Tale of the Origin, A Rhetorical Visual Analysis of a Mexican Mythical Tale

Abstract

A contemporary designer pays homage to the ancient codex designers or Tlacuilo. "Tale of the origin" is a Mesoamerican science-religion story of the beginning and end of life. The myth is presented first as a Spanish language artist’s book in a documentary style. Key moments and characters in the myth are symbolically visualized. This document is then analyzed and interpreted using rhetoric as a subtext or key to understanding the ideas of the myth as well as the visual structure of the unfolding story and book. Yet another subtext translates the myth into English.