codex gigas, the devil, 12th century bohemia (the codex gigas is known as the devil's bible)
hi class. pick a post, theme, idea, from yesterday's class and develop it. remember: be original. do your own search, no idle talk, no echo chamber. avoid repeating what someone else posted, unless you take it someplace else.
some general points:
1- history is about epochs, epochs are self-contained (@ weltanschauung level). say, you want to understand gothic style, circa 1222. why do you see a pointed arch in churches along with pointed rib vaults and flying buttresses and stained glass windows? first thing, leave your 2022 glasses behind. what works in 2022 is a hindrance in 1222. learn the language, eat the food, smell the air, make friends, learn the rituals & make no judgment. becoming a 1222 folk yourself is the only way to learn. surprise! as you make your way back you learn 2022 doesn't feel the same anymore.
2- no epochal process is planned by human agency. we're inside the process ourselves and cannot cherrypick. whatever happens comes in an avalanche already above us. there's so much we carry from ancestors that we can't even begin to fathom.
3- in art and design, it's THE MARK that changes --all by itself-- as it's repeated over and over.
4- it's time to think of typeface! (all objets have --at least two-- faces, you just have to find them).
go ahead.
18 comments:
I was very intrigued by the discussion of the hearth during the middle ages and the kitchen as the central gathering point for the home during this week’s lecture. The kitchen provided a place of warmth due to the lack of central heating and a place to find refuge through food and the good company of one’s family after a grueling day of work. The simplicity of their lives added to the homeliness, as they ate the food they grew, lived in close proximity to their animals, and performed menial tasks such as tending the fields and animals, cooking, hunting, etc. When compared to the way that we currently live, we are almost complete opposites. The current equivalent of the hearth in our homes would be the television. Our refuge, our gathering place, our comfort is through entertainment, which is just a form of escapism, making our primary comfort an escape. While the hearth was certainly an escape from the grueling jobs peasants faced in the middle ages it was still very much a reflection of their lives, unlike us who choose to leave our lives entirely. In fact, much of society actually seeks escapism through entertainment centered around life in the middle ages. Consider video games like Skyrim, tv shows like Game of Thrones, and films like Robert Eggers’ The Northman releasing next month. For consumers of this content this is indulgence and a complete escape from their daily lives. I believe this is a reflection of the fact that we as people are not as complex as we would like to believe, and are still struggling to adjust to the complexities of our daily lives in the society we have created.
Sophie Amador
Graffiti is something we see everywhere. This calligraphy mark can be on a sheet of paper, stones, walls, and anything else we can think of. These marks don’t have a set structure or pattern they need to follow. They can be as expressive as the artist chooses to make it. One of the things Pompeii is known for is the study of ancient graffiti. There are many paintings and writings that have survived from the Roman city that we study today. These art works offer us knowledge into what life was like back then and how it has changed compared to now. Graffiti can be a source for people to express their voices and opinions on different topics in society.
Megan Alexander
Bastarda as a form of type has an authentic, beautiful look to it. It is both elegant and convenient for writing. Despite it being labeled as “illegitimate,” scribes used this style of script for high-status manuscripts and documents. The ligatures that can occur with blackletter type create gorgeous high-contrast forms, while retaining the fluidity of the words. Through the development and evolution of graphic design, typography had a primary purpose to communicate. But sometimes communication does not need to be so direct. In the case of Johnathan Bornbrook’s Bastard typeface, it is not as spaced out and easy to read as earlier blackletter typefaces. Despite the legibility, it is a mark that is beautiful to look at and appreciate. It has history rooted in hand lettering for the purpose of speed and higher contrast between the paper and the words. Not all marks are meant to be quickly interpreted. Sometimes it is okay to take extra time to appreciate all the ligatures, the space between letters and forms, and the details that distinguish one typeface from another.
Melody Macias
I think the Ars Moriendi is really interesting due to its fine, precise lines and clearly painstaking detail applied to it. The medium being a mirror image and a relief matrix, makes it even more astounding how the artist achieved such fine detail. This piece of work was part of a larger series put out by the christian church to spread the lessons of the gospel to all those who were even somewhat literate. The Art of Dying was made in lieu of the Black Death that ravaged the population 60 years prior in order to help guide those who were lost on their journey to meeting their maker. One needs to triumph over their vices and temptations in order to die well, the good must conquer evil and their faith must prevail.
Mallory Harrington-Fei
The idea that the Gothic typeface was created as an accident and essentially began as a “mark” is extremely intriguing. This concept is primarily interesting to me because it causes me to have a whole new perspective on all the weird, random marks I see in my daily environment. Not only have I gained a new appreciation for “marks” around the world, but I’m able to give them all unique meanings. Additionally, it’s inspiring to know that a typeface that was found hundreds of years ago, is still greatly used in modern typography and advertisements. For all we know, the next commonly used font could be found on the sidewalk or a brick wall. Each and every day, all kinds of different typefaces are being created, intentionally or not, and one doesn’t even have to be an artist to participate in these creations. Overall, no matter how quickly or often design is changing, everything ultimately begins as a simple, yet significant mark.
Maggie Nusim
With all the talk of the mark in class and how it changes and distinguishes, it is interesting to see when it also repeats itself. There are many cases of the repetition of marks in human design with things such as clothes, architecture, and other forms of design. The mark, not being limited to that of human production, also occurs in nature. Being a stem major, I can also see examples of the repetition of the mark in nature. The design of the body of different organisms can also be seen as the mark. Connecting this with the repetition of the mark brings to mind convergent evolution. Convergent evolution is when unrelated organisms evolve to have a similar body structure, adaptations, and traits. The wings of birds and butterflies is an example of convergent evolution. Another example is that of dolphins and fish, while they underwent completely different evolutionary processes, both have fins. Another example of mark replication in nature is mimicry. Mullerian mimicry is when different species have similar characteristics to avoid predators, such as the bright colorations of wasps and bees. I think that this mark replication in nature reflects how the mark is not controlled by a group, but is a natural process.
Will Neugebauer
Being interested by the “SI” plastered Benito Mussolini version of the Palazzo Braschi in 1930s along with my interest in marketing led me to dive deeper into researching the act of persuasion, but through subliminal messaging. Major companies have been accused overtime of engaging in subliminal messaging, especially, through their advertisements. Subliminal advertising is usually audio or visual messages that a person’s conscious mind cannot recognize and increases advertising persuasion or whatever idea companies/groups want people to “think” about. Just as Mussolini was outwardly using persuasion through repetition in the past, now brings the question of whether “dictator like” companies are actively engaging in the use of subliminal advertising, but acting as if they are not, due to our lack of being able to spot it? On an everyday consumer level, we may never truly know which is the scariest part to me. Even though many countries have openly condemned the use of subliminal messaging, the US has not openly expressed the same opinion.
Adeeb Ahmed
Last class one of my fellow classmates brought up how she had a specific mark that her teacher disapproved of. This is especially interesting to me because throughout history we can see artists going against the norms and creating their own marks. For example, At first people may tend to dislike or disapprove of these marks because it goes against what the viewer is used to. All artists use a variety of different marks when using it on their work. It is up to the viewer however to interpret the meaning of those marks and lines and this is what makes art so fascinating. A painting can mean so many things and people can interpret it in many ways. Marks can be bold and intense bringing a sort of grandness to a painting, or they can be soft and subtle making it more welcoming.
Gianna de Landaburu
The fact that the manor had an agricultural system that was completely successful is what made it extremely useful for many years. A lot of systems are successful in their own ways. Graphic design is much like the manor’s system of agriculture. Graphic designers are usually part of systems that aim to complete specific goals whether it is to spread awareness of an issue, to sell a product or design, or many others. Graphic designers work with photographers, advertisers, promoters, and many other professionals in order to complete projects. Companies and other customers buy from these teams of people. The projects and designs that graphic designers, photographers, and many others collaborate on become mass produced in order to progress the economy and art world further. This is completely similar to the manor’s agricultural system which used many farmers to do different jobs in order to create bounds of goods using crop rotation. Teamwork that is consistent, effective, and capable is what drives most successful systems.
Melanie Bergunker
When talking about marks in class last Wednesday, the first place I thought about seeing marks in designs was in Math and all of its applications. One application of Math in design is symmetry. Symmetry is used by the human brain to determine an intuitive sense of pleasure or displeasure. Symmetry can always be achieved by revolving an object about a specific axis. A person with a symmetric face or building with a symmetric design is often considered to be a more visually appealing design compared to their non-symmetrical counterparts. Another part of Math and marks is in nature. There are examples of repeating unit cells/marks in everything from flowers to crystal lattice structures. It is the repetition of these individual marks that create a whole new design. Truly great designs need time to come to fruition. The idealized pattern of flowers took a millennia to form. Diamonds underneath the surface emerge, their underlying structure symmetric, after years of heat and pressure. The final thought I would like to share is how the marks left behind by mathematics are also an epochal process that is constantly being used and improved upon. Without Math to provide context to things like the Fibonacci sequence which relates to the golden ratio and many other design principles in history, I find that much of design’s beauty would be unappreciated from a quantitative approach.
Michael Wexler
Occasionally, my friends and I discuss what we think would make the world a better place. That’s the reality of today’s youth, we spend our free time talking about ways to save the planet. One solution we always come back to is sustainable cities and villages. Ones that provide for themselves, producing less waste, opening up more opportunities for work, and creating a community of people that rely on each other, forcing them to build relationships. I was reminded of these conversations last week when you discussed feudalism, which I never realized was pretty much what our solution is. I never considered how much there is to learn and take from that epoch because it was the “dark” ages, a time in history where most people agree was not an influential period. You pointed out that you have to look past what we deem important because what is considered essential in our epoch could mean nothing to people from another time. This period was a mark in history that is often looked over or taught briefly because we deem it as unessential to today’s epoch, but there is a lot to learn and appreciate from this mark, maybe even the key to saving our planet.
Clarke Weddington
Ironically enough, clothing in the middle ages served a similar purpose to that of modern times. Currently people use clothing in generally two categories first for fashion or second, which often ties in with the first, to represent themselves. Meaning they essentially display their wealth by wearing fancier clothing. While this might not be the intent with everyone, in purchasing exceedingly extravagant clothing regardless of intent a person will inadvertently display wealth they have. Clothing in the middle ages served this purpose as well. Clothing was used to display a person's class and one could easily differentiate the serfdom from the nobility. The different colors and materials would display different things to the medieval eye. An example given are red robes for scholars which would grant prestige due to the difficulty one would have to go through to obtain red dye. It is interesting to see the similarities in culture, past to present as it displays not all things change with time.
Joshua Biggins
The illuminated texts we talked about and looked at during class are practical works of art. In the intro to electronic art class, art students were introduced to Adobe InDesign, and before this, I had a bit of trouble connecting the marks and things we were looking at in this class to graphic design until seeing this manuscript. Looking online at more illuminated manuscripts, there’s a balance between text and illustration, with everything positioned intentionally, beautiful art in the top and center of pages, and delicate designs around all of the edges. It is also interesting to note that illuminated manuscripts varied in size from small “pocket-gospels” all the way to “Atlantic” Bibles that took multiple people to lift. Unlike graffiti that has lasted thousands of years, instead of an ephemeral feeling the time and design that goes into each page of an illuminated manuscript tells us that the makers were intentionally leaving their mark on history. Those who made these manuscripts would write the text first and leave blank spaces for illustration, which presupposes “very careful planning by the scribe even before he put pen to parchment,” according to Donald Anderson in his book The Art of Written Forms: The Theory and Practice of Calligraphy. All in all, illuminated manuscripts are some of the most common items to survive from the medieval ages and the best-preserved specimens (and sometimes the only surviving for specific locations and years) of medieval painting. It makes you wonder, why did they take such care to make practical pieces so beautiful? Was it to ensure they were taken good care of, was it because they knew the manuscripts would outlast their makers, or was it simply a way to honor the religion they were making manuscripts for?
Julie Erhardt
When you think of a mark, you first think of a pen marking something. However, a mark can be any form of a stylus making a mark on any platform. Throughout history humans have been writing, and calligraphy is one of the original forms of writing and art combined. Calligraphy is a form of design more than a form of writing. For someone to create calligraphy they first need to make a design for their words to follow. A person has to figure out the spacing between letters, the sizing of letters, the tone of the letters, and the weight of the letters. The composition of calligraphy is more important than the individual letters. In Europe, they began to use calligraphy within their book creation to emphasize important pages. Books were valued so highly because of the craftsmanship that went into each creation. Every single page was handwritten and the workers writing each book had to study for years to ensure this very high quality of craftsmanship. I believe that nowadays calligraphy can be the forgotten artform because of how accessible digital fonts are to everyone. However, seeing calligraphy today it is important to remember the skill and precision it takes to create that design.
Marley Rubin
A very interesting point you made in class was how the poor classes of the fiefdom actually dressed in a way that we would find expensive today. They also had wood-burning stoves, central heating, and tapestries on the wall to keep it warm, as well as for decoration. Aside from this, calligraphy was used as a medium in the Middle Ages. It was almost used as. A logo or a device to explain whose it is or what it is. If you strayed away from the manuscript, you could be punished by death. The mark of the Rinceux (branch with foliage) was a prominent usage of calligraphy that showed up everywhere. It was on marble, chapels, papers, every medium possible and bared immense significance to whoever saw it or created it. Some of these could also be categorized as illuminated manuscripts where the pages give a sense of illumination via the usage of color, margins, etc. The epoch seen in this week’s post had bright red colors and a central green that sticks out of the artwork. The toes seem to bear the same red as well as the claws. In my eyes, this is an illuminated artwork.
John Wagner Dudzik
(week 1 comment)
One thing that resonated with me during our first class was the significance in writing. An aspect that really interests me is the evolution of human language within writing over the course of humanities timeline. Language is unique because it is what separates humanity from other animals/beings. The first known language comes from Cave paintings 44,000 years ago. What makes this so significant is the fact that it is the first time life on earth acknowledged its own individuality and sense of self. Ultimately art is all about expression through a sense of self. Essentially cave paintings are the first use of art as a language and a way to express emotions/tell a story. It's so interesting to see how language has evolved since then to the point where there are now thousands of languages and within a language there can be a plethora of unique dialects/accents. It is also amazing to see how language has evolved in a technological sense in terms of the fact that we can now express languages and emotions through inventions such as emails and text messages.
(week 2 comment)
Marks are what define us.Furthermore marks are intricate pieces used to define art. Whether the marks are embodied through clothes, hair style, tattoos, or piercings; we use these marks to establish ourselves and our identities in society. The marks that interest me the most are tattoos. For centuries humans have used ink/tattoos as a way to embody our personalities and interests. Just like all forms of art, tattoos are a mark that embody personification and ultimately give the general public insight into who and what we are. Similarly, tribes have used tattoos as a way to unify a group of people through the implementation of marks. I find it extremely interesting how the embodie=ment of these marks are essentially carried out through generations. For example, one of my best friends' dad is a tattoo artist. Not only does that friend of mine have a plethora of tattoos but so does his dad and grandfather. Another interesting thing about these marks is that all three generations use the same style of art and have tattoos on the same parts of their bodies. Another interesting aspect behind this art is the different connotations directed towards these marks. For example, as I mentioned earlier in some cultures tattoos embody strength and pride while in others they embody mental weakness/delinquency. As goes with all art, the perception of these marks is maintained within the eye of the beholder.
Luke Shea
I found it interesting when we talked about examining history through different lenses when looking at different periods of time. I never thought about it this way and I feel it makes a lot of sense and can help with getting a better perspective when looking at artwork or other objects from earlier periods of time. It's almost like you use your mind to time travel and must rework some perspectives to understand that the world operated in a totally different way and people had completely different views and perceptions of reality at the time. I definitely think it is difficult to do this and view things from a different epoch's perspective however it is worth it as you can gain a new appreciation and understanding of whatever you are looking at. I want to learn how to improve on my ability to do this as I find I usually look at stuff from a current perspective and don't really know how to have a different look on it.
Christian, Alexander Jacob
When pop art originated it was a vulgar mark, however, marks evolve overtime. The abstract expressionist movement came right before pop art emerged. Abstract expressionism and pop art are very different forms of art so when pop art came out most people were taken aback. Pop art is an art form based modern popular culture and the mass media. It has a critical comment on the fine art values. Because of this people were not open to accepting the pop art “mark” as fine art. In modern time however, pop art is accepted as fine art. It is seen in museums, galleries and even cities and this is proof that marks do in fact evolve. There are many other instances where this has also occurred. For example, the emergence of photography was not considered fine art. There was controversy if it was science or art. But now that mark has also evolved and no one questions if it is a fine art or not. Photography is now seen in museums and galleries as well.
Jordyn Simon
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