NoTa
The NoTa symbol is one of the more common features of marginalia in medieval manuscripts. It was used to mark central ideas in the text, key features that should be internalized in the course of study. Frequently these notational symbols were gilded. A medieval icon painter, in gilding a passage, first applied a layer of red clay. The red clay symbolized earth and blood, the corporeal elements from which man was formed. The clay was then brought to a very smooth and perfect finish, in an attitude of prayer and purification, before the gold leaf was applied. In this ritualistic use, the gold leaf represents the divine spark, igniting the earthly realm into luminous beauty. It is an analogue to the practice of Alchemy. The NoTa series is a body of work that addresses the alchemical themes of transformation and transmutation. Much like gold leaf in a Russian icon, the gilded surfaces function as reminders of the divine light that surrounds us all.
