A linguist by training, Mallen (Hispanic studies, Texas A&M U.-College Station) argues that at an intuitive level, the three major of stages of Cubism Cžannian, analytic, and synthetic follow roughly the three major levels of visual perception surface-based, object- based, and category-based. He notes that Picasso was very interested in mental mechanisms, but only at an aesthetic and intuitive level, and he does not assume or argue that the painter was aware of any of the parallel accomplishments in the sciences as he pursued his search for the essential aspects of object perception. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
