July 24, 2003
 |
 |
 |
| |
Codex Seraphinianus
"It is the Codex Seraphinianus, perpetrated by Luigi Serafini in 1981 and since published in a number of different countries. I cannot say "translated into a number of different languages" since the text is written in a wholly imaginary language, which must remain untranslatable. Imaginary as well is the world depicted in the lavish illustrations not just the cities, dress, and customs of beings which are themselves bizarre variations on the human theme, but flora and fauna, and "natural elements" that are utterly foreign to us. While exhibiting at every turn the look of orderly classification, Serafini's encyclopedia is fundamentally hallucinatory. And if this term is a classification, it is also a term or rather a state that challenges our fundamental notions of classification."
Posted by xtop at July 24, 2003 01:20 PM
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
|
