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Visionary art?
Bulls, horses, deer, Lascaux Cave, France, about 17,000 years ago.
© The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images, Inc.
difficult to describe, called abstract symbols, or designs, and
so forth. These range from simple colored dots or strokes or
carved shallow cupules in the stone to complex grid-like paintings
or engravings. Some of these geometric designs have been
termed “tectiforms” (roof-like) although there is no evidence
that there were any roofs.
These abstract forms, because of their refusal to give up
their secrets, have been rather neglected by historians, at least
in comparison with the more flamboyant animal images, to
say nothing about the carved and decorative mostly female
statuettes (misnamed “Venus” figurines). These abstract images
can give us additional clues as to the production of the
art in general.
Deciphering the “meanings” of paleolithic art
Analyzing the art is a formidable task, and the process continues,
with various schema current at one time or another. 1,2
Art for art’s sake—During the period when paleolithic art
was known mainly from small carved and engraved bones and
antlers, the genre was regarded as aesthetic and playful. This
approach has been largely abandoned.
Sympathetic magic—When the great cave paintings of
Altamira and Lascaux were discovered, the depiction of large
hunted animals, often with spears or arrows in them, led
to the concept of “hunting magic” or “sympathetic magic.”
According to this model, emphasized by Sir James Frazer in
The Golden Bough, hunter-gatherer people made pictures of
their prey to remember yesterday’s foray or to imagine and
ensure the success of tomorrow’s venture. 3 This interpretation
has its advocates today.
In the structuralist approach, pioneered by André Leroi-
Gourhan, the images were subjected to sophisticated measuring
and counting techniques that led to interpretations of the
arrangement of art in symbolic terms, emphasizing quantitative
correspondences and dualistic contrasts, e.g., male versus
female symbols, red versus black images and horses versus
bison. 4 The ultimate rationale may have been to promote fertility
in both human and animal worlds, which were, of course,
extremely interwoven and interdependent in hunter-gatherer
societies. Many find this approach arcane.
6 The Pharos/Winter 2011