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Unintentional ASMR 🖼️ Traditional Japanese Printmaking (brushing, explan...

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Modern Japanese prints, 1912-1989 : woodblocks and stencils

Lawrence Smith

London : British Museum Press

1994

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Japanese Woodblock Prints as a Lens and a Mirror for Modernity.

Sean P. McManamon.

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Japanese Wood Block Printing

Whats Involved

          Japanese wood block printing is consisted of a single sheet of paper known as Washi, (made with the inner bark of the Gampi tree, to which they grind into a wood pulp to make it tougher), and water based inks that makes the prints colours` more vivid and transparent. The transparency in the inks is what allows the inks layer more easily and gives a gradient effect in the prints. A tool known as a Baren helps the printer print the images on to the Washi paper.

The Technique

1. Draw the image onto Washi paper.

2. Glue your drawing on to the wood block, (preferably smooth Cherry wood).

3. Mark the wood on the corners, (this will make it easier when you print so nothing is out of line and the print matches up).

4. (Optional) Paint the Washi paper with oil so the line work stands out better.

5. Chisel the wood block carefully keeping line work intact.

6. Brush on the coloured inks.

7. Use a Baren to help with printing.

8. Repeat to get acquired print.

9. Well done! You have a Japanese wood print.

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Bibliography

All images for the lecture notes were taken from the lecture presentations form black board and my own images.

Readings -

Bignell, J., 2002. Media Semiotics: An Introduction. 2nd Edition ed. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Pg 5 to 17.

Klein , N., 1999. No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullets. 1st Edition ed. Toronto: Random House of Canada.

McCloud, S., 1993. Understanding Comics. 1st Edition ed. New York: HarperCollins.

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Research exercise

I would do this is order to understand both the people who are fans of films and cinemas and anime. This would mean that I could get a non biased opinion on the subject at hand. 

I could also look for a fan website for anime to which I could post the question and allow people to comment their opinions.

Also looking at articles for western films and looking at the reviews given by critics can be a good insight for the question at hand.

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Jonathan Bignell - Media Semiotics

Picture 1

1st highlight - Some ideas can be the same but will exhibit many differences, such as language.

2nd highlight -  Again languages have a huge role in ideas and how hey are portrayed.

3rd - Semeion which means sign, to which they communicate meaning.

Picture 2

1st highlight - Semiotics can be portrayed by language.

2nd highlight - Using specific words to group a certain range of people like calling young people children.

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Lecture 6

Subculture and the Meaning of Style

The definition of subculture is:

A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture.

Subculture goes back to the 1800s were it was referred by deviant groups in early studies.

The prefix sub suggests a lower rank, for example: Subterranean and subordinate.

Subculture also associated with with small minority groups such as Punks, Rockers, Skin Heads, Teddy Boys ect.

Some subcultures could be a fan group of a film, TV show or games, one fan group calling themselves Trekkies from Star Trek, Warsies from Star Wars, Sherlockians from Sherlock,  Ringers from the Lord of the Rings ect.

All of these minority groups share a set of beliefs, values and lifestyles that resists mainstream culture.

Mainstream Culture

The organisation of a society into hierarchical structures that are shaped by prominent political, media, social & corporate interests.

For Example: People who listen to the Vodafone Big Top 40 and what is the most current, instead of listening to indie music. 

Found in state institutions & apparatus, government, laws, authorities, bureaucracy, economic systems, the media etc.   

Is responsible for the construction of myth (semiotics > abiding cultural ideas and trends etc).

Reflect the interests of dominant social groups.

Breakdown of Consensus

The refusal to participate in mainstream culture.  

Desire to subvert, parody and disrupt elements of mainstream culture.

Contradictory Themes - Empowerment & Impotence.

The Beats

Mostly male, young, white, educated, middle class, sexually ambivalent ect.

Famous members associated with the group were - William Burroughs, Allen Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlingetti and more.

They were anti-mainstream, anti-1950s materialism, (the perfect american family), anti-censorship, (for gay and bisexual ect), and anti-military and industrial machine, (against the atom bomb).

Allen Ginsberg - Howl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkNp56UZax4

Square Values

Mainstream culture.

Deferred gratification/planned future action.

Conformity to bureaucratic rules.

Fatalism comfort in routine.

Strong work ethic.

Consumerism - status.

Family as moral center.

Defined gender roles.

Deference to religious beliefs.

Beat Values

Counter-cultural.

Hedonism - leads to personal enlightenment.

Spontaneous action/new experiences.

Non-conformity.

Belief in self-autonomy.

Distain for work ethic.

Anti-materialistic.

Spiritual > interest in other, (eg Eastern), belief systems.

Non-binary relationships.  

Absorption of a Subculture

Mainstream media - distortion & vilification of beat culture.

Evolving into the caricature of beat values the beatnik used as a derogatory term.

The Holy Barbarians - Lipton, 1959

Beat-nik 

Sloppily groomed with goatees.

Turtle neck sweater with sandals, sunglasses, beret ect.

Prone to nonsensical slang and an affected patois.

Convinced of his own intellectual, (hip), superiority.

Beat-chick

Over sized sweater and black stockings.

Lots of eye make up, unkempt hair.

Weird & spacey. 

Deviant/morally suspect.

Sexually available.

Subcultures are often cyclical > recent resurgence/interest in Beat history.

Subcultures are often cyclical - Hipster culture.  

Punk

1. An inferior, rotten or worthless person or thing. 2. Short for punk rock. 3. A young male homosexual. 4. A prostitute - adj.

Political/social context > Britain mid 1970’s.

Economic recession > youth unemployment.

The Meaning of Style

The visualisation of a subculture.

The creation of cultural capital.  

Straight [Mainstream > Square] Values

Pop stars that are thick and useless/a passive audience.

Good fun entertainment when it’s really not good or not funny.

 Dirty books that aren’t all that dirty/censorship.   

Dress Code

Cross-gender dress.

Anti taste > ugliness.

Provocative > adoption of fetishist wear & sexualised imagery.

Subversion of loaded signs > the swastika > the symbol of the enemy.

Demystification

Destroy your idols.

Anti-corporate.  

Praxis > Theory.  

The Slits: inability > determination

A female band that could play their band instruments very well but kept playing which helped them improve and get better at playing.

Detournement

Aping the parent culture.

Diversion, Interference & Intervention. 

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Lecture 5

The Graphic Code of Comic Books

Paul Gravette - Comic Art

http://www.paulgravett.com/articles/article/comics_art

Scott McCloud - Understanding Comics

The graphic code.

Control and readership

The graphic code of comics is a set of graphic signs that artists use to tell the story through a sequence of pictures on a page.

These graphic signs are a unique to comic strips that have evolved over time.

Ally Slopers comic called Half Holiday had many detailed drawings in a sequence but had no speech bubbles, instead the speech and description that went with the story was at the bottom of every drawing.

Wales, J, Sanger L. (10 October 2017). Ally Sloper`s Half Holiday.Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Sloper%27s_Half_Holiday. Last accessed 13th March 2018.

“The more abstract the character the more you are attracted to said character.”

- Scott McCloud

Encoding and Decoding

The role and the involvement  of the comic author/creator.

The creation of the page involves cognitive reasoning in the selection, arrangement and layering of textual & visual elements that comprise the narrative. This is to express the story more clearly to the viewer so they can  understand the linguistic and visual information at hand. And to also navigate spatial relationships in order to make meaningful connections between one panel and the next.

Plurivectorial Flow

To understand the story the reader is constantly traversing and rewinding across the page to follow along with the story/ plot. This also means that the viewers focus and direction of their eye movement can be erratic.

Control - seasoned comic artists are aware of reader deviation and employ various strategies to counteract this.

Such as:

- Page Design (and the multiframe)

- Strip ellipses

- Key Panel co-ordinates

- Cliffhangers/Page breaks

- Negative space

- Closure and the passage of time

The Page as a Multiframe

Encourages an appreciation of the complexity of the creative process.

Just as the eye can move erratically across a page, it may also telescope in and out.

It is possible to identify at least 3 levels at which the page can be approached:

1) level of the page 

2) level of the strip 

3) level of the panel

Panel Co-ordinates

A panel has a relation not only to abutting panels, but to other panels in the multiframe.

The drawn surface represents only a portion of the narrative content.

Significant Co-ordinates

Entry/ Exit points

Middle points

Closer and the passage of time

1) Moment to moment, (seconds).

Small lapses in time were a little closure is needed.

2) Action to action 

Different actions within the same scene were some closure is needed.

3) Subject to subject

Different subjects within the scene or idea however it needs more reader involvement to work.

4) Scene to scene

Geographic location with a significant movement of time and/ or space. Deductive reasoning needed.

5) Aspect to aspect

Scene setting - no apparent shift in time. Shows different aspect of the same scene.

6) Non - Sequitur

No logical relationship between panels? Closure?

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Lecture 4

Decoding Advertising

(Missed 3 due to bad weather).

Image - Music - Text (Roland Barthes) 1977

http://ieas.unideb.hu/admin/file_3865.pdf

Media Semiotics (Johnathan Bignall) 1977

Structuralist thinking/synchronic approach to language.

A conversation is an exchange of minds.

Barthes & connotation

Signifier + signified = denotative sign 

[+ Connotative Signifier] 

Denotation: literal understanding.

Connotation: secondary meaning.

Sites in mainstream media, reflect social norms.

“Ideology is released into society like a colourless, odourless gas.” 

Status Anxiety (Alain De Botton)

“Ads ask us to participate in ideological ways of seeing ourselves and the world.”  

Decoding Advertisements (Judith Williamson) 1978

Magazine Advertisements

Ads are particular to time & place.

Ideas are often presented as natural, represent a dominant ideology, or cultural norm.

The advertisement business is: 

Highly professional and is a very competitive business.

1) Linguistic Image

Denotation, (non - coded):

Literal reading of all text.

Connotation, (coded): key words associated with the reading.

The Image Contains:

Pasta

Cheese

Sauce

What appears to be fresh tomatoes and mushrooms, (to give the illusion of making the food look fresh, so as to entice the viewer into buying the product).

A net, (to present the items in a way that they are straight from Italy).

The colours, (symbolise the Italian flag to give it a more authentic look).

The words, (Pates - Sauce - Parmesan A L`italienne De Luxe). 

Linguistic Message

Non - Coded - Literal reading;

Labels > brand name & font ect.

Caption > syntagm > the luxury of Italy.

Denotation (non-coded:

Photograph (iconic sign).

Collection of signs: food stuff, vegetables, string bag etc.

Domestic setting (table/worktop).

Association: linking of factory produce with organic/natural produce

Intertextuality: arranged like a still life - a work of art > link to Italian painting of the past.

Barthes argues that the ad effectively presents the (French) viewer with the view of one culture by the parent culture.

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Lecture 2

Semiotics Lecture

Symbiotic - Involving the interaction between 2 different organisms living in a close physical association.

Mythologies - Roland Barthes (1957)

“The myths which suffuse our lives are insidious precisely because they appear so natural they call out for the detailed analysis which semiotics can deliver.” 

https://soundenvironments.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/roland-barthes-mythologies.pdf

Media Semiotics - Johnathan Bignall

Semiotics > Structuralism

Essentialism - hard wired into people

Definition of Semiotics  

Defined as the study of signs and sign systems withing society.

Anything that is capable of conveying meaning is a sign such as clothes, sounds, words, images etc.

Encoding - Decoding 

Often signs are grouped together to form codes; gestures (body language) clothing/dress (dress codes).

Roland Barthes explained this in his book the fashion system that was released in 1967. “Clothing - a cultural sign system which has strong communicative value and which is used on a daily basic to negotiate meaning and interact on the basis of that negotiated meaning.”

I believe that he is saying that if you dress a certain way, such as by wearing denim jackets, ripped denim jeans and wear many piercings with a colourful hair style, that you maybe you are associating yourself with a punk lifestyle. Which on depending how people look at you, you are saying a lot about yourself with out the need of conversation.

How signs communicate [cultural] meanings

How we relate to signs Semiotics provides a useful framework for; 

Deconstructing visual ‘texts’ around us.

Looking beyond their mere surface at any underlying [cultural] messages and ideas.

History of semiotics

Root from Greek Semeion meaning sign.

Modern Semiotics can be traced back to;

Swiss academic Ferdinand Saussure (1857 - 1913)

American Charles Pierce (1839 - 1914)

Saussure & Pierce were linguist academics, both advocated a synchronic approach as opposed to diachronic approach to language.

The passive v constructive view of language.

Sassure

Communication through language is all about the exchange of minds. 

Cultural perspectives?

Language is made up of signs, each word written down or spoken can be thought of as a sign.

Signifier + Signified = Sign

Signifier: 

Physical representation (stimulus: verbal or textual content).

Signified: 

Mental concept (response: cognitive reading).

Paradigm: 

Point of substitution in a sentence (or group of signs) which allows for an exchange > of a similar sign or metaphorical sign or abstract sign, without changing the overall structure. 

 My dog... smells - pongs - hums - corrodes, etc.

Hope

Ulysses Everett (Oh brother where art thou).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXSeFkuskOI

“I would like to address your attitude of hopeless negativism, consider the lillies of the goddam field or hell, look at Delmar here as your paradigm of hope”

OBAMA 2008 election poster - Shepherd Fairey

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Scott McCloud Understanding Comics

          “As children, we “show and tell” INTERCHANGEABLY, (in a way that can be exchanged), words and images combining to transmit a connected series of ideas.”

·         We can show what is being done using little to no explanation using words, or narrate what is going on so the reader may follow more easily.

·         “Generally speaking, the more is said words, the more the pictures can be freed to go exploring and vice versa.”

·         Giving pictures narrative can give then a more integral meaning.

·         However, you can also change the pictures to show a different perspective then before and make the drawings more abstract.

“I guess the basic difference is that animation is sequential in time but not spatially Juxtaposed as comics are.” p.7

Juxtaposed: The notion placing something close together or side by side, especially for comparison and contrast

Scott McCloud looks at the history of comics by looking at pre-Colombian picture manuscripts and tapestry as well as looking into pictorial languages such as the Egyptians.  

The mention of Lynd Ward looking at his work known as the `silent` Woodcut novels that are praised by comic artists for his work due to the negative connotations of comics. 

Frans Masereel - Passionate Journey, 1919.

“Yet, despite the lack of a conventional story, there is no mistaking the central role which sequence plays in the work. Ernst doesn`t want you to browse the thing. he wants you to read it!” p. 19

The pictures from Max Ernst`s A week of kindness is very similar to a comic in the way it has been portrayed for it is showing the viewer a story that he presents, not as standalone works of art but a novel to which the viewer should read to understand the story.

“Pictures in sequence are finally being recognized as the excellent communication tool that they are, but still nobody refers to them as comics! `Diagrams` sounds more dignified, I suppose.” p.20

This means that the word comic is conceived negatively by many people. This maybe due to the connection to children's comics and other picture books.

“There is a long-standing relationship between comics and cartoons.” p.21

“But they are not the same thing! One is an approach to picture-making -- a style, if you like -- while the other is a medium.” p.21

“We may try to understand the world of comics around us, a part of that world will always lie in shadow -- a mystery.” p.23

We may never know the understanding of comics as a whole but what we can do is understand what we already know to make a sense of what comics are about and he also states, “our attempts to define comics are an on-going process.” p.23

Symbols could be in one category of icons.

“Words are totally abstract icons.” p.28

We could use words in a creative way when drawing such as on p.28 he has the drawing of a man with the word eye on his face instead of a drawn eye.

That the drawing of people within comic books can also be an abstract character, however if it goes to abstract then it looks more like an icon or as Scott states “the cartoon?” p.29

Cartoons are an icon due to there popularity through comics and cartoons and how people respond more to a cartoon character more then a realistic due to their simplistic nature. Scott McCloud calls this “as a form of amplification through simplification.” p. 30

“Cartooning isn`t just a way of drawing it`s a way of seeing!” p.31

The way of simplifying an idea of something like a story and focusing on that to present to the audience, whether it being a film or comic book.

Another fact is the way the viewer can see themselves as certain iconic characters, especially those who they can relate to and feel sympathy for the character the story revolves around. 

“We humans are a self-centered race.” p.32

Humans can make out faces in every day objects and Scott McCloud identifies that “we assign identities and emotions where none exist.” He also goes on to say “we make the world over in our image.” In a sense we believe that we have seen iconic characters in many shapes and forms that we can make characters.

“We don`t just observe the cartoon, we become it!” p.36

Again people see themselves as the character which in turn you feel more connected with them throughout the story. And it could also be another way to escape reality and get lost in the story.

“Non-visual self-awareness can, to a lesser degree, still apply to our whole bodies.” p.37

During an interaction as Scott McCloud shows, two people could be having a discussion but their minds could be elsewhere such has the man talking is more worried about dropping his drink and the woman listening to the man is thinking of her ankle, which could mean she is in pain. This could also say that we wear masks to present a false emotion without showing how they really feel.

Clothes can be a representation of ourselves to show other people what we are interested in, what our personalities could be like or how we want to be seen as, if someone dresses in dark clothing people could perceive them as goth or if they wore baggy clothing, people could perceive them as having a laid back personality.

“Very iconic characters with unusually realistic backgrounds” p.42

“This combination allows readers to mask themselves in a character and safely enter a sensually stimulating world.” p.43

Once people place themselves in iconic characters as to sympathise with the character throughout the adventure and the story.

- Jacques Tardi

- Carl Barks

- Jaime Hernandei

- Dave Sim

- Osamu Tezuka

Complex, (consisting of many different and connected parts). - Simple, (plain, basic, or uncomplicated in form).

Realistic, (representing things in a way that is accurate and true to life). - Iconic, (relating to or of the nature of an icon).

Objective, (not influenced by personal feelings). - Subjective, (based on or influenced by personal feelings).

Specific, (clearly defined or identified). - Universal, (applicable to all cases).

- Mary Fleener

- Jack Kirby

- Stan Lee

- Sergio Aragones

- Dave MsKean 

“Capable of expressing each artist`s innermost needs and ideas.” p.57

Artists are capable of creating a comic in their own visual art style to portray the story in their image.