SQN - Sine Qua Non - Issue 1 - Journal - Page 14
Note on Cover Art
Raquel Cordón, Ante-Vellum
(oil on canvas, 2018)
The cover art for this inaugural issue of the Sine Qua Non is based on my painting,
“Ante-Vellum”.
The painting is of a sheep with the letters P E P painted on it. The painting is an artwork.
It is arguably also a text, a communication, with meaning.
The animal that is the subject of the painting is also a text because the animal’s body (the
sheep-text) carries a word and meaning; the sheep-text does the same work as the paper
in this book.
What does the sheep-text mean?
– Is it the name of the sheep?
– Does it describe the sheep, as having “P E P”?
– Is the owner of the sheep named P E P?
– Is P E P a message of encouragement? “Don’t be glum! Have pep!”
– Are P E P initials, or an acronym for something else?
– Should we ask the author?
What does the painting of the animal mean?
– Ante-Vellum is probably a clue, although it lies outside the painting.
– Did the painter know what the sheep-text meant when she made the painting?
– Does her painting of the sheep-text mean the same thing as the underlying sheeptext?
– Should we ask the painter?
What does the image of the painting mean when reproduced on the cover of this literary
journal?
xiii
