Codex

Urethane resin, plastic
2.5 x 11 x 17.5 in
6.3 x 27.9 x 44.4 cm
2000

Richard Humann • Codex • Urethane resin, plastic • 2.5 x 11 x 17.5 • 2000

In Codex, Richard Humann transforms the book into a sculptural object that holds language in a state between visibility and concealment. An open book is cast in clear urethane resin, with thousands of individually laser-cut letters suspended within its transparent form. The letters appear to float in place, preserving the physical presence of written language while preventing it from being read as a continuous text.

The title refers to the historical ancestor of the modern book. Derived from the Latin caudex, meaning a tree trunk or block of wood, codex describes the bound-book format that gradually replaced the ancient scroll. Humann brings this history into contact with contemporary fabrication, combining the enduring form of the book with the precision of digital cutting and synthetic materials.

Within the resin, the letters become fragments of a language without an immediately accessible message. They suggest the accumulated knowledge, stories, and systems of meaning that books have carried across generations, yet their arrangement resists interpretation. The work preserves language physically while suspending its ability to communicate, leaving the viewer between the promise of reading and the impossibility of deciphering the text.

Codex brings ancient and modern forms of knowledge together in a single object, captured in a moment outside the ordinary passage of time. The book remains open, suggesting the possibility of discovery, but its contents are fixed within the resin. Humann presents language as both a vehicle for transmitting knowledge and a material record of human thought—something that can be preserved indefinitely, even as its meaning remains elusive.

Photo credit: Joseph Silva / Richard Humann Studio