CODEX SERAPHINIANUS

Excerpts from 'Codex Seraphinianus'. It was written and illustrated by Italian graphic designer and architect, Luigi Serafini during the late 1970's. The Codex is a lavishly produced book that purports to be an encyclopedia for an imaginary world in a parallel universe, with copious comments in an incomprehensible language. It is written in a florid script, entirely invented and completely illegible, and illustrated with watercolor paintings. The Codex is divided into a number of sections (each with its own table of contents, the page numbers are in base-21 or base-22!) on subjects such as plants, animals, inhabitants, machines, clothing, architecture, numbers, cards, chemical analyses, labyrinth, Babel, foods... There are panoramic scenes of incomprehensible festivals, and diagrams of plumbing!
The Codex is to that imaginary world what Diderot's Encyclopedia is to ours. Obviously, Serafini was not just attempting to create a consistent alternate world. Rather, the Codex is sort of an elaborate parody of the real world.
Music by Penguin Cafe Orchestra, 'Chartered Flight', and 'Steady State'

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• codex
• seraphinianus

[milootis10]

i am just as mystified by the writing system as well as the pictures. is this the complete book?

[shivabel]

No. This is just a choice containing a little more than a half of the complete book.

[shivabel]

Dedico questo video a maddalena61

[StaggaLags]

@CatFlashBlue or maybe this is just the result of a lot of drugs.

:p

[CatFlashBlue]

@StaggaLags It's two naked chicks making out (or something more) and then they turn into a crocodile and walk away. Maybe it's the imaginary religious law against homosexuality =D, Luigi did intend to mock our society.

[StaggaLags]

5:36...... what the fuck?

[bethesda423]

@Y0UTubeStaff My grandmother got it for my father at a garage sale, some old guy had it priced and around 70 something. I would flip through the pages of insanely creepy drawings and think I was decoding it., even when I was probably only guessing.

[Y0UTubeStaff]

@bethesda423  you read it as a kid? really? its in a fake language. and even when it came out it was 100 dollars. i think your mistaken this for maybe an escher book or something.

[Ievolovel]

Had to get this book. Gazed at it for hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours upon hours -

[pizza916]

I wonder how you can come across this so you can read it..

[bethesda423]

It's weird to see these images after growing up reading this book as a kid. It's quite creepy