Hugo Froelich created the following diagram, The Stages of Conventionalization, in 1905 for Keramic Studio Magazine. It proposes a hierarchy of representation, what’s sometimes called a mode of genre. Impressionism, for example, employs a decorative representation, whereas the fractured faces of Picasso are symbolic. (They are, after all, still recognizable as faces.) This descriptive hierarchy applies to books as well painting. Indeed, it applies to … Continue reading The Anatomy of Excellence in Art + Fiction