Stop everything you’re doing and read this. You think pop culture is weird now? Get a load of this shit.

Elektro the Moto-man was, indeed, the worlds first robot celebrity. He doesn’t quite stand up to apples Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, but has some pretty astounding endearing qualities for the day.

Standing approximately 9 feet tall, the man-made-of-gears represents an odd optimism that was harboured among American citizens during the great depression. People were looking forward to better times, and that meant being terribly imaginative. Things were pushed to futuristic extremes, and Elektro was quite literally the physical embodiment of it.

He was talented! Tall! Handsome! And could perform a whopping 26 tasks! Ladies, who needs a man when you can have a nine foot robot who can smoke?

If it sounds like Elektro’s creators were trying to make him be the optimal interesting human, you’d be correct. He (It?) was designed to be an entertainer above all else. He could blow up balloons, smoke a cigarette, even flirt with audience members using his 700 words of built in vocabulary. Flirting was popular with Elektro. “Toot” was a popular adjective within his vernacular, because it was the 1930’s and when you’re a 9 foot electric human in the 1930’s, that’s what you call people. Obviously.

His limbs were functional, he could move them, but whether or not he could successfully walk is unclear. His (still unsure if this situation requires pronouns) body consisted of gears, a speaker, and aluminum sheets, which appear to be spray painted gold. A dream man if you ask me, even complete with a bushy moustache.

The phenomenon was popular at the time, but Elektro the Moto-Man has mysteriously been swept under the rug within the discussion of history. Possibly because he was solely created for entertainment and didn’t serve the public in any other way than making them laugh and blush on occasion, but most likely because people prioritized the War and the technical innovations that occurred in more useful areas (no offense, Elektro).

However, whether Elektro is on the covers of our history books or not, there is no question of his influence. Today we see artificial intelligence making its way into almost every aspect of our homes: we have Google Homes, Amazon’s Alexa, and not to mention Siri.

You could say that a direct descendant of Elektro is Sophia the Robot, a highly controversial AI creation that pushes the boundaries of technology and blurs the lines of artificial humans and real breathing ones. Perhaps we would never have these robotic companions had it not been for our faithful Elektro.

Our tin-clad companion was first unveiled at the New York World’s Fair in the 30’s but now stands tall in the Washington D.C. National Building Museum. Well, kind of. It’s a replica, but pretty damn close to the real thing. No word on whether his flirting game is still as strong, but one can only hope.

Lecture Summary:

Today we had our last lecture! I’ll never see “Done Talkin'” again, and I’m a little heartbroken. I’ve really genuinely enjoyed this class and the lectures that come with it. It’s fascinating to see the context in which our entire modern communication is built, and I feel fulfilled leaving with a whole new lexicon of inspiration to work into my art. Thanks Judy, for being so patient with us and always being kind. I really appreciate your class and the way you’ve taught it.

Anyways, sappy shit over, today we talked about the 1930’s and 40’s. This is a particular topic that I happen to know quite a bit about, so it was really nice to learn more about a time period that I’m passionate about. I was particularly interested to hear about the designers migrating to the US, seemingly in flocks, and the way that they immediately brought American design from a mediocre-genre to an iconic representation of businesses on an international level. Especially the Container Company, and their conceptual representations of their brands. It was kind of mind blowing that business ads did not have to directly focus on the product. I’ve never seen that before, but I’ll certainly be incorporating it in to future projects.

Sources:

https://www.history.com/news/1939-worlds-fair-new-york-technology-robot-flashback

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/02/elektro-the-moto-man-one-of-the-worlds-first-celebrity-robots/71505/

https://www.grunge.com/101415/bizarre-things-happened-great-depression/

1939 New York World’s Fair Presented By Elektro The Smoking Robot – In 80 Photos

The Bauhaus (1913-1933) was a school of art and design that existed in        pre-war Germany before being shut down by the Nazi party in the face of World War 2.  Founded by Walter Groimus, the primary objective of the Bauhaus was to redefine the relationship between function and design. In other words, as stated by www.metmuseum.com, the objective was to “reimagine the material world to reflect the unity of all the arts.”

The Bauhaus housed a multidisciplinary focus. Students learned painting, architecture, sculpture, and design, as well as specialized workshops like cabinet making, among others. Their coursework was intensive and diverse, allowing students to make creations that drew on a large vocabulary of historical and artistic references. Students themselves were diverse as well, bringing their own cultural influences and social-economic lenses to each discipline.

“The Bauhaus combined elements of both fine arts and design education. The curriculum commenced with a preliminary course that immersed the students, who came from a diverse range of social and educational backgrounds, in the study of materials, color theory, and formal relationships in preparation for more specialized studies.”

~ www.metmuseum.com

One of the most culturally impactful outputs of the Bauhaus was their furniture. It was created with the goal of “form follows function.” The furniture and cabinetmaking department was headed by Marcel Breur, who is said to have “reconceived the very essence of furniture, often seeking to dematerialize conventional forms such as chairs to their minimal existence.” (metmuseum.com).

An excellent example is the chair below. The extremely basic design is complimented by the unique use of material, contrast, color and essence of extremist minimalism. In contrast to the arts and crafts/art nouveau movement of the previous decades, the modern qualities of the Bauhaus designs were refreshing to say the least. This had an especially profound effect in its homeland of Germany, notorious for its heavy gothic design style during the early 20th century.

Lecture Summary:

Unfortunately I was not able to attend this weeks lecture, but I was able to review the notes and handouts. The things that jumped out to me tended to stay within the geo-political sphere, mostly the famous “Persons Case” in Canada with the supreme court. This is always something that I’ve been appalled by, and to an extent I can’t believe that this event had to happen at all in history. Additionally, my spread from a couple weeks ago focused on women’s suffrage, and the persons case highlighted the Famous 5. I found that I will always be partial to women making advances in government throughout history, but that feeling is not the same for current politics. I also gravitated towards The Lindberg making its way across the Atlantic, as plane technology is something that I’m still fascinated by today every time that I’m in one. Slightly terrifying, but very cool to know where it all started.

Sources:

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9a/ff/fc/9afffc258132091576588ad0ec82d94a.jpg

https://dengarden.com/interior-design/Bauhaus-Furniture

https://www.widewalls.ch/bauhaus-design/

Survey 4 Summary: Steam and the Speed of Light

This weeks lecture mainly focused on the innovations of the industrial revolution and their contributions to the phenomenon of mass production. We began by touching on the French revolution, world exploration and a changing political climate with the crowning of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the “long 18th century” we see climbing literacy rates, a call for reformed social structure, and as mentioned, and increase in mass production. One of the most commonly produced items was books, with approximately 600 being produced in the crowning year of Queen Victoria. There were several machines that allowed this level of production, like the invention of the Steam Engine (invented by James Watt), lithography (Alois Senefelder), chromolithography, or printing in color (invented by Godfrey Anglemon) as well as several new typefaces used specifically for consumer benefit. These included the first modern typeface Didot, Robert Thornes Fat-faces, and Vincent Figgins Egyptian. All were used to advertise to the middle class consumer. We also discussed the invention of Braille, as well as the Joseph Nieps  first photographs using the Heliogravure. Lastly, we touched on the Japanese art form of Ukiyo-e, a minimalistic impressionist style that focused on the entertainment district of Japan. My interests during this lecture primarily lie in the typefaces and Ukiyo-e, due to the secrecy of the latter and the matter in which it was transported to the US. The fact that the artform inspired the movement of Japan-ism and Impressionism was astounding to me. I was blown away that these pieces of art that were valued very little in their own society could have such a profound impact on the Western world. 

The Quality of Bookmaking During the Industrial Revolution

It’s hard to imagine that at one time books were once a high class luxury item.  Now we see cheap copies of paperbacks almost anywhere. Books inhabit every retail environment, whether it be gas station comics or questionable grocery store romance novels, they’re more than easily attainable today.  To make things easier, Canada has a staggering literacy rate of 99%, meaning that even if people don’t necessarily want to buy books, there is nothing stoping them from being able to do so.

The industrial revolution saw a vastly different environment.  The average literacy rate throughout Europe was an approximate 50% in the year 1800, with the majority of said statistic consisting of white Englishmen.  However, this number was growing throughout Europe, and quickly. This increased demand for books called for a faster method of production, cheaper materials, and ideally, less man power.

Prior to the industrial revolution, books were hand-made, bound in leather, printed on parchment or vellum (high quality calf skin), and hand painted often with precious mineral inks and with gold.

With the invention of the steam engine (done by James Watt in 1765) books were able to be mass produced with significantly less man power. Bookbinders also found many ways to cut costs as the century went on to make the product more consumer friendly and to satisfy the expanding demand.  The first cost-cut was in the paper. Vellum was unsustainable and very expensive, so there was a desperate search for an easier alternative. At first paper was switched over to a linen, cotton, or hemp base. This was called “rag” paper. However, as with any product in high demand, the price rose quickly and there was once again a search for more. It was not until the latter half of the 19th century that “modern” paper was created. As stated by www.ibookbinding.com:

“It was not until the 1840s that the initial development of the papermaking machine in England and experiments in ground wood pulping in Germany and Nova Scotia enabled the commercial production of paper, which used wood fibre as part of its composition”

In addition to paper, bookbinders found many other ways to make production cheaper and easier. Leather covers were replaced by starch cloth and cardboard, and were decorated less and less. Cloth tapes replaced the former chords or vellum strips formerly used in the sewing process. The bookbinder would also apply a false band to create the authentic handmade feel. The invention of chromolithography aided in lowering the cost and employee count by getting rid of the need for hand painted illustrations, as did the invention of the sewing machine in 1832 by Phillip Watt. This enabled companies to sew in bindings, instead of doing it by hand. Bookbinding could now be done by the publishers themselves, eliminating another middleman. In 1860, machinists (those who would be working the printing presses and binding machine) would be making an approximate weekly wage of $10.00 a week for 60 hours.  Eliminating more employees brought down the cost even further, approximately $520 a year per employee.

So if the quality changed…shouldn’t the price?

Mass production enabled books to become a commonplace object in Europe during the industrial revolution. In fact, from the years 1450-1800 there were 1 726 166 total books produced, with a staggering 641 166 of those being produced in the last half of the 18th century. In the mid 18th century, illustrated books that were short in length cost an average 3 dollars, with custom and luxurious books being much more. 3 dollars in the 18th century was enough to buy food for 1 family for 1 week. Now, the average American family of four spends an average of $239 a week for food.  Compared to the prior cost of books (handmade books could cost the same as a farm), 1 week of food was much more affordable.

Sources:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/tradition-and-transformation-in-19th-century-bookbindinghttps://www.ibookbinding.com/blog/bookbinding-history-and-introduction/https://ariettarichmond.com/paper-early-1800s/https://historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=500https://www.officialdata.org/1800-dollars-in-2018?amount=0.15https://hlq.pennpress.org/media/34098/hlq-774_p373_hume.pdfhttps://knoema.com/atlas/Canada/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-ratehttps://www.quora.com/How-many-people-could-read-in-1800s-Europehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_steam_enginhttp://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/historicalbookarts/id/986/rec/5http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/historicalbookarts/id/994/rec/1https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjS99GM4__dAhX6HjQIHbOlB7sQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMainz_Psalter&psig=AOvVaw1t6RGoDy6HQJdiJLgjaH_M&ust=1539394902290523https://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&orderBy=relevance&category_id=0&keywordsField=vellumhttp://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/historicalbookarts/id/994/rec/1

Survey 3 Summary

This weeks survey focused on the 16th and early 17th century, specifically on the innovations of design and typography, as well as briefly touching on architecture, fine art, and culture of the time. We covered the effect of each era on text and the production of literacy.  For example, the Humanist movement brought many scientific and educational published works due to the withdrawn attitudes of citizens in regard to the Church.

Prominent Figures in the 17th Century of Text Design

Johan Fust (1400-1466) and Peter Shoeffer (1425-1503)

Created the First Colour Printed Book

Fust and Shoeffer were two German printers who brought about innovations in the way of printing with color, and first did so in 1459. They printed the Latin Mainz Psalter, what would go on to be the second most well known book printed with metal moveable-type, and the first book that was printed with color. Prior to their achievement color had always been addition that was included by hand; this made the printing costs much more expensive and much more tedious. There is no definite solution for how they achieved this. It’s possible that it was achieved in multiple presses, or each color was painted on and pressed all at the same time. Additionally, the two were the first to use a colophon, a printed design signifying the date printed and trademark of the book. This device is still used today but focuses more on the publisher and not the printer themselves. Fust and Schoeffer would go on to print the Clementine Constitutions (1460), the Sixth Book of Decretals (1465) and multiple other works.

William Caxton (1422-1491)

First Printer in England

Caxton, a printer in England, had originally taken on the task of translating Raoul Le Fèvre’s Recueil des histoires de Troy, but was faced with the arduous task of hand printing and illustrating the complex piece. To solve this problem, Caxton moved to Cologne, Germany and learnt the complex process of printing via a press. Unlike other printers of the time, Caxton did not create his own movable type. He bought his type. After living in Cologne he brought the skill of printing back to England, where he would be the first to run a business of the kind. He worked in Belgium at first and printed his translated copy of the Recueil, titling it The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, printed in French. He work in Belgium for many more years, but in 1476 returned to England and continued his press in Westminster Abbey. Later he would publish the first dated book in English. This was the Dictes and Sayenges of the Phylosophers that was dated November 8th, 1477. Caxton would begin the movement of printing in England,

SOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Fust#Fust_and_Schoeffer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sch%C3%B6ffer

https://www.rct.uk/collection/1071478/the-mainz-psalter

https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Caxton

https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Caxton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainz_Psalter

Lecture Review

Todays lecture covered the year zero the year 1450 CE. We focused on the evolution of print and text, as well as the illuminated manuscript and the evolution of paper. Some key titles are…

• Parchment
• Codex and Codeci
• Uncials and Half-uncials
• The effects of Barbaric invasions
• Gothic text and international influence of text
• The Printing Press (Bi Sheng, China)
• The Printing Press (Johan Gutenberg)

I found this lecture particularly interesting. It was fascinating to find out how innovations in text and print were reflected all throughout the known world. Especially in the instances of Sheng and Gutenberg, where they came up with the exact same technology with zero communication whatsoever.

Middle Eastern Illuminated Manuscripts

Illuminated manuscripts of the middle east provided a wide arrange of topics and information, straying far from the typical religious text found in the West. Islamic illuminators were unable to depict humans. The Islamic faith did not allow any renderings of God’s creations with souls, and the lack of such set these manuscripts apart from their European counterparts. People and animals (anything with a soul) were strictly banned from being depicted. All illustrated codecis of the area instead featured natural details, but the majority of the illustrations consisted of embellished designs. The style these books were created in was highly decorative, ornate, and detailed. Artists would work on a commission for months or even years, working primarily in royal workshops with an array of other workers.

In early production the majority of commissioned manuscripts were Qur’ans, religious texts of the Islamic faith. Illuminators would work with the scribes to create elaborate texts to lead the faithful by God’s word. After the scribes produced and decorated the paper, the illuminators would create their inks. Different inks were made up of various minerals, both for colour and for pigmentation.

• Gold
• Silver
• Lapis lazuli/Indigo (dark blue) and azurite (light blue)
• Orpient (for yellow) and malachite (for green)
• Cinnabar (for red)

Ink was first mixed with a glue-like substance called albumen. This made the ink dry glossy, and it was not until the 16th century that artists switched over to a matt texture. This was achieved with gum arabic, sap derived from the acacia tree. The artist would then create a rough draft. This would be achieved with a fine layer of light ink or by using a device called a pounce. To pounce, the artist would lay a transparent layer over the rough draft and prick holes around every outline. Then, they would lay it over the new paper and pound a cloth bag of pigment into the holes, creating an outline where the paper once was. This technique would continue to be used into the high renaissance by muralists and fresco painters. Multiple artist were a part of the drawing process, with junior artists filling in large portions and blocks of colour.  After each page was completed, illuminators would add finishing touches. These ranged from gold leaf accents to chapter headings and initials. The very last step would be to burnish the page with a rock of glass stone.

• All the different minerals used to create the ink colours. On the bottom, we see Lapus Lazuli (right) and Azurite (left). On the left of the second row we see Orpient and Malachite.

  

• Here we have the left side of an illuminated manuscript Qur’an. It was done in 1282 CE, by the Turkish Scribe Muhammad ibn Mustafa İzmir’i. We can see the ornate drawings, gold leaf embellishment, and just how much the different pigments stand out against one another.

Sources:

https://www.library.yale.edu/neareast/exhibitions/exhibit20071.html

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/isbk/hd_isbk.htm

https://www.google.ca/search?q=gum+arabic+definition&oq=gum+arabic+defi&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.3214j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://www.google.ca/search?q=quran+definition&oq=q%27uran+definitio&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.8039j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Photos:

Gemstone photo: https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjq54nB1dndAhWOIjQIHeQsC3YQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F318559373634332661%2F&psig=AOvVaw0fNeFzmOKUXTMLM4g5SUje&ust=1538085601632032

Left side of the Qu’ran:

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjq7a7Q1tndAhWQIDQIHZ0oBN8QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fmedmss%2F4690467017&psig=AOvVaw1XQi3UQlp6Kx2CeNCk9ZPW&ust=1538085898119322

Close up: https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiEhu7S2dndAhWkKX0KHZiMCCwQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.shu.edu%2Farchives%2F2017%2F11%2Farchives-news-conservation-and-digitization-of-17th-century-illuminated-manuscript-quran%2F&psig=AOvVaw1XQi3UQlp6Kx2CeNCk9ZPW&ust=1538085898119322

Lecture Summary 

This weeks lecture covered the time span from 35000 BCE to the year zero. We covered the origins of writing and language, from cave art dating back 40 000 years to the perfection of the Chinese written language on paper. Something I found particularly fascinating was the idea of the evolution of Korean language. It is the youngest alphabet in the world. In a time where reading and writing was reserved for the upper classes, Korean Hangul was easy to read, write, and speak due to its phonetic nature.

Weekly Research

First century Rome was a tumultuous but successful place. After years of unrest, the years 0-100 AC would contain more victories for Rome than ever before, reaching its peak just after the end of the first century. Roman people were proud of their accomplishments and of their empire, and dressed in a distinguishable style to reflect this.

The average Roman man often came packaged in a wool toga or tunic, with individual styles for each gender and age. Common men wore plain white, and were officially allowed to wear one ring intended to seal letters with wax. However, some defied this rule and adorned themselves and their clothing when possible to show off. Casual wear consisted of tunics (or tunica) were mid thigh length dresses, often worn with a hooded cape (a paenula) and broach. Standard footwear was strapped sandals, custom to the Mediterranean climate. Pants were classified as barbaric, and did not make an appearance in Rome unless in military wear. Togas were more formal, and signified status more so than the average tunic.

• White applied to all men
• Off-white and purple to upperclassmen
• Bleached fabrics for politicians
• Dark wool togas were worn after a loved one had passed
• Purple and gold was reserved for dignitaries, generals, and eventually emperors

Women were dressed modestly. Their dress consisted of floor length, long sleeved woolen togas. Togas would later be exclusive to men in the second century. Women of a lower class could also wear tunics, but they were more fitted to the female body with belts. Women of wealth and status could wear a stola, a sign of a dignified married woman. It was a piece of cloth (wool, linen, or silk in higher classes) intricately wrapped around ones upper body. A palla, a long shawl like piece of rectangular cloth, could be worn by any woman and would have similar effect. Pallas were more casual, and excluded the face, therefore being less formal. Women of all classes loved jewelry. It was more commonly found on higher class women, the pieces featuring intricate designs and subjects.

Status was expressed through dress as well. It was thought that the more fabric a person has on, the more they can afford, the wealthier they are. Rich colours and high quality fabrics also represented wealth. Jewelry, high quality cosmetics, and adornments did too. Orange clothing was gaudy and flashy, where purple and gold signified class and royalty.

Photos: https://www.romawonder.com/fashion-ancient-rome-togas-underwear-wedding-dresses/

http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub369/item2069.html

Bibliography

https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/19/17469176/roman-empire-maps-history-explained

Lee, Timothy B. “40 Maps That Explain the Roman Empire.” Vox, Vox, 19 Aug. 2014, www.vox.com/world/2018/6/19/17469176/roman-empire-maps-history-explained.

https://www.historyonthenet.com/the-romans-clothing/

“The Romans – Clothing.” History, 19 Mar. 2018, www.historyonthenet.com/the-romans-clothing/

https://owlcation.com/humanities/Womens-Clothes-in-Ancient-Rome

Lewis, Linnea. “Women’s Clothes in Ancient Rome.” Owlcation, Owlcation, 24 Jan. 2018, owlcation.com/humanities/Womens-Clothes-in-Ancient-Rome.

Bowman, Karen. Corsets and Codpieces: a History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era. Skyhorse Publishing, 2016.

Cummings, Valerie, et al. The Dictionary of Fashion History: Based on a Dictionary of English Costume, 900-1900 by C.W. and P.E. Cunnington and Charles Beard, Now Completely Revised, Updated and Supplemented to the Present Day by Valerie Cumming. Berg, 2010.