Week 1

We started off talking about the paintings in the Lascaux caves. We also talked about how hard it is to truly be original nowadays just because so many things have been done before. Not only that, but we also look into the past a lot and use that as inspiration for future projects.

Printing needs 3 things to grow.

1. Growing middle class

2. Students in an expanding university system

3. Increase in literacy

When all 3 of these meet together they equal a demand for print.

Johannes Gutenberg

In 1448 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany. That's what history says but the truth is there were other people that invented their own type of printing press. The reason this invention is credited to Gutenberg is because his system had 3 things:

1. Press

2. Ink

3. Paper

His system was made from a modified wine press and he developed a system of casting the letterform. The alloy was a mixture of lead and tin and used the typefaceBlackletter/Gothic/Textura. This typeface was based on the letterforms used around that period of time.

We also learned about these 4 terms:

xolography - printing with wood

ligature - two characters designed to work together such as "fi"

incunabala - the first 50 years of printing

fluerons - cast decorative elements

All 4 of these terms relate to Gutenberg.