Miriam Schwamm : Symbol 1

02/09/2008 | Symbol 1

Linogravure sur papier aquarelle
14,5 x 14,5 cm
Edition de 20 exemplaires pour cette image en noir
2008

Extrait de Wikipedia.org :

An early occasion when the encircled A was used was in Stephan Michelspacher book Spiegel der Kunst und Natur (The Mirror of Art and Nature) which was published in Augsburg 1615. This was an Alchemical work strongly influenced by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's view of the Kabbalah and magic. Adam McLean describes the centre panel as "two circular diagrams with the German GOTT (the name of God) around the outside, and also the Alpha and Omega @ and the monograph which may be the name of God, Agla. This represents the beginning - alpha - within the end - omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This relates to the claim related in the Book of Revelation that Jesus was "the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last".
The Masonic "level in a circle" wich appearance is quite similar to the A in a circle, first has been used by the Federal Council of Spain of the International Workingmen's Association. Note the inclusion of the Plumb, one of the working tools of operative masonry, and a symbol of rectitude of conduct.
The first recorded use of the A in a circle by anarchists was by the Federal Council of Spain of the International Workers Association. This was set up by the freemason, Giuseppe Fanelli in 1868. It predates its adoption by anarchists as it was used as a symbol by freemasons amongst others. The first documented use by anarchists was by a small French group, Jeunesse Libertaire in 1964. Circolo Sacco e Vanzetti, youth group from Milan, adopted it in 1968 and it became popular through out Italy. From there it spread rapidly around the world.
As noted above, the circle-A long predates the anarcho-punk movement, which was part of the punk rock movement of the late 1970s. However, the punk movement helped spread the circle-A symbol more widely, and helped raise awareness of it among non-anarchists.