ABSTRACT
People are symbol mongers, as noted by Susanne Langer ([1953] 1979). The symbolic functions of squares are those concerned with their meanings as displays, as the communicator of a sense that a place belongs to a group of people. Two aspects of this sense of belonging are reviewed here: first, squares as part of a culture or subculture and, second, as a mark of social status. 1 Although some meanings seem to be understood universally, most are culture-bound. They depend on the associations that individuals or groups of people make between the object, people or event which the square symbolizes (the referent) and the layout of a square and/or with the artifacts that it contains. 2 The referent is part of a community’s memory and may relate to past events or people of historical importance or elements of a society that are considered to be markers of socioeconomic status. The viewer’s associations may be conscious but they are often subconscious.
