Abstracting concepts from sets of instances: the case of serial works of art

Visual memory involves episodic memories specific to time and place (instances) and general memories comprising broad abstract concepts. Concepts are abstracted from relationships between instances leading to the formation of stable mental prototypes based on sets of exemplars. This paper is concerned with the rapport between specific instances and general concepts in terms of visual works of art. By way of examples, a particular class of serial artworks is discussed regarding the unique interplay of instances and concepts as a mode of address. A recent body of the author’s practice-based research is then discussed in relation to Barthes' (1981) account of remembering a loved one through photographs – an especially affecting demonstration of the limits of visual memory based on the distinction between instances and concepts.

Barthes, R. (1981) Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.