... by imagining I do not mean merely the formation of images in our minds, but rather that process by which we take such images and the ideas we abstract from them and the feelings they generate in us and arrange them coherently and harmoniously into something new, in much the same way as the combination of two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen becomes a compound that is altogether different from either of its constituents by themselves. For all that we are hearing in this year of Darwin about a supposed connection between art and evolution, it seems worth noting that no other species has found it necessary for its survival to decorate a nest or lair with frescoes or adorn itself with jewelry or sit around and listen while one of their number sings a tale of bestial heroism or romance.
I think it only fair to mention that over the weekend my friend Dave Lull and I exchanged emails about this column and that Dave's sharp questions and observations enabled me to get a clearer idea of what I was driving at. The sentence that begins the above excerpt came about entirely because of that. So my thanks to Dave for taking the time to help me with this.
Thank you Dave for the editing assist. You really are everywhere.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to Frank for continuing to write such intriguing pieces for When Falls the Coliseum. I don't think there's anything quite like his column on the interweb, or any place else.
Well thanks, Scott. Imagine that - I may be an original.
ReplyDeleteHi Frank, this is a very good piece, and jells with your views, expressed on Books Inq, about symbolism and the higher place of humankind in animal hierarchy.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just read your bio on that website. It's fabulously hilarious, without being incorrect.
Thanks, Vikram, I appreciate that. I hadn't looked at the bio (really an auto-bio) since I submitted it. I give it a high-grade for accuracy.
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