The lecture included many interesting artifacts such as ancient writing materials like papyrus and early parchment (animal skin) which the class had an opportunity to handle and experience first hand. The doctor also presented an actual 15th century Gutenberg Bible and discussed its relevance as the first substantial book printed with movable type.
Dr. Hochstetler also demonstrated some of the design problems that occurred along the evolution of the written word as imposed by culture, materials, and geography. He then posed some provocative questions in regard to the present electronic medium that writing is beginning to become.
The QCC's Applied Arts Department extends our deepest gratitude to Dr. Hochstetler for taking the time to speak to History of Graphic Design class. We hope this lecture was insightful to all that took part and we encourage a group discussion of relevant topics in the comment section of this blog.
For more information visit:
http://www.skypoint.com/members/waltzmn/WritingMaterials.html
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/gutenberg/
http://conversationalreading.com/newspaper-design-and-another-problem-with-the-kindle
12 comments:
Because the link (
http://conversationalreading.com/newspaper-design-and-another-problem-with-the-kindle ) takes forever to load, here is an excerpt from the conversation there:
" Every newspaper you’ve ever read was put together by someone with an opinion about which of the day’s stories was most important. Newspapers convey these opinions through universal, easy-to-understand design conventions—they put important stories on front pages, with the most important ones going higher on the page and getting more space and bigger headlines. . . .
Getting through these same stories on the Kindle is much harder and more tedious. First, they’re out of order. When I scrolled through Thursday’s national section on my Kindle, the shortest and least newsworthy of these pieces—the Burris story—came first. Worse, because the Kindle gives every story the same headline font, the list item doesn’t clue you in to the story’s slightness. The only way to know if a story merits your attention is to click on it. But clicking is time-consuming—the Kindle takes a half-second or so to switch between a section list and a story, and another half-second to switch back. This sounds nearly instant, but it’s not; the delay is just long enough to change the way you read the news."
"Manjoo doesn't go on to make the obvious conclusion to his argument: this is exactly why it's stupid to manufacture an expensive digital device to reproduce the experience of reading a book. We already have books and newspapers, and they'll not be defeated. And it's pointless to try, unless you're part of that 0.001% of the population that has a legitimate need to carry 600-some books around with you at any moment.
The corollary to this is that the Internet (and other possibly digital readers) can improve over print because they democratize information. That is, even though a few years ago every newspaper in the nation put IRAQ WMD WILL KILL YOU ALL!!! on page one and kept the stories that might disrupt the narrative somewhere to page A25, a site like Daily Kos could choose which information was the most meaningful and highlight it.
Obviously books and newspapers are just the opposite. You can argue all day for which is better–a command or democratic approach to information–but the point is that digital and print function differently, and it's dumb to put so much effort into making a digital device that reproduces what we can already do just fine in printed format, albeit with an extraordinarily larger carrying capacity.
That all is to say, if the Kindle and similar really want to be as revolutionary as they're trying to be, they'll get over their print envy and figure out new ways to let people use the information they purchase."
Then there's also this doosey
Dr. Hochstetler's Lecture was not nearly as painfully boring as I had anticipated. I expected that he would know his stuff, but the amount of knowledge pouring our of this man was pretty remarkable. I enjoyed how he began his lecture with a simple question in order to get the class to think. He asked "what is a book?" Everybody was a bit hesitant to say, as if he was going to shoot down your answer even though we all know what a book is. A book is made of up symbols or letters. These letters have a purpose- to represent sound in order to convey information. This is simple but I found it interesting.
He went on to state about where writing started, which was in Mesopotamia. He covered what the first writing materials used were which was papyrus and ink made from ground minerals and/or charcoal.
He also talked for a long time about Egypt and it's culture and art and even passed around some ancient artwork, which was pretty amazing.
And obviously the massive bible he had from the 1500s was insanely cool.
-Mike P
Very interesting lecture; I read a sample from the Book of Kells aloud in Latin! I attend the Mass in Latin and know what it sounds like, but I could not read the sample clearly because of the ancient Celtic font. The book (which was a photographic reproduction) was painted by a monk green-on-green. Very difficult for a 21st centarian to read. Luther's Bible was interesting as well, and I did not believe that there were any original copies left! It was very medieval-looking; at a glance you could not tell it was printed in German. A book so ancient and beautiful thou can't tell it was a weapon against the Catholic Church.
Well, my favorite part (as those who know me could probably guess) was when Dr. Hochstetler mentioned Buffy and Charmed. :)
But seriously, I really enjoyed his lecture! I already had an understanding of the origin of writing thanks to the reading, but having a discussion about it was great! He gave more detail and I loved that his lecturing style was conversational. I think it's really important to understand the history of written language if you are a graphic designer; that knowledge would help with Typographical endeavors among other things.
I loved the examples Dr. Hochstetler brought and that we got to see and touch them. I did not like that he made me touch the parchment, however. The fact that parchment is actually animal skin really creeped me out. I make an effort to not buy real animal fur or leather, so I really didn't want to touch the skin. I was surprised to find out what parchment really is though; I always thought it was woven like papyrus! Of all the examples shown to us, I really enjoyed the Egyptian writing on papyrus. To have him describe the different inks while I inspected the drawings was an interesting experience. I also really enjoyed the Guttenberg Press Bible. I loved the historical significance, and the sheer size of it will definitely have an impact on a person.
Due to the success of this guest lecture, I sincerely hope we have more in the future. :)
dmarie63 is me, Deanna :)
I really enjoyed the Doctor's lecture, which surprises me. There was a lot of information (meaning like 99% of his material) that I either had no idea about or had incorrect ideas about.
I can admit the lecture did have a slow start when he was talking about Mesopotamia, but it moved very easily after that. I wasn't really that interested in the handouts, mainly because they were distracting me from the lecture, but I loved the things he passed around. I had felt papyrus before, but it was only the factory-made artificial stuff, so actually having handmade papyrus to examine was very interesting. I understand why the Egyptians used it. It was the same with the animal skins. I suppose in today's modern world, what we write on isn't really something we think about, so it was interesting seeing what was used as writing materials before paper went into mass-production. Its a really similar idea to reading. Now, its something we learn in infancy almost, but those who could read in ancient times were the one who held the power.
That brings me to my next point. Those who could actually read that tiny script probably deserve power- those who can write it more-so. When he was talking about the monks writing the bibles, it was both very entertaining and informational. The pages he had were kind of funny because the monk who wrote them must have been very bored at that point because they drew random faces around the border.
Also, I had no idea that the printing press was that old. Its just another thing I never thought about; I had always just assumed they were invented in the 1600's or around there. I suppose its just the idea of carving those tiny letters backwards into a copper plate that terrifies me. The Bible he brought in was really cool. I didn't think much of it until he went into detail about the copper plates then I realized really how much effort went into there. I really enjoyed the lecture and I felt bad being the first person to notice the time and return to my seat to get my stuff.
If Dr. Hochstetler is reading this, I just want to say thank you and I hope to be lectured by you again in the future.
Thank you, Max Brown
I found Dr. Hochstetler's lecture to be pretty interesting. I enjoyed having the visual aids to go along with his speech. Being able to see and feel the different types of surfaces they wrote on gave me a better understanding of what he was talking about. I liked seeing the different pieces of papyrus paper he had. Taking in consideration how old the writings were I thought that they still looked really good and I was surprised to see how vibrant the colors still were. I also enjoyed looking at the old bible. It’s not every day you get to see and feel a historical artifact like that one. I hope Dr. Hochstetler enjoyed doing his presentation with us as much as we enjoyed having him and I hope one day he can come back to fill our heads with more of his knowledge.
Dr. Hochstetler's Lecture was very interesting. He discussed the origins of writing and the various forms that developed in Mesopotamia, Egypt and other ancient civilizations. It was really interesting to see The Book of Kells, as well as the papyrus with Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was also interesting to see the Bible from the 1500s. The maps, and the page layouts were very impressive. It was really cool to be able to feel the pages of a book that is about 500 years old.
Dr. Hochstetler's lecture in class was very fascinating indeed. Before I felt as if I had a fairly good knowledge of the history of writing and how basic uses of communication via print, but Dr. Hochstetler's presentation proved to me I had absolutely no idea at all. The details he mentioned about geography and culture I never even thought about. I was under the impression that all type was generally the same granted language was the one real difference.
When Dr. Hochstetler talked about the process of making parchment and papyrus, thats what really fascinated me the most about the presentation. I knew it took some work to make these products in which people wrote on but the amount of thought and the process to really make them isn't anything we would think about. Who would have thought of taking a plant and using it as a writing material? To me a plant would rot and decay over time but human ingenuity has taught us that we are very resourceful when we want to be. Dr. Hochstetler's knowledge of all types of writing materials was just amazing. How he knew how to make papyrus and the process of making parchment.
Another fascinating point was the process of making the different methods of writing. From using just reeds and ink made of minerals to the moving parts of the printing press. I know how typewriters work and that the letters are backwards but knowing to use certain metals, how much pressure to apply and the detail that must go into it just really made me realize how much really goes into printing a book back in the periods.
Overall I thought the lecture was a very informative and eye opening experience. I walked in knowing certain things and walked out with a new sense of what a book really is and grateful for how writing has evolved to a point where I don't have to worry about being illiterate or reading through such complex writing styles. I applaud Dr. Hochstetler's presentation and bow to his vast amounts of knowledge. Thank you.
Dan Bouley
Dr. Hochstetler's lecture inspired me to have a discussion with my husband about the evolution of communications, which is his field. He was especially interested in Dr. H's association of the development of mass printing and the evolution of economics. I personally was interested in the part about the secularization of books contributing to the liberation of women, especially since my final research project focuses on the women's movement of the 20th century. When Dr. H was done, I was left wanting to know more about the evolution of books through modern history, and I've been inspired to research the topic further. Good lecture, good class.
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