Horst Wenzel

Medieval manuscripts and early modern prints contain manifold combinations of the written word, image and number that refer back to the hand of God. At the same time, they are manifestations of the advanced (mnemo)techniques in a culture where scriptural and oral memory coexisted (scriptorality): the relationship between »counting« and »telling« (recall that »tell« can also mean to »count«, »enumerate«), the indexical, correlative juxtaposition of text and image. The planned project will seek to present the hand and number as the operators of mnemonics and to examine the »hidden« number in text and number. The aim is to demonstrate how the numerical connection of text and image foreshadows technologically mediated audiovisuality.