Thursday, July 11, 2024

Arts and Crafts Movement

“Vase (1915) and bowl (1917) produced by the Saturday Evening Girls,a group of women who operated the Paul Revere Pottery in Boston. Paul Revere Pottery is one of the early 20th-century U.S. potteries that exemplifies the American Arts and Crafts movement.”Britanica, PRNewsFoto, Winter Antiques Show, AP Images John Ruskin “Study of a Sprig of a Myrtle Tree” 1877 John Ruskin, art critique and artist, was one of the manypeople who significantly contributed to the Arts & CraftsMovement. He was just as passionate about human rightsas he was with education and politics. His lectures were impactful to the moment because he urged others to stopsinking into the mindless grip of capitalism. A major depression encompassed the world at large at the time[1800-1900] and industrialism thrived offof it. One of the most important theories ofthought that John Ruskin believed was thatthere was an intrinsic beauty to a humans touch. By valuing the imperfect details hewas able to bring attention to parts of artthat truely make it beautiful. Mass production was one of the catalysts of John Ruskin and many other artists concern over cheaply made alternativesflooding the world maket. In order to havea specialty good mass produced there aremany sacrifices that need to be made in order to compromise with the capabilitiesof the production line. Artisan Ornamentaldesign was essenttial knowledge passed down by hand-- It took time, patience, and skill to produce many of the finer goods thats efforts often go unappreciated. Whensociety aims their resources towards thecultivation of lower quality goods they negatively impact both artists andthemselves. Even today we are, unfortunately, met with a similar case ofhistory as AI changes the entire worlds perspective on where we sourceour creative assets. Get-Rich-Quick schemes and the rampant tyranny of low-effort media scams only inflate and devalue digital space. “Façade of Cathedral of St.-Lô, Normandy” 1840 The Arts and Crafts movement is responsible for many literature, poster, adverts, and many other design principles practiced today. Like Ruskin, Artists such as William Pickering used his illustrious influence to shape a literary renaissance. By controlling the amount of good you decide to publish, you can maintain power over the price by increasing its scarcity.Uniformity became a distinguishing medal of honor as a reflection of anartisans study, knowledge, and dedication to their skill. John Ruskin helped an entire generation of artists embrace the evolution of technologyand encouraged the onset of typography and graphic design. Modern-dayposters that feature lettering over illustrations were, at the time, virtuallyunheard of. The Century Guild was another contributor to the movementwith the group’s collective use of black and white promotional posterdesigns. Artists all throughout Europe and the rest of the world beganadvocating for the respect of diligence and beauty. My personal favorite aspect that ties artists of the Arts and Crafts socialmovement together is that many artworks produced encompassed gorgeous scenes of nature, architecture, and observation of the world around us. I honestly found myself resonating with the topicof our research with much excitement and urgencyto annotate the advice of many great, undiscoveredartists from before my time. When AI was first brought to my attention I knew immediately that the threat that it posed on the artisan workspacewas valueless when compared to the dedication some people have for ttheir life-long work. Art, for me, is alive within the many spirits who embodytheir personal love and appreciation for the thingsthat inspire them all around. It is encouraging tolearn about such a wonderful renaissance of workthat sprung out of protest. I feel equally inspiredto seek out unconditional love for my work and myself.
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Monday, July 8, 2024

Didot Family Presentation

The Didot Family François Didot founded the Printing Press Family business in 1713. His granchild,Firmin Didot, was the original designer for theDidot font that we still use today. This serif typeface was created in the late 18th century and established one of the first titledModern script. There is a strong sense of unityand structure within the design that supports strong, bold strokes and thin, elegant details. Didot as we know it comes from a collection ofsimilar typefaces that the Didot family utilizedwithin their Printing Press Business. John Baskerville heavy use of bold strokes influeenced Firmin as each letter was fabricated. This typeface flourished thanks to its regalaesthetic. Many businesses used the font becauseof the expensive ‘look’ that Didot pertained itself towards. Adrian Frutiger Linotype Didot 1991 Poster by James Musson 2016 Didot was created during a transitional period in history in which society was leaning away from less uniform, handwritten script that had previosly dominated literature. Additionally, it was helpfulthat the typeface was so easily read and distinguishable as well. You can distinguish Didot serif through the stark contrast within its stroke and the virticle stress of each character. One of the biggest keys to the success of Didot was the familyin which it was created: the printing press business. The printing press made literature more accessible to the masses thanks to the affordability and speeed in which one could produce script. The prestige that came with using didot with your brand was heavily sought after. With printing accessibility and the rise of interest accumulating it was immediately apparent that the typeface would prove successful. Working outof Paris, Fance, the Didot family would see many years of success even past the life of its blood roots. The term “Stereotype” was created to describe the metal plate that held the wooden stamps in place for uniformbook formatting that the Didot family was known for. He first used this process in 1795 to create the “Callet’s Tablesof Logarithms” that inevetiably led to Napoleon appointing him as France’s director of the Imprimerie Impériale typefoundry. His ambition, innovation, and skill follow the font even to this day.

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Illuminators Journey

Glorious God 
would have given us more time on this soil if we were meant to perfect every single trade. I have many years ahead of myself and my craft despite all that I have already learned in the last twenty years of my life. I would like to think that if one might believe you could replicate artistry in mass, without so much as a fraction of centuries worth of skill that goes into calligraphy, you would have to be mad. I doubt that the printing press will impact my business for long once the lord straightens each and every fool's path. 

I chose calligraphy as my calling because I enjoy nothing more than to interpret the art of communication. I have written enough bibles to know that the lord deserves the very best of his scriptures held to high standards. While the printing press might impress the locals, I'm far more interested in captivating the hearts and eyes of my royal consumers. My prices have always stood out throughout the nation and for fair reason. Any landowner will be anxious to impress his competition with original, unique, hand-written scripture. 

Devaluing my work as a means to consider printing as a threat to my business is completely out of the picture. Regulars come to me for my uniqueness, originality, and consistency. The reality stands that we are faced with a historical moment in which aesthetics and knowledge diverge thanks to their strongest divergence: functionality. Prayers, thoughts, and many scattered words will find themselves flying around God's land and, instead, safely my work will find itself preserved and bound to the wealthiest of lords.  I should find myself grateful that merely a handful of purchases in the average month go towards necessities given my reasonable prices.

I can only hope that with this newfound gift to peasants there can be a profound resurgence of interest in the beauty of vocabulary. The emphasis of sharing literacy can have the potential to bring me various types of new faces. I have faith that God has only the best intentions. 

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Monday, July 1, 2024

Visual Communications in Mesopotamia


 Beginning in Stone
Gabi Lecusay

Early writing tablet recording the allocation of beer, 3100–3000 B.C.E, Late Prehistoric period, clay, probably from southern Iraq.
Image Sourced from Khan Academy - Trustees of the British Museum

The earliest form of written language that we currently know of is referred to as Cuneiform. Sumer, Babylon, and Assyrian Empire all correlate with the influence for Cuneiform and continue to influence diction around the world to this day. In his lecture about Language and Literatures, Wesley Cecil explains that while we might assume that the end of a culture comes from the downfall of an empire, the influence of its language and of its writing might extend well past the life of its creators to impact the world as we know it. I thought that it was interesting to note that lists, rules, and laws were some of the first manuscripts ever made. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been to keep track of growing communities now that civilizations were transitioning from collections of hunter-gatherers into vast, far reaching settlements. 

By pressing a Reed Pen into soft clay, Cuneiform was written by scratching symbols that would then have its shape solidified by the drying and hardening of the clay. Beginning around 3300 BC, Sumerians solidified Cuneiform through the development of politics. Inadvertently writing down irrefutable evidence of their existence, some time after the invention of the Alphabet in 100AD the rich history of Sumer was essentially lost to time. It wasn't until the archeologist Austen Henry Layard discovered thousands of Sumerian tablets in the 1850s that the whole world became aware of this ancient society that predated the Babylonians. Close to Nineveh, the Library of Ashurbanipal was where the ashes of the capital of the Assyrian Empire currently rests and was home to several cuneiform tablets that withstood the test of time thanks to the sturdiness of the material. By having so many tablets to cross-reference, Archeologists were able to compare the evolution of Cuneiform and the many levels of changes it went through within, roughly, 3000 years. 

Series of Examples of Particular Cuneiform Word Comparisons
Wesley Cecil Handout

Like many fans of History, King Ashurbanipal believed that literature held the answer to future success if one was willing enough to learn the many tribulations that came before them. The biggest reason why we think that the library was made to begin with was because of the Kings wishes to establish a repository of knowledge to pass down to his children. It is really interesting to note that the majority of King Ashurbanipal's depictions came with the notable inclusion of a stylus packed for use on his waist belt. The British Museum also notes that many of the tablets, at the time of their discovery, had stamps pressed on to the clay to signify that it belonged to the King if it were to be lost or stolen. It was an incredibly important collection then and it still remains, today, as one of the most essential historical pieces passed down to modern day man. Without this Library, Archeologists would only have the Bible and outsider bias excluding historians from the Assyrian and Sumerian perspective. 

The Temporary Museum Display of The Library of Ashurbanipal in The British Museum 2018-2019

Linguistics is, in of itself, an incredible resource that our lives revolve around and has substantially more influence than one might assume otherwise. Thanks to writing, we are able to reference and learn beyond what our ancestors could have ever achieved. The sacrifices humanity made in the past to evolve crucial communication skills still occurs today much the same with how Language changes over time. We would not be able to see this constant change if not for Visual Communications setting our history, quite literally, in stone to then withstand the rush of time. 

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Decorated Initial

 

Gabi Lecusay Adobe Illustrator
I chose to draw my inspiration from Islamic Manuscripts for my Decorated Initial assignment with the first letter of my last name: L. I find tiling from Turkey, Persia, and the Mediterranean region to be an absolutely beautiful display of geometry and bold color contrast. My design is significantly more simple than some of the most gorgeous compositions of gridded lines, rhythmic patterns, and organic shapes. I referenced museum photos from the Michael Abbott collection of Southeast Asian Islamic Manuscripts and primarily focused on this particular page display photographed by Emily Keppel. [Article]


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