Homework #2

German Illustrated Book

            During the fifteenth century, printing was spreading rapidly through Europe. Millions of books, newspapers, and advertisements were being printed, thanks to the availability of printing. Not only did printing lower book prices, it also played an important role in the unification of language, spelling and grammar.

            Woodblock prints were now being used in Germany to illustrate typographic books. There was now a demand for woodblock illustrations in printing. As time woodblock printing progressed, artists like Gunther Zainer, added more detail to these illustrations, such as texture and tonal ranges. 

            In the late 1400’s Nuremberg, Germany had become the center of printing. With famed printer Anton Koberger working and operating 24 printers along with 100 craftsmen, two hundred books were produced.  These illustrations drew much attention and prosperity for the illustrator. Now books could rely upon a visual communication with the reader. This helped bridge the gap of the inability to read and write to literacy for the everyday man in Europe.

            By the early 1500’s, printing had developed into a much more refined art. Cast metal blocks now had the gestural freedom of a pen, and had sweeping calligraphic flourishes. The new elegance of these prints and typography attracted royalty and other important figures during this period. Printing had developed into a necessity for all.

         During the beginning years of printing, Germany proved its artists and prints to be world-renowned. The development of printing and illustrations helped develop a universal language and promoted the everyday man to learn to read and write. This helped push graphic design to new heights not yet discovered.

Early 15th Century woodblock image. Artist unknown 

                                               First illustrated Bible. Gunther Zanier. 1475

Illustrated book. 1539. Artist unknown

Homework #1

Invention of Writing

            The ability to write changed human communication and art in ways never imagined. With writing capabilities, humans could now record events in a variety of ways.  Some of the earliest cave paintings from 35,000 to 45,000 B.C.E. created a visual communication that could be painted on rocks and engraved. Many of these early designs were simple and used mainly for survival and ritualistic purposes. The earliest writing occurred in Mesopotamia toward the end of the fourth millennium B.C.E. This now brought visual communication from cave painting, to more refined techniques, which were recorded, on tablets.  These tablets were made of clay mud, and scratched with a wooden stylus.  As time progressed, scribes were able to make their writing more legible by pushing the stylus into the clay rather than dragging it through.

             The Egyptians created their own complex system to communicate based off of pictographs. These images of animals and people could be inscribed in ivory or stone.  As time progressed, papyrus, a paper like substance, could be used to write on.  This helped evolve the form of hieroglyphs into simpler and easier to create symbols.  The early Egyptian manuscripts used both words and pictures to communicate. Their culture forever changed the way human writing and visual communication progressed.

            The invention of drawing and writing certainly allowed for the creation of graphic arts. Though some may think of graphic arts as only artistic images, graphic arts are any visual illustration. Whether it is early writing forms or intricate paintings, graphic art and design has no boundaries.

  

                                             Cave Paintings found in France. 32,000 years ago

                                                               Cuneiform 3000 BC

Early Hieroglyphics

LA Art Show (Extra Credit)

My trip to the LA Art Show this past Saturday was an amazing experience. I have never been before, and I was blown away by the amount of art being displayed. With over 100 different galleries, all ranging in medium, no one piece was the same. There were some pieces that left me stunned, while others had no effect on me. It was amazing to see so much art. It has always been a huge inspiration for me as an artist, to see other artists work. One of my favorite pieces was of a skull, and a woman in front wearing a sergical mask and long nails. At first, the piece seemed strange to me, but as I read more on what it represented I was amazed. It described that in ancient times the skull was actually a reminder to live everyday to the fullest, though in our society today we associate it with death. The surgical mask, represented that today we have become obsessed with changing our outer appearance. We search for beauty rather than living each day to the fullest. This was a piece that stuck with me throughout the show. Overall there were many pieces of art I came to love, and I will be attending for many future years.

Graphic design exercise (extra credit)

     During the first day of class we were asked to create a number of new signs. These signs were to be based off of words. (For example: stop, caution hot, and narrow passage). Some of these already have existing signs, while others do not. When creating the signs we were to use a simple yet effective design that could be used worldwide. I felt my best design was with "narrow passage." I tried to use a simple design that would be easy to recognize. I used a triangle to encapsulate my design and then created two separate objects that were close together. This sign could be used for traffic or even in public places. Overall I felt this was a strong design that has not yet been created.