Animal Architecture by Karl von Frisch (review)

348 Books imperatives demand redefinition of the role of artists? Sommer himself states that 'the important question is whether painters, writers and poets are obliged to go beyond reflection to interpretation and prescription', A serious deficiency ofhis book is the abrasive way he chooses to treat the question. Readers are asked to measure the accomplishments ofcommunity motivated artists against an antagonistic and oversimplified estimation of studio artists, for example, 'she [the new muralist] cannot afford the haughty contempt that the studio painter may feel for purchasers and patrons ... .', 'one can tell very little about the issues affecting public consciousness by examining the work of studio artists ... .', 'the satirical put-down, frivolity, and faddism ofmodern art movements can be viewed as a response to a lack of community ... .', 'their sophomoric attempts at novelty for its own sake have little to do with artists working cooperatively with neighborhood people ... .'. Clearly, this display of intolerance mars an otherwise credible advocacy. A complementary question involves the approach to 'street art' by artists, generally. Cannot a relationship be made between the populist stance of the 'establishment avant-garde' and Third World muralists? Does the author disenfranchise contemporary extensions ofthe Happening from the'street art' axiom ofsocial relevance? Unfortunately, this subject is not adequately discussed. Some of the chapter topics are: The New Mural Movement; definitions of 'street art' forms; the politics of 'street art'; the Emeryville, California, mudflats, a site for group sculpture; a guide for Locating and Photographing Street Art; and a final chapterconcerned with less common 'street art' locations and the future of this type of art. I found most satisfying the chapter on the saga of the Emeryville mudflats. This is due in part to the depth of research concerning the symbiotic relationship between art and ecology at the mudflats, and to Sommers' moving and well-reasoned objections to the obliteration of this people's art arena by commercial developers. The 84 reproductions (24 in color) are commendably siteoriented . However, I found their distribution distressing--46 in California, 10 in Illinois and 5 in Massachusetts. (In 1973, Boston and Chicago each had almost 100 murals [cf. J. Bloom, Changing Walls, Architectural Forum. p. 25 (May 1973)]). The division between text and photographs is inappropriate. 'Street art' has such a vital connection to local culture that an integration of verbal and visual documentation is neccessary. Nevertheless the book is valuable for drawing attention to the proliferation ofa noncommercial, popular art form in the U.S.A. Animal Architecture. Karl von Frisch. Harcourt Brace. Jovanovich, New York, 1974.306 pp., illus. $12.95. Reviewed by Donald J. Bush * In a spirit ofhumility in the face of the complexity and ingenuity ofnature, von Frisch has written a general survey ofthe ways and means creatures provide structures for their survival. Intended for the nonspecialist, the book avoids compilations of statistics and extended analysis of its subjects in favor of clear and direct narratives and a relatively few illustrative examples. The result is instructive, poetic, at times, and thoroughly absorbing. Repeatedly von Frisch cautions the reader that, astonishing as animal architecture may sometimes be, it cannot be attributed to intelligence. Instinct, 'the unconscious unremitting activity of the force of life itself, as the author has termed it, provides both motivation and the neccessary techniques. Sequences of complex activity proceed uniformly, one is told, because one behavior triggers the next without benefit ofdeliberation. Disruption ofthe natural patterns in experiments often leads to futile and senseless activity of the architect-builder, demonstrating the inability ofsome creatures to reason through the abnormal situation. In situations when higher animals compensate and improvise, it is the result ofacquired experience rather than abstract thinking. Only in very rare situations do animals employ tools (a pebble, ~tick, leaf or the like). The types reviewed are familiar enough; shelters, food traps, *Center for the Humanities, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, U.S.A. storage units and nests, and such civil structures as dams, pathways and bridges, the latter two being typical of social insects. Von Frisch is less taken with the variety of structures than the variety of materials utilized and the similarity of results among the structures of various genera. Following an all...