Final Project, Part 2 (2 of 2)

Question 3:

Often times in pop culture parodies and spoofs of classic or mainstream art can be used to create a specific emotional effect in a viewer. This controversial Esquire cover depicts Muhammad Ali maimed with arrows, posing as a martyr the way St. Sebastian was depicted in artistic representations of his death. Much like the saint, Ali was persecuted for his own religious beliefs by being barred from the boxing ring when he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army. The historical reference to the death of the saint intensifies the viewer’s empathy with Ali, acknowledging that he, too, has suffered for standing up for what he believes in.

References like this are abundant in graphic art, particularly with pop culture and political references. For example, Obama’s “Hope” logo was extremely popular during the 2008 election for not only its political message, but also for the enormous amount of parodies that came with it.

While some of these images have political messages of their own, others were created simply for comedic value (particularly the Star Wars ones), and serve only to entertain. Using a widespread, highly-recognizable template as a means of communication adds impact to the audience’s reaction to it, regardless of what the artist’s original intent may have been.  

Final Project, Part 2 (1 of 2)

Question 4:

Political imagery often uses implied themes to convey its message. This magazine cover from a 1968 edition of Esquire uses misplaced imagery to undermine the credibility of Richard Nixon, claiming that he didn’t necessarily “look the part.” Designed by George Lois and photographed by Carl Fischer, the cover was the target of much criticism. Lois was contacted by one of Nixon’s staffers, who claimed that his design made Nixon appear feminine (Meggs 398).

This method of advertising has been used time and time again to attack the merit of political figures, and was especially abundant in the 2008 election.

This image of John McCain by Mark Ulrikson on the New Yorker cover displays the same characteristics of personal attack found on the Esquire cover. The image presents McCain as childish and irresponsible, like a schoolboy playing a game of Monopoly, which involves careful investment of funds and investments. Such imagery seeks to suggest how McCain would handle himself if elected into office, and, like the image of Nixon, undermines his character. 

FInal project, Part 1

Here's my Beall poster for Alabama relief. I incorporated Beall's color scheme and patriotic symbolism as the backdrop for the image of the rescue workers, like Beall's work for the Rural Electrification Administration. I used the black-and-white image to contrast with the other solid colors to communicate quickly and clearly.

I posted it HERE, to the Joy of Design Facebook group.

Early Books and Manuscripts

The Book of Durrow, 680 A. D.

The Book of Durrow was created around 680 A. D., and came from the British Isles. It was the first Celtic book ever to be completely written and illustrated throughout the entire text. The text itself was that of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, along with a few extra charts and tables. The Celtic style incorporates abstract design into a page layout, allowing the figures within the design to “interact” with the text. The Celtic style of design was heavily based on the concept of geometric symmetry, and incorporated artistic forms such as interlaces, lacertines, and a unique style of knotwork known as the Celtic knot.  Since this piece was conceived well before the advent of the printing press, all of the lettering was done by hand in the monastic scriptoriums, which lead to a few inconsistencies with different letters. Guide lines can also still be seen on certain pages with text, as well.

The Book of Kells, 800 A. D.

Written and illustrated around 800 A.D., The Book of Kells is a vibrantly colored Celtic manuscript from the Island of Iona. The Book of Kells is often compared with the Book of Durrow for its much wider color palette and far more intricately designed imagery. Like the Book of Durrow before it, the Book of Kells incorporates all of the traditional Celtic style into its pages, with its animalistic lacertine figures and immensely-detailed title, or “carpet” pages (named for their similarities to oriental carpets). The Book of Kell’s text is drawn primarily from the Vulgate, and, like most other Celtic manuscripts, it makes use of spaces in between separate words to distinguish them. Megg’s text describes the whole of the work as the “culmination of Celtic illumination”, and goes on to describe the immense amount of detail within the piece.

The Gutenberg Bible

Johann Gutenberg, 1456

The Gutenberg Bible is largely known as the world’s first printed book. Created by Johann Gutenberg and completed by Peter Schoeffer in 1456, the Gutenberg Bible was printed through means of the medieval block printer. The 42-lined Bible was characterized by its large margins and significantly improved legibility over the hand-drawn calligraphy of the manuscripts. Movable type allowed the typography to be consistent throughout the piece, avoiding the typical nuances of hand-lettering. Despite the book’s ambitious amount of text, Gutenberg’s Bible was made to resemble the style of the manuscripts, as some hand-illumination is present on a few of the pages. Meggs points out that “the forty-two-line Bible had no title page, no page numbers, no other innovations to distinguish it from handmade manuscripts” (Meggs 71). Gutenberg’s Bible was an improvement on efficiency and legibility, but it didn’t differ all that much from the existing styles of manuscripts found during the time.

The Whole Book of Psalmes (or The Bay Psalm Book)

Stephen and Matthew Daye, 1640

The Whole Book of Psalmes was the first publication to be printed in America. Stephen Daye and Anne Glover co-founded the first printing office in the American colonies, which later became solely owned by Daye after Anne remarried the president of Harvard University. Daye’s son Matthew eventually became involved in the publication process as well, and most likely did the typesetting for the piece above. The Whole Book of Psalmes possesses much of the illustrative properties of earlier texts, though it is much more simplified. Rather than simply organizing the type better and adding more of it per page like th Gutenberg Bible, this particular text also uses type size and style variety to emphasize certain portions of information. The title is shown in all capital letters and much larger than the rest of the text, and the body portions are both bolded and italicized in different paragraphs. There is also italicized subtext underneath the heading that is much smaller than the rest of the type, which is coherent with the modern title page seen today (Meggs). 

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture for this one. I'll add one later if I can find one. 

Virgil’s Opera, Volume II

Giambattista Bodoni, 1793

Bodoni’s Virgil’s Opera, Volume II takes what Gutenberg did with his simplified type and takes it a step further in terms of simplicity. In this particular publication, there are no illustrations or elaborate borders like the ones rpesent in the Daye piece, other than a few bits of linework here and there. The section-heading page of Virgil’s Opera, Volume II represents what Meggs refers to as the modern style, particularly with the use of a new roman typeface and a cleaner, more direct method of page layout (the lack of illustration on the title page may have had something to do with the revolt against the French monarchy, and the change in style that followed). In a way, Bodoni’s title page takes the geometry of the manuscript and puts it to a much more practical use. The page is clearly legible and easy to read, and the heading of the page is separate from the body, clearly illustrating the subject of the text.

The Letter Page!

So, my letter page is finally complete also! It's a bit different from the first one, but I like the color palette a lot better, and I definitely improved on craftsmanship. I'll upload both pictures so you can comment here on both of them.

Oh, I should also add that, save for the gold, the pieces were done with ink, calligraphy pens, and brushes. The first piece's gold parts were done with a gold leaf marker and gold acrylic paint. The second one was a mixture between yellow ink and gold paint.

I'll upload higher res pictures later, but for now these'll do the trick.

Manuscript

The Celtic Robot manuscript. 

Illuminated Manuscripts in Graphic Design

I found a newspaper cover by Louis John Rhead that was done in the style of an illuminated manuscript. The intricate detail on the figures coupled with the solid lettering is similar to the styles of what we viewed in class from the old Medieval texts. Also, I found a few "motivational" posters that were done in the style. I'm not sure who did them, but whoever did probably doesn't drink caffeine.