PALIMPSEST

Nothing is hidden in a palimpsest. Palimpsest typically applies to written pages.  Some of the most famous examples are of an 800 year old Codex in which the same parchment was reused after previous writing was either erased or covered.

A Palimpsest is typically defined as an artwork in which the history of the piece can be seen. In this type of work, the under layers of writing are nearly as visible as the new writing. This layering creates typically pleasant and interesting effects from the serendipitous overlay of information. And typically this layering occurs over the course of centuries.

Palimpsest can also be applied to other disciplines such as astronomy, forensics, archaeology, and architecture. In most of these applications, there is a three dimensional layering of information. For example, archaeology might use the term palimpsest to categorize the use land in the history of a people. Imagine different layers of the foundations of a building stacked on top of one another over the eons.

The defining principals of palimpsest are alive and well in Transparent Drawing. The assembly of a transparent drawing is nothing but layering. As you explore and develop your solution, the layering of information occurs over each other. Nothing is hidden. And the end piece shows everything that has been applied to the paper.
We saw this same concept when we considered Mind Maps. Are there other object or process definitions in which these same principals apply? What about wire frame drawings, which we will address?

I don’t know if the transparent drawing at the top of the page can be considered a palimpsest. But it was formed via the offset overlap of two Mandarin characters. So it is writing. You can see both applications of the writing simultaneously. Nothing is erased. Everything is visible. Dare we suggest a 3D Palimpsest?  Might we see the principals of palimpsest applied to Transparent Drawing in the future?  You bet.