leonardo V/4 PP. 357-58; for ensuing
from the surface plane with which they are a functional shell, in either its ordinary or dialogue on 'absolute energy' see Leonardo VI 11
physically bound, whereas a hemisphere lies its inverted (bowl) form. A similar function p. 93 and V1/2 pp. 189-90.
13 Gay Gaer Luce, Biological Rhythms and Human
upon the surface below it. The hemisphere is prevails in nature for such a form. Mounds are and Animal Physiology (New York: Dover
composed of sides that approach the plane the basic form of hills or mountains Publishing Company, 1971).
from a more perpendicular angle, and the (containing mineral deposits), cumulus clouds 14 Alan Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against
Knowing Who You Are (New York : Collier Books,
height is proportionately higher than its width (having water), water surface bubbles (bearing 1967), p. 147.
if compared with a mound. air), some animal and insect habitats, as well as 15 Morris Peckham, Man's Rage for Chaos: Biology,
(2) The form reflects the complementary directions attached protective coverings for certain animals Behaviour and the Arts (Philadelphia: Chilton Books,
1965).
of forces in the over-all system in which it assumes such as turtles and armadillos. At a microscopic 16 Based upon my book review of Jean Sauboa,
an active part. The external pressures and level, bubble-like mound units interlock in the Introduction to the Visual Arts (London : George G.
currents accompanying those that radiate cellular structure of plant forms.18 Harrap, 1969), in Leonardo 11/4 (Fall, 1969),
from hidden points within it are mutually In the following chart I have included these PP. 438-39-
" Examples and clarification of this appear in
self-evident in the nature of the form. It is examples and others to indicate the extent of `Unified Drawings Through the Use of Hybrid
a form that is constantly becoming, at each their existence, and an attempt has been made Pictorial Elements and Grids,' Leonardo V 11
(Winter, 1972), pp. 1-1o; 'Visual Dialogue Through
moment serving both as a mirror of its past to group them according to certain "Conversational Drawing," ' Leonardo 111/2
and a premonition of its future. similarities of shape, function, location, and, (Spring, 1970), pp. 139-47; and 'On Literality in
(3) The persistence of the form in nature, both when applicable, symbology. My Drawings,' Leonardo IV/3 (Summer, 1971),
pp. 259-62.
physically and in the impressions gained from JAMES DAVIS " M. Anderson, Through the Microscope (London:
Aldus Books, 1965).

Mound Graph (note : designations for accompanying photos are included in parentheses.)
Groups
Variant Shapes Examples, Locations, Characteristics, Functions, and
Symbology
Constructed by many animal species as well as man.
Some solid (stratified); others hollow. Shape, size,
materials, and internal structure vary with function
and tradition.
`Stratified' mounds (la): formed from layering of
cultural debris in locations of continuous, but
changing, occupancy. Example: Tell Judeideh in
Syria (5500 B.C. to 600 A.D.); 14 layers deep.
`Internal habitat' mounds ( ib—e): such as Navaho
hogans, Wichita grass houses (point at top), Alaskan
igloos, Afghan yurts, Ethiopian brush igloos, and the
Kraal huts of the Zulu in South Africa. Hogans

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