After Class 02/19/10

Today we had a debate over who was the most important Renaissance man. I had Geoffroy Tory and without a doubt in my mind he was the most important figure. It amazed me how many different professions and occupations he not only held but exceeded in. He was a professor, author, poet, printmaker, calligrapher, etc. He revolutionized the French language and made rules about pronunciation. His influence is still felt today by all those who speak French. Aldous Manutius was also an interesting man. He created the first pocket-sized book. This allowed knowledge to be carried with you. It allowed people to leave home, travel, and take ideas with them. Making things smaller has always been useful to humans; cell phones, camcorders, and personal music devices. I think what was most interesting about Ratdolt was the books he created about lunar eclipses. He saw the need for people to have things explained to them to ease their fears. All three of these men were important people because they saw the need to change things. However, I think because of Tory's background he could see the "bigger picture." I think it goes along with the benefits of having a liberal education. You become a "well-rounded" person.

Weekly Image 02/19/20

I choose this image of a poster for the movie "The Book of Eli" for several reasons. I have just recently seen the movie and I thought it had interesting ideas relating to our class. In the movie, Denzel Washington's charcter, Eli, is the only man left on earth with a copy of the Christian Bible. He is almost killed for it. It is a post-apocolyptic earth without law or government. People value books the way they did before the printing press. This movie represented a world that was the opposite of the Renaissance period. Only a few people were literate. These people held great power over the rest. Also, many people were now blind. I thought this was interesting to think about. The Renaissance gave power to more people. People were no longer "in the dark" about ideas. This movie made me think about how different our world would be if all of a sudden books vanished.I think the movie was right in showing the power books have in society. It just makes the renaissance that much more amazing. Religion began to lose it's power during this time. Before the church controlled everything, but now people were able to have their own individual thoughts. The movie poster says " Religion is power" but to go further it is the knowledge of religion or any type of information that is powerful. I think we might take for granted how much knowledge can be easily accessed by the computer. All my papers and projects are stored on my computer. If my computer were to crash and I hadn't saved my information on a external hard drive I would be without power. The person who had power would be someone who had the information I needed.

Before Class 02/18/10

Chapter 7 & 8

Chapter 7 studies the Renaissance period and the evolution of graphic design and printmaking across Germany, Italy, and France. It also highlights some of the most influential figures in design's history. The Renaissance revolutionized type design, page layout, ornaments, illustration, and the design of the book. In Italy, Venice was an important city because it was closest to the Eastern world and the rest of Europe. Johannes de Spira traveled to Venice and stayed there for five years. During this time he created a much more readable roman font and was also the first to include page numbers on a book. He made books easier to read by designing spaces between letters, words, and overall layout. Egyptian hieroglyphics also had a revival as more people began stamping their trademark designs onto books. Design also began to include ornate floral decoration of wildflowers and vines. The first title page to a book was included in 1476 by Erhard Ratdolt. The subject matter of books changed from religious material to math and sciences. Once confusing and troubling issues about eclipses and the cosmos could now be explained by scientists in books. This led to people no longer fearing natural phenomenon's in nature. "A new concern for human potential" was the new subject matter in books. Instructions and how to create things were put into books therefore revealing human's capabilites in the math's and sciences, rather than leaving everything up to God. Manutius was an important figure because he saw the need for smaller, pocket sized books to be created using smaller text. Calligraphers also became important figures in Italy because state and business documents needed to be created. However, this was short lived in Italy because France invaded and began a 50-year war with Italy in 1527. King Francis of France encouraged the Renaissance attitudes of Italy and gave "generous support" to humanists, authors, and visual artists. Book design really took off in France and this became known as the "golden age of typography." However there were conflicts with religious leaders who wanted to censor the material being printed.
One of the most important figures was Geoffery Toy he worked until he was 81 designing, illustrating, engraving, and selling books. He transformed roman capital letters. His creation Horae was an important creation because it had an "innovative attitude toward form, and a precise harmony of...text, capital initials, borders, and illustrations." Books began to look much more like what they do today. He wrote and published his own books about the "science of proper and true proportions." it included how to form letters and how to properly pronounce them. This man was completely and utterly devoted to typography and training the best to learn after him.
Chapter 8
The 17th century was somewhat chaotic for typography and design. The French king Louis XIV reinstated academicians to study previous types and recreate a new design. A mathematical approach was taken and a square was divided into units of 2,304 tiny squares. The type created had fewer calligraphic strokes because it was created with a chisel. This type of font was also only available for the King to use on official documents. Other typefounders were careful not to copy it. In 1702, the Medailles folio was created which showed the new type of font which was "transitional roman." The art and architecture from 1720-1770 was known as rococo. It was made up of complex designs inspired by nature and "S" and "C" curves. in 1737 Fournier de Jeune tried to decrease the complexities of type and design going on a created a "table of proportions."
Englishmen John Pine was an amazing engraver and created some beautiful works as the "chief engraver of seals for the King of England."
This most interesting thing I learned from Chapters 7 & 8 was learning that phenomenon's like eclipses could finally be explained in books and quiet people's fears. Knowledge is power!
I would be curious to know why there were no female typographer or engravers.

After Class 02/17/10

Today we discussed how printmaking began and the impact it had on the world. The invention of the printing press changed the world forever. Before Gutenberg created it, books and manuscripts were rare and tiresome materials to reproduce. There was a very high rate of illiteracy. The only medium in which people understood the same symbols was through playing cards.
Once printmaking began it was a very expensive process. It required several people's efforts. There had to be a paper and parchment maker, typfounder, printer, designer, wood cutter, illuminator, and book binder.
However as this process was perfected and printing could be done at faster speeds, more books and posters could be created. Illustrations were reproduced and people were able to learn better about a variety of subjects from mathematics to anatomy once there was visual representations to refer to along with the text. This led to an increase in literacy. Durer created an illustration of a rhinoceros and for the first time Europeans were able to see this magnificent creature. Printing changed the way people thought about the world and what it was made up of.
The most amazing outcome I find that the invention of the printing press had was the beginnings of thought and logic. People were finally able to write down their ideas, and this led to an increase in individual thought. The most notable example of this to the Christian church is Martin Luther's led Protestant Reformation. Because he had the ability to write his own works and compare those to others he was able to create new thoughts about Christianity that had not yet been explained. It is also important to note that the printing press was invented right before the Renaissance period. Europe had gone through some very difficult time (Dark Ages, Plague) and the printing press was a sort of light that shown unto the world. It allowed thoughts, ideas, and literature to spread across the world. It is one of the greatest inventions of mankind. I would be curious to know what kind of impact the printing press had on changing the education system. Also, what happened to scribes since their services were no longer needed? I would also be curious to question how public records benefited or changed. Since more reproductions of paper could be made (filing taxes, marriage license, etc.) did society become much more organized? This topic is fascinating I could ponder all day about the impacts of the printing press.

Before Class 02/17/10

Before JoHann Gutenberg invented movable type and the printing press books and manuscripts were extremely rare. A manuscript took four to five months to complete and owning a copy of one was like owning a very large piece of land. Only the wealthy were able to have copies. Cambridge University had only 122 manuscripts books in 1424. The world was quite different them and knowledge could not be easily accessed unless you were to come into money. For those who were not literate or did not have money, they had playing cards. Although they were outlawed, kings and peasants alike all enjoyed playing cards. They were the first access some people had to creations from a printing press. European block printings were also a type of creation that was preceded the printing press. Woodcut pictures with religious text were carved into wood and often highlighted with watercolor paints. They were like modern day comic books, and easy for the semi-literate to understand. One common subject was the "Art of Dying." These woodcuts instructed people how to die and reach heaven. This was a necessary publication because the Black Plague was sweeping across Europe and many people were dying.
Although there was much controversy Johann Gutenberg was relentless in his quest to invent the printing press. He was sued, ostracized, had several jobs, and moved several times but in the end he created the printing press. He was trained as a goldsmith and familiar with metalworking and engraving. This was useful because he had the knowledge to know what metals would withstand repeated pressure and heat. His first typographic book was the "forty-two-line Bible." His dedication to printing left him bankrupt at times but he was determined to perfect his invention. In 1459 the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum was created. It was the first books with "small sized type style." Although Fust and Gutenberg had success in Mainz, Germany printing presses did not stay there and soon moved to France and Italy because of civil war. Gutenberg is also credited with creating copperplate engraving, however no one is for certain if it was him.
What I found most interesting was learning how rare books were. My house probably has a few hundred books in it. Knowledge about a range of subjects is available to me through them. However, this was not the case in the 1400's. I find is amazing the advances technology has had in spreading knowledge.
I would be curious to know when the first library was created.

Weekly Image

I chose this image of what modern day Islamic calligraphy looks like. I thought it is interesting to see how calligraphy has progressed and artisits have put their own touch on this ancient art. Art expresses emotions and feelings the artist has about a thought or idea. It is said that calligraphy artists think very thoroughly about the subject before they begin and the words they write are very significant. With the use of color and scribbled lines this artist puts his own touch on these significant words. I think this is an interesting piece of work to study because it shows the progression this art form has taken. Although they are unable to use illustrations or images to epress themselves they can manipulate the words and lines to show that. I think it is neat to see how this ancient and revered art form has evolved yet still stays true to it's roots.

After Class 02/10/10

Today in class we discussed Illuminated Manuscripts. They are usually pieces of religious material and over the ages the world has seen some incredibly beautiful and talented work of those who produced them. They were extremely complex, colorful and meant to grab the attention of illiterate people. Although they might not have been able to read they could see that the church or religious group was powerful and special enough to create such works of beauty that they must therefore be important. The Classical style of illuminated manuscripts was created during the "Dark Ages." It is said illiteracy was at it highest during this time, and the church was suffering because it was lacking followers. The church also recognized that they could be a source of hope and inspiration to people. The plague was infecting and killing millions of people across Europe and it was a very bleak time to be alive. The beautiful manuscripts gave people hope that the church was something they should turn to for answers. The script was unique in the sense that it was beginning to show signs of moving towards lower case lettering. The illustrations stood out because they were outlined in vivid red colors. The Celtic manuscripts were especially ornate and filled with intertwining designs and letters. They often combined letters and the first two letters of a word in a paragraph were much larger. However because the letters were extremely complex there were often misspellings in the manuscript.
The Caroline Graphic renewal was during the time of King Charlamagne. He was fed up with the comlex lettering and called on there to be a more readable font. Letters were still decorative but much more readable and included upper and lower case. Scribes hired by the king were the head designers and standardized page layout. The Spanish Illuminated Designs had influences from Islam. They included animals in their artwork. The works used mostly primary colors and were very bright. The bold imagery of the "Four horsemen of the Apocolypse" was meant to shock people ad scare them. The Romanesque and Gothic manuscripts created a renewed religious feeling. Monasticism had reached it's peak. The "Littera Moderna" was tall, sharp, narrow, and bold lettering. The Late Medieval manuscripts were most commonly of the "Book of Hours." It was Europe's most popular book at the time. The Limbourg brothers were famous Dutch painters who used atmospheric perspective to create their works. Jewish manuscripts were rare because the people were dispersed to many regions. However, the ones that were created by Joel Ben Simeon had subject matter that focused on Jewish history; the exodus. Calligraphy ad illustrations were drawn along the border. Islamic illuminated manuscripts did not contain images because that was thought to be going against the Creator himself- who was the only one allowed to "create" things. The Islamic manuscripts contained incredibly ornate calligraphy. It contained the words of their prophet Muhammad. His teachings for the individual and society were found in the Qur'an. Islamic calligraphy seems to have no beginning or end but is all interlocking letters.
The most interesting thing I learned from todays class was the idea that the Classical manuscripts were a symbol of hope for people in the Dark Ages. The church recognized that it was a very bleak time and that these images of beauty and peace could be comforting to people. They did not fret that people could not read but did the best they could with what they had; They created beautiful pictures instead.
I would be curious to learn about if manuscripts are still created today. Have the Jewish people made up any more manuscripts since theirs were limited?