Labyrinthine Symbols in Western Culture : An Exploration of their History, Philosophy and Iconography

ISBN-13: 9783639149944 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 320 str.

Tessa Morrison

Opis

Labyrinthine symbols are one of the most enduringsymbols through history. There is a sense of universality about these symbols that crossesreligious and cultural boundaries. One labyrinthinesymbol commonly called the Cretan labyrinth hasendured for over 3300 years. It has a unicursalpattern - one path to the centre and no dead ends.Through time the Cretan labyrinth became part ofother cultural symbols. The purpose of this book istwo-fold: first, to develop a paradigm for theclassification of unicursal patterns. With thisclassification, the variations and the transformationfrom one structure to another can be examined. Thesecond and major purpose is to use thisclassification system to track the unicursal patternfrom the Bronze Age to the early Renaissance in orderto examine its developments. Through this method itwill be possible to understand the origins, culturalconnections and transference of designs and ideasthrough the structure of this symbol. In turn, thisbook will cast significant light upon theeffectiveness of this form of visual communication asan extension of language and as a conveyer of thehistory of ideas.

O autorze

Dr Tessa Morrison is an Australian Research Council post-doctoral
fellow in the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the
University of Newcastle, Australia. Her academic background is in
art history, mathematics and philosophy. Her current research
project focuses on sixteenth and seventeenth century sacred
architecture.