January 17, 2012

1. Notes

The History of Graphics

January 17, 2012

·      Once you start writing things down, you take powers

·      Celtic- ornamented look

·      Capitol quadrels square top

·      Caroline miniscule

Terms and Topics

·      Lascaux

·      Sumerian

·      Cuneiform

·      Scribe

·      Illuminated manuscript

·      Book of Kells

The fall of Rome(476 A.D)

·      Spread thin

·      Celts develop their own writing styles

As society progresses, communication progresses.

Democratization- knowledge is power. Power is going to be decentralized and spread out.

Alcuin of York was Charlemagne appointed scribe

1400

·      Block printing- xylography

·      Playing cards were invented, peasants and royalty can own

·      Peasant cheap cards, king have gold cards

·      Fundamentally change the way our brains operate.

·      Memorize, entertaining, strategizing

·      With wood printing, peasants can now own an artifact.

·      Peasants can get prints of the bible and keep forever instead of trying to remember and going to church

·      Death- plague. Death is an important thing in your mind.

·      Arsmoriendi- The Art of Dying, early church propaganda

·      Quality of the text is very nice, hand carved, even color

·      Europe’s population was being wiped out by plague and sickness

Johannes Guttenberg

·      We credit him with the advent of printing with movable type

·      The time I write for printing, many experimenting.

·      The east have printing already but Guttenberg brought it all together.

·      Factors that were in place for Guttenberg to invent printing.

o   There was a growing middle class. Students in expanding universities, increased literacy, monopoly on literacy is being taken away from the church, long and the short there’s a demand.

o   A book is worth the price of a vineyard

o   Alloy- combination of led and tin, develops for value of casting letter form, has to come up with ink- hold to the metal but release when pressed to the paper, type styles, ligatures- single character cast in 2 relationships, (f and the i become one letter)

·      In 1438, forms a contract to teach a secret prices(making mirrors) heating mercury on to the underside of glass.

·      Typography, printing with type went for 400yrs

·      Letter of Indulgence- a letter given by your church in exchange for forgiveness.

·      Guttenberg bible- what he’s known for.

o   Printed between 1415-1455

o   1450- borrowing 800 guilders from Johan Faust. Idea of printing. Borrowed another 800 guilders for profit.

o   Began with 2 presses

o   210 copies, 180 on paper, 30 on vellum- required 5000 prepared skins

o   1455, Faust sues Guttenberg. He wants his money and Guttenberg protests. Faust takes him to court and takes over production and ownership of the presses and the bibles. Faust goes into business with Guttenberg’s shop foreman.

o   Incunabula- baby carriage, in this discussion refers to the first 50yrs old printing. Infancing of printing.

o   The first successful book printed of the Incunabula was Guttenberg’s bible.

o   Faust sells them as manuscripts, sells to France and they compared fonts and called him in on witchcraft.

o   Guttenberg opens his own press, but not the same quality.

o   1465, people recognized that Guttenberg was screwed over, so he got clothing, futter of wine and corn.

o   Center of printing, Mainz

o   By 1500, there are 35 editions of 9million books.

o   TYPOGRAPHY is the major communications advance between the invention of writing and the 20^th century mass communication.

o   Guttenberg’s letterform is based on the written hand of the dead.

1473, a book about famous women, includes image, borders, justification, etc.

1493, Nuremberg Chronicles- printed in Latin and German, history if the world up to that point.

Swevyheym and Pannartz- evolution of Roman letters

·      Letterforms are based on the humanistic writing of the Italian scribes.

·      Rediscovering classical texts. Roman scholars found Carolinian texts and assumed original texts.

·      In 1475, William Caxton, translates the history of Troy form French into English, becomes the first English book.

·      Calendarium- 1467, basically a calendar that shows how to read cycles of the sun and moon. Had rotating wheels on a string. In the renaissance, they liked floral decoration.

·      1639 Steven Daye, was a lock smith, brought printing to the colonies. The first thing he prints in 1640 is “The Whole Book of Psalms”. Made is in a sloppy way. Letters are blotchy, lines uneven etc.

Rococo was in the heights in the 1700s. marked fanciful ornate visual language. Late Baroque.

1692- Louis XIV orders the establishment to create a Royal Typeface.

·      Letters were drawn by scientific grid.

·      Phillipe Grandjean, specimen of Romain du Roi, 1702.

·      Roman du Roi, royal type face.

·      Pierre Simon Fournier le Jeune, Manuel Typographies, 1764 and 1768

o   Invented printers flowers(flurions), decorative elements.

o   Type used for popular literature.

Copperplate engraving became popular during Rococo (easier to make ornate details)

·      Possibility of hairlines, extreme contrast between thick and thin lines.

·      Engravers began to publish books- pushes letterform designs.

 2. Personal Thoughts

The class was very interesting. I didn't know that all the work that was involved in making books. I know for a fact I wouldn't have been able to do that, or at least spend that much time on it. All the time and effort really makes me think twice about the start of books and typography. If there wasn't type back then, I don't know if I'd even be interested in Graphic Design. 3. Questions or Comments
I don't have any questions or comments really. Just enjoyed the class a lot.