You may have noticed that The Inquisition has a great new logo. The woodcut styled icon was crafted by A Worthy Cause. If you are curious, you can see a larger version of the motif and motto, Semper Quaerens, here.
The icon is essentially a Rococo expression of the The Inquisition’s modus operandi, in pulling various elements together into one coherent whole. The naturalistic leafy forms of the icon come together with the insignia “I” to form a lion’s head motif. In so doing it recalls the the vegetable portraits of Arcimboldo.
This illusory optical device is called an ambiguous image, where disparate elements combine to produce another image that may be unrelated. It reflects the conceptual basis for the Inquisition – to show other sides to the better known stories of received wisdom.
The new icon is launched twinned with a motto. “Semper Quaerens” is an expression of curiosity. Its literal translation from Latin is “Always Searching”. Semper is the adverb always, while Quaerens is the present participle of the verb Quaero, to search. As with the icon, the motto was selected to reflect The Inquisition’s emphasis on seeking stories which are less often told.
There is a strong provenance for this type of Latin construction functioning as a motto. Semper Fidelis is the US Marine’s declaration of loyalty. Semper Paratus is more often used by many organisations as a statement of their constant state of readiness. The World’s Fair’s variant is perhaps closest to The Inquisition’s; Semper Verum means Always True.
There are plenty of others using Latin to display their permanence:
This article was posted by Ronan McDonnell on
Saturday, April 23rd, 2011 at
11:48.
It is archived in Short Post and tagged latin, logo, semper quaerens, The Inquisition.
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