The Lumiere Brothers and The First Moving Picture
All of us need to know who are the ones that had built a foundation for the big screen and movies. The ones who showed the first moving pictures were the Lumiere brothers, Louis and Auguste Lumiere.
What did they actually invent?
The Lumiere brothers invented a camera that is capable of record, develop and project film. It was a phenomenon at the time when they released their first movie night. The invention was not just about movies, it was the start of a new design aspect in communication design. In other words, it created new jobs such as designing posters, advertising campaign for the entertainment industry.
The race for better quality
The success of the Lumiere brothers sparked a light of opportunity for others to take part in the industry. Same as today, there is always some new technology advances in terms of quality of the still and motion pictures. As the cinema industry grew, many people as well as the brothers started to develop in new projects. Because of that, the creation of color photography and later the color film was invented.
Will H. Bradley, the guy who used graphic design as a medium for creating art
The demand for books grew, so as the need for decoration of cover books. Will H. Bradley was known as an American graphic artist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was specialized in designing book covers and some aspects of architecture. However, the unique thing about this graphic designer is that his style was quite different from the other designers. Bradley had used quite a few designing techniques of gestalt principles, which made it so modern compared to other designer’s work.
The Chap Book, what is it?
The Chap Book is the name for an American literary magazine from 1894 to 1898. It was a small publication, or can even be considered as a mini zine.
The Chap Book Covers. Covers or Art?
There were a variety of covers versions of the Chap Book, mostly designed by Will H. Bradley. The Chap Book had become so successful because the masses were obsessed with his work. Therefore, he had to create many separated “The Chap Book” posters for poster collectors or favorite customers. It came to the point where the publisher had printed some posters designed by him as a limited edition, signed by Will H. Bradley himself and marketed as “fine art”.
Personal opinions about the topics:
I think this is one of my favorite surveys because of the creation of motion pictures. The Lumiere brothers had left a legacy for the visual communication world. They might think that they have only invented movies, but the truth is they had raised the industry to another level of the playing field. Creativity is built upon the past. Hence, without the knowledge of the past, we would never be able to thrive and become better.
Sources:
- https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18697935/
- https://exhibitions.lib.udel.edu/will-bradley/
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2019/01-02/creation-of-the-motion-picture-lumiere-brothers/
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150131-pictures-autochrome-color-photography-history-people-culture/