Spencer Heath Archive

Item 3160..

Typed transcription by Spencer MacCallum from conversation with Heath at 11 Waverly Place, New York City 3, NY, following remarks on capital punishment (Item 3159), which introduce the notion of function.

July 22, 1955

The real difference between the atom and the cell is different function. The differences in the structure are only incidental. But you will find very little in the physics books about the functioning of the atom or in the biology textbooks about the functioning of the cell. The structure alone gets almost exclusive consideration in both cases.

In the field of art, that’s why I am the kind of critic I am. I look upon art as having a specific social function. Performance or non-performance of the function is the criterion for any specific work or performance.