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Posted By: of troy a fear of vacuum? - 04/26/07 03:11 AM
a friend asked about a word she encountered years ago, and was looking for..

actually it was latin--some think like hors (as in horrid) vacuious--it was a medieval concept.. the fear of emptiness, and it explains the overly ornate edifaces of cathederals, etc. there was a fear that like idle hands, the devil could be found in empty places.

she can't remember how it was spelled, so don't take my spelling as anything but an aproximation!

(i suppose is sort of the opposite of "god is in the details" (and if something lacks details, it also, lacks god presence.)

any art historians or latin scholars, or theologians got any ideas?
Posted By: Hydra Re: a fear of vacuum? - 04/26/07 03:34 AM
Well, there's this from Wikipedia:

Quote:
In visual art, horror vacui (a fear of empty spaces, also known as cenophobia) is the filling of the entire surface of an artwork with ornamental details, figures, shapes, lines and anything else the artist might envision. It may be considered the opposite of minimalism.


And this, from Artlex.com (the art dictionary),

Quote:
horror vacui - The compulsion to make marks in every space. Horror vacui is indicated by a crowded design. In Latin, it is literally, "fear of empty space" or "fear of emptiness." Some consider horror vacui one of the principles of design. Those who exclude it from their list of principles apparently interpret it as posessing an undesirable, perhaps obsessive quality, in contrast to the desirable, controlled principle of limitation, or perhaps to that of emphasis or dominance. (pr. horror vack'wee)
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