Week 9 ITAP - Essential Milestones in Graphics Production

The history of print and graphics production is littered with hundreds of developments.  From these, I will discuss 10 developments which are either considered important from a historical perspective or which have aided me personally in my work.

1. The Gutenberg Press.  In the mid 15th century, Johann Gutenberg developed the flat bed printing press which transferred ink from an inked surface to media such as paper and cloth.  He utilized his skills as a gold smith to engrave blocks of moveable type from a metal alloy which were much longer lasting than the clay or wooden blocks previously seen.  This allowed for the first mass production of print and effectively turned printing into a viable business.  In turn the mass production of printed articles led to the spread of ideas across the whole of Europe.
2. The Koening Press - At the height of the industrial revolution, it was the goal of innovators to remove human effort from as many manual processes as possible. So it was with printing.  Friederich Koening invented the first steam powered press which did not manpower to operate it.  The effect was to dramatically increase output and efficiency.
3. Rotary Printing Press -  Richard  Hoe was the first to conceive the idea of using a rotating cylinder to transfer print to paper.  This in conjunction with continuous feed of paper and steam power meant that output could easily in order of millions of copies per day.
4. Lithography - Invented by Aloys Senefelder in 1796, lithography is a method of transferring an image onto a smooth surface.  It was significantly different to previous printing methods as it is essentially a chemical process which depends on a hydrophobic, oil based ink adhering to the surface to create positive image and water to wash the negative image away.  The printing plate was also flat  which allowed for significantly longer print runs and did not require engraving as with previous methods.  High volumes lithography is still used today to produce posters, maps, books, newspaper and packaging.
5. The Home Computer - The home computer whether it is PC or Mac has changed our lives completely.  The has brought the ability to produce and print graphics to millions across the world and with support of various softwares, anyone can now print their work for any audience whatsoever.
6. Computer to Plate - Technology - This had the greatest effect on lithographic printing where the most expensive and onerous task was to produce the printing plates for the job which was similar to producing contact proofs in a photography darkroom.  The benefit is that the image on the computer can be output directly to a printing plate.  This dramatically improved print quality, losses caused by scratches in the film and significantly increased sharpness and detail.
7. Adobe Photoshop - This software has now become the " must know" software for almost any graphics/ photography producer.  It's abilities now appear endless.  One can simply adjust photos for minor errors to creating whole artworks from scratch.  
8. Ink Jet Printing - Bringing the task of printing high quality materials in the home or studio is now possible for everyone.  Huge advances have been made in ink jet printing which now allow visual communicators to output their work to a commercial, sellable quality.  Desktop inkjet printers such as my own Epson 2880 with its eight colour ink system can produce an immense colour gamut to make almost any print job possible.
9. Pigment Based Inkjet Inks - Until recently most inkjet printers were based on dye based colourants.  These were quite simple to make as the dyes were simply dissolved in solvent or water and filtered. However, the light fastness of these inks was unacceptable for the production of original artworks for commercial sale.  However, the improvement in pigment technology now means that ultrafine pigments can be produced which will not block inkjet nozzles.  Synthetic pigments which are now used now have such a high light fastness that most printed works can be guaranteed for up to 200 years in ambient light conditions.  This has now means that it is now affordable for most professional artists to output their own work avoiding expensive printing costs.
10. Ink Jet Papers and Canvases- As well as the ink, their is now a wide range of ink jet papers and canvases which now  support pigment based inks.  Whilst printer manufacturers offer their own brand papers, independent producers such as Hahnemuhle offer a  range of matt, gloss and semi gloss papers and canvases with a wide range of textures.  This in conjunction with the pigment based inks has been the backbone of the art reproduction industry.  Almost any reproduction you buy now has been produced in this way.

ITAP Week 8 - Photography

During this lecture, one of the themes discussed was how photos of less touristic areas of cities may in fact tell you something more about the place compared to conventional postcard type photos.  These photos may be of posters, billboards, paintings and even graffiti.

For example, in London you can travel around on the tube or by foot and be surrounded by posters and advertisements for theatre shows, exhibitions and concerts etc.  What does this tell you about London?  The  first thought which comes to mind is that London is a very cultural place with lots of attractions to enjoy.

By contrast, I went back to my hometown of Chihuahua in Mexico at Christmas time.  For a city of its size, there is a very strong artistic movement which can include older, established artists (whose reputation and connections can get them access to the most upmarket exhibition galleries) and young, up and coming artists who are not from a privileged backgrounds who have to publicise themselves in other ways or use other means of expressing themselves.  This is commonly through graffiti (or urban art if you like) some of which I photographed during my stay:

As well as being works of art in themselves, these paintings are in fact social commentaries about local and national society reflecting on hopelessness of the young, history and decline of moral values.  Therefore, these images are giving a stronger message about the locality than any postcard photo will ever do.

The lecture also discussed how text can totally change an image.  Where it is a portrait, text can change our view of that person.  It occurred to me that the prison mug shot photos were the most striking example of this.  If you then take prison mugshots of celebrities, I think the effect is even greater because we assume so much knowledge of that person due to their fame.

I have found some examples of celebrity prison mugshots to show the point.

Possibly with the exception of the Michael Jackson photo, if you put your hand across the prisoner number on the top two photos, they look like conventional snapshots. If you now remove your hand, don't you now feel differently about the photo and the person. A little less sympathetic maybe?

Week 7 ITAP - Creative Environment & Developing Ideational Fluency

Creative Environment

In considering both of these principles, I believe that the two are in fact related and can influence each other. Whilst doing my research, I was drawn to the famous Google offices in Zurich.  These offices were in fact designed by consultants specializing in architectural psychology with the brief to create an environment which was functional but also allowed "creatives" to find space to function in isolation but also to interact as a team member.  Some images are given below.

As you can see there are different types of working spaces where one can work alone or engage in activities with colleagues.  In my view the latter can assist in brainstorming with others which can lead to significant idea generation.  Also from my own experience I have found that when ideas are coming slowly it is best to take a break and do something completely unrelated and to return to the task with a fresh mind.  These work spaces could also serve this purpose too.

Of course my own workspace at home is not so grand but I am an avid collector of relevant magazine articles, art exhibition catalogues and leaflets etc which I keep as a source of reference and inspiration for my work.  

There is also a cultural aspect to my workspace which is derived my native Mexico.  Since the time of my Foundation Course last year, I have a renewed appreciation of the art and culture of the ancient civilizations of my country and also modern/ contemporary Mexican artists.  As a result, I have been collecting books, photos, catalogues and artifacts from Mexico which also now surround my workspace.  Living here in the UK, I have found that this Mexican cultural influence has given a different dimension to my work.

Developing Ideational Fluency

The lecture touched upon three aspects of developing an ideational fluency.  These were classification, brainstorming and mind mapping.  Possibly I didn't realize at the time but I now recognize that I utilized these methods during the production of FMP for my Foundation Course.  The FMP was an illustration project called "Decay of an Empire" which consisted of ten illustrations depicting the collapse and decay of the wonderful Aztec civilization following the arrival of the Spanish and making a link to contemporary problems of Mexico.

In the planning of the project I wanted to introduce elements of decay using dental decay as a metaphor which was influenced by previous career in Mexico as a dentist.  This was coupled with more factual representations of Aztec and post-conquistador Mexico.  In this way the ideas were classified.

Trying to condense the history of my native country and at the same time generate images which provoked questions required considerable brainstorming with friends, relatives and fellow students.  This generated my pool of ideas.

From this pool, I had to organize and select which ones I was going to follow.  For this, I found mind-mapping a useful tool which allowed me to bring my ideas to a coherent series of story board illustrations. In case you are interested some of the images from this project are given below.

Week 6 ITAP - Medium

In the real world it is more than likely that most illustrators and other creative professionals may find themselves working to client defined briefs (Which pays the mortgage) in order to fund artistic indulgences in what really interests them.

However it doesn't always have to be a battle to juggle both client initiated and self initiated work.  Sometimes the two can coexist happily and successfully.

Since the days of researching FMP for my foundation course, I have been a fan of artist, illustrator and animator, Benjamin Goldman.

He initially rose to fame through his work on the movie "Lemony Snickets Series of Unfortunate Events" where he illustrated and animated the end titles.

I have added a sample of his work from this film below:

Of course this was client led work for which he was working to a brief.

However one of his most famous works was called "New York Divided" which was an animation about how the cotton trade was the root cause of the American Civil War and the relationship of this trade to slavery:

The link to this animation is given below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KyET5gTQ6g

This short film very soon became the centre of a major collaborative exhibition at the New York Historical Society alongside other creative works depicting the effect of the slave trade on the course of American history.

Whether or not Benjamin Goldman benefited commercially from this work only he will know but his professional reputation was undoubtedly enhanced as a result. So at least in that respect the project was a success.

Week 6 ITAP - Delivery

The potential market for illustrated work has never been so great as it has been today.  Illustrated outcomes can be found in magazines, billboards, textiles and animation for example.

Some illustrators can have their work defined by the market in which they work (Magazine illustrator, pattern illustrator etc) but every now and again a piece of self initiated work arises which crosses all the barriers into a variety of consumer products.

The example I have chosen is the "Hello Kitty" illustrations which arose out of the Sanrio studio in Japan by Ikuko Shimizu.

Kitty appeared on her first consumer product in 1975 which was a plastic coin purse which caused a fashion storm among young Asian girls and other small accessories and products soon followed.

Since then "Hello Kitty" has become a brand in itself.  The Sanrio studio now has over 3000 shops in the USA alone and the number of consumer products has multiplied hugely.

Today, there is now an artistic team which manages the creative output of the brand, creating new images and deleting old ones from production thus keeping the brand fresh.

Possibly the irony of the "Hello Kitty" brand and images is that what started as a piece of original, self initiated art which found a mass market has now become a very legislative design and publishing house working to a fixed and established artistic formula.

Week 5 ITAP - Story Development: The Hero's Journey

Joseph Campbell made a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of mythology in his book "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" which asserted that everyone in the world is born with the same model in their subconscious of what constitutes a hero or a heroic journey ("quest").  He used this assertion to explain why people who speak different languages can enjoy the same stories.  This was also an idea put forward by a leading Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.

Jung developed these ideas for the purposes of treating the mentally ill by finding meanings to their dreams and visions which were terrifying them.

What Campbell did was to take Jungs' theories and made correlations to give a common structure to all the worlds religions and myths derived from the worlds cultures.  He found a common pattern in these stories and myths and called them the "Hero's Journey" aka "Monomyth"

These findings have been adapted in films such as "Star Wars" and "The Matrix" in order to condense the numerous ideas into a coherent single story.

Assuming this would apply to most film stories involving a "hero", I have attempted to apply his framework to the film " Gladiator" who for me is possibly the most iconic hero of modern cinema.

I - Departure

• The Call to Adventure - Dying Emperor Marcus Aurelius makes it his dying wish for Maximus to become Protector of Rome.
• Refusal of the Call - Evil son, Commodus attempts to execute Maximus but fails.
• Supernatural Aid - In requesting a "soldiers death", Maximus manages to escape to Spain to try and save his family.
• Crossing the first Threshold - Upon arriving at his home he finds his wife raped and burned to death.
• The Belly of the Whale - He is found almost dead and taken to North Africa and forced to fight as a gladiator.

 

II - Initiation

• Road of Trials - Maximus fights to survive in the "fleapit" arenas of North Africa.
• The Meeting with a Goddess - Maximus is briefly reacquainted with his former lover, Lucilla the Emperor's daughter.
• Temptation Away from the Truth - After defeating his enemy in the arena, he shouts "Are you not entertained?!!!!!" as a rebuke to the people who demand he kills for their pleasure.
• Atonement with the Father - Maximus allows Proximo his captor and owner to be his mentor and to give him the opportunity to meet Commodus face to face in order to take his revenge.
• Apeothesis - Maximus aka "The Spaniard" becomes a hero in the Colosseum in Rome and marshals the other gladiators to numerous victories.
• The Ultimate Boon - He is summoned before the emperor and reveals himself to be Maximus and that he will have his revenge. The soldiers cheer him!

III - Return

• Refusal of the Return - Maximus continues to become a legend with the people supporting him.
• Magic Flight - Lucilla hatches a plan for the escape of Maximus.
• The Rescue from Without - The roman soldiers refuse to kill Maximus during the final confrontation with Commodus.
• Crossing the Threshold -  Maximus kills  Commodus and has his revenge.
• Master of the World - The soldiers and gladiators triumphantly take Maximus from the Colosseum.
• Freedom to Live - Maximus is reunited with his dead family in the afterlife.

Common Mythic Elements

• Two Worlds - Life as a revered general and his life as a gladiator.
• The Mentor - Proximo
• The Oracle - Lucilla
• The Prophecy - Maximus will have his revenge in this life or the next.
• Failed Hero - Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
• Wearing Enemy's Skin - Maximus becomes a Roman gladiator
• Shapeshifter - Senator Gracchus
• Chasing a lone animal into the enchanted wood - Maximus fights Commodus in the Colosseum.

Week 5 ITAP - Development of Ideas and Structure in Moving Image

Story Development- 3 Act Structure

For the purposes of this blog I am going to consider one of my favourite films, "Crash" (2004).

This is a film set in Los Angeles and explores the theory that we when the paths of different members of LA society meet, they in fact "collide" or "crash".   Peoples lives touch each other in dramatic and not subtle ways.  It also deals with the subject of racism and how all the racial groups in LA in fact stereotype each other.  Analyzing the film, I have tried to find the three main acts.

Act One

• The different characters are introduced through a series of events.  In each case the "equilibrium" of each character is disturbed by an event.
• Detective Waters finds a body and a piece of evidence which horrifies him.
• Persian shop owners is denied a gun on racial grounds but his daughter acquires one with ammunition.
• Local DA and wife are carjacked by 2 black youths (Peter and Anthony).  Fearing the house keys have also been stolen they hire hispanic locksmith, Daniel Ruiz.  He is later dismissed by wife who suspects he is a gang member.
• LAPD officers John Ryan and Tom Hansen stop black couple, Cameron and Cristine Thayer for an alleged driving offence.  Ryan conducts intimate body search of Christine to the disgust of his police partner.
• We find out that Ryan becomes main protagonist of film and we find out that he is a troubled soul caring for a sick father who may have prostrate cancer.  In order to obtain treatment for his father he crosses swords with black insurance worker who denies his request. She tells him that if his father had come she would have granted treatment.  
• Reflecting on how his racial abuse has prevented his father getting treatment, he starts on a path of change.

Act Two

The plots unfold.

• Blaming Daniel Ruiz for doing a bad job changing the lock to his shop after a robbery. Persian shopowner goes to Daniel's house and "shoots" Daniel's daughter by mistake.  It turns out, his daughter bought blank bullets for his gun.
• After and argument on the phone, DA's wife falls down stairs and is taken to hospital by her often berated and racially insulted housekeeper.
• Waters visits his mother to discuss his errant and missing brother. He promises to find him.

Act Three

We see how all the characters, including the main protagonist, Ryan arrive at a new equilibrium and the events which take them there.

• Christine suffers a horrific car crash. She is trapped and engulfed in flames.  The first officer on the scene is Ryan who without thinking for his life rescues Christine much to her amazement. Ryan has overcome his racism to save a black person's life. He has made amends for his earlier bad deed.
• After an attempted carjacking, Anthony and Peter separate.  Peter is picked up by officer Hansen and is offered a ride home.  Thinking Peter is about to pull a gun, Hansen shoots Peter and leaves his body by the roadside.
• Detective Waters arrives at crime scene (as in beginning of film) and recognises a "lucky charm" at the scene as belonging to his missing brother.
• Anthony returns to a white van he tried to steal earlier in the film and discovers the van full of Asian "slaves". He refuses money for them and takes them to Chinatown to be released.
• The black insurance worker has a rear end shunt  with another foreign driver. She exchanges racial insults with the other driver
• The cycle of abuse continues and film ends.