Tag Archives: autopoesis

The ‘Drawing Hands’ paradox

Drawing Hands by Ben Gavette.  1948.  Lithograph.

I stumbled upon this image while studying the concept of autopoesis which literally means “auto (self)-creation” and revolves around the notions of structure and function.  Drawing Hands is a complex and intriguing illustration that centers itself on autopoeisis and begs the questions, which hand is the illustration and which hand is doing the illustrating?  Quite the paradox, eh?  American thinker Douglas Hofstadter called this a “strange loop” which arises when, by moving up or down through a hierarchical system, one finds oneself back where one started.  Boom.  Did I just blow your mind?

[Info. via Wiki]