The Codex Foundation is pleased to announce the publication of: ALCHIMIE DU VERBE
In celebration of the 5th CODEX Symposium, the 10th anniversary of the CODEX Foundation, and the 500th anniversary of the death of Aldus Manutius – we are pleased to announce Alchimie du Verbe, the first ever CODEX Assembly-Exchange, a carefully curated collection of printed works from some of the finest book artists and printers in the world.
From the earliest written record there have been instances of allegorical figures, shaped language, secret codes, and philosophical alphabets. We have seen the brilliant De laudibus sanctae crucis of Hrabanus Maurus in the 9th century and the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili in the 15th century. In the last 150 years, Arthur Rimbaud’s Alchimie du Verbe, Guillaume Apollinaire’s Calligrammes, Brazilian concrete poetry, and the mesostics of John Cage are noted examples. In the present context, the artwork of Karen Bleitz, Martha Hellion, Russell Maret, and Harry and Sandra Reese, as illustrated in this brochure, are exemplary.