San Jose, CA: Prose and Letters Press, 2004. Hardcover. Number 24 of 50 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. This printed book is based on a unique hand painted book by the artist. Bound accordion style in Lokta paper covered boards with hand painted gold accents and leather and bead closure. The inspiration for this book was the Lithuanian-American archaeologist, Marija Gimbutas (1921 - 1994), known for her research on the Neolithic and Bronze age cultures of Europe. Gimbutas theorized that the first writing predated Sumerian businessmen by a few thousand years, and instead grew out of symbolic marks on ritual objects made to venerate the Great Goddess in Old Europe. Artist, Cari Ferraro, was heavily influenced by this theory and created an alphabet style based on Marija's catalog of marks which she has used in this book. The background painting on all of the pages uses symbols found in the 5000-year passage grave Newgrange in Ireland, whose meaning has never been fully understood. The design is intended to feel like a cave wall with ancient symbols and writing. The text reads "The first writing/ not merely scribble/ devised by accountants to track livestock or record property/ the first writing/ made to track the moon/ inscribe spirit/ praise for the great mother." An attractive book. [10 pages] ARTB/042108. Fine.

Item #20584

Price: $200.00