The Hand of the Philosophers. New letterpress Print produced in collaboration with Ouroboros Press.
Hand of the Philosophers. Two color letterpress print. 8.5 x 11 inches.
Two-color Letterpress Print featuring an original Vierling ink drawing, printed on 118# Savoy, Natural White, art paper. 8.5 x 11 inches - Limited to 250 hand numbered copies, artist signed. Printed in Nevada City, California at Full Circle Press. Print is available exclusively from Ouroboros Press.
‘The Hand of the Philospophers’ is inspired by the hermetic works of the enigmatic Johann Isaac Hollandus, who was attributed with authoring several alchemical texts in the 16th century including, Die Hand der Philosophen.
“The symbol of the Hand is manifold, pun in tended. In Latin, 'manus', the hand embodied the idea of 'handy-work' or 'manual labor'. In the context of alchemy this often denotes that the work is practical, indicating actual laboratory work. Yet the use of a hand as a hieroglyph spans many eras and cultures who have expressed them as gestures in sacred art as well as ceremonial dance or ritual. As a five-digit appendage the hand may also represent the five elements, the pentagram and the microcosm. In palmistry the cosmos is represented by the fingers and parts of the hand so that all aspects of one's life may be observed astrally, as though the lines on the palm were star maps of the individual's life. Mudras, signals and secret handshakes are veils for esoteric wisdom, forms which manifest permutations of the formless. Whether by applause or by the sound of one hand clapping, awareness of the creative powers our hands possess is key to bringing the symbolic into the experienced.”
William Kiesel, Publisher. Ouroboros Press.