Reflective Learning Journal
As my experience on reading different subjects about the book have been positive, in this paper, I will focus on presenting a reflective journal with the aim of showing the way various readings has been influential to my study. To me writing a reflection journal is important, because I will use the journal to describe the form of a book and share the meaning of the experience I have gained from different readings of artists’ books. For a well-organized discussion, the journal will be laid into seven sections. The first chapter heeds on defining a book followed by a discussion on the concept of illuminated manuscript. The four other sections look at the printed books, children illustrated books, artist’s books, and the hypertext, as the current technique applied by authors to publish books. The final part of this journal is the conclusion, whereby I summarize my thoughts on what I have learned throughout my coursework.
The Book Form
To present the meaning of a book, I will consider what is used to make a book, the appearance of the book, and the purpose of a book. In reflection to what I have learned, I can define a book as a set of papers that have been attached inside a cover, and it contains written records that readers can use to learn new skills and gain knowledge. After knowing the definition of a book, I now understand that books are rolled horizontally and vertically, and the texts occupied on the book are arranged into columns.
In addition, I now understand that the people from the Sumerians community were the first group to introduce books, and this was around 3500 BC (Dyer, n.d.). Amazingly, from the readings about books, I have discovered that in 24000 BC, Egyptian people made the first papyrus scrolls that contained writings to signify the use books to record information that would be utilised by the people for different purposes. At the same time, it has been suggested that Johannes Gutenberg created the first moveable form of a book in which the author published the first 42 line Bible to imply the modern revolution of books (Dyer, n.d.). As I relate this explanation with the understanding of the definition of the term book, I believe that the book has evolved from clay tablet to the e-book format, whereby throughout its revolution, the e-book format has been influential to the society, as we can access written information in the best way possible.
Illuminated Manuscript
Evidently, I believe that illuminated manuscript and the word manuscript are two different concepts used to represent a book. The reading on the evolution of the book has been resourceful to me because I can know reflect on the meaning of written manuscript, how the illuminated manuscript came into existence, types of manuscripts, and the connection between manuscript and art. The readings on the context of illuminated manuscript have been extremely didactic to me, as I now know that a manuscript is used to mean information that is compiled by the use of a hand. Conversely, illuminated manuscript represents texts appended with the use decorations that aid the author of a book to show readers illustration in a clear manner (Waronowa & Sterligow, 2014). Equally, I feel that the term illuminated manuscript can refer to the books that are created through personal handwriting, but books that are made more appealing by the application of decorations to make the books attracting and attractive to both children and adult readers.
I presume that for one to make a written document, he or she should use specific techniques (Clements, 1997). As such, we must the process of making manuscripts relevant, as this will ensure that we make a finished product that has the feature reflecting the appearance of a book. In reflection to the manuscripts reading, I can now affirm that manuscripts were produced in a unique way that would display a book. For example, I have realised that in Mediaeval Times, the gold ink would be used to make manuscripts, as the ink would create a particular substance that would outline and design a book (Kenny 2011). Moreover, on the context of the way manuscript were made in the ancient times, I have witnessed that the process of making manuscripts was made a success whenever gesso mordant and burnished silver leaf substances were used (Middleton 2010). Besides, I have learned that some of the key illuminators who played an important to the development manuscripts include people such as Gutenberg who is well-known individual to print a manuscript writing between 1450 to1455 (The Illuminated Age, 2002). I have also become more enlightened about manuscript through my understanding of the types and styles of the manuscript that were processed in the ancient time. When I review the presentation prepared by Dyer (n.d.), I understand that illustrated and handwritten manuscript are the major types of the manuscript that were made in the ancient eras. The understanding of the different types of the manuscript has instigated my knowledge, as it has allowed me to understand the contribution of the manuscripts to the development of printed books. Finally, from the history of art point of view, I have now acknowledged that manuscripts can be classified as art. Manuscripts are categorised as an art because to make one; ancient people would use hand colouring and silver to design the document until it takes the shape of moveable books. As an art, many people have for long viewed manuscripts as a luxury presentation to different specific aspects of the ancient community including culture, wealth, religion, and beliefs.
The Printed Books
Today, we refer printed books as the cornerstone of knowledge, literacy, and skills that we use to respond to different activities of our lives. Throughout my review on the evolution of the book, I have understood that Johannes Gutenberg is considered as the first person to print a book in Europe. I have noted that Gutenberg famous Bible was one of the earliest books to be printed. Similarly, I now know that China is also relevant to the printing of books, as China holds the history of publishing the first book on papers in the 868 A.D. era (Dyer, n.d.). Furthermore, I have realised that in 1490 A.D., the aspect of printing books increased, with more than 35K books being published in Europe for circulation. In essence, I have come to comprehend that the expansion of book printing in Europe was brought by factors such as the need for knowledge that would make people literate, methods of publication, and availability of print materials such as papers. For example, the introduction of printing papers in Spain increased in the ancient era, which allowed many countries in Europe to start using papers to make books.
After analysing the reading complied by Febvre and Martin (1976), I understood that the printing of books in early Europe had effects on the way people would see the books and the functionality of the printed books. First, from the published information, I know that printing of books in Europe made many publishers design smaller size books that replaced larger and thicker codex books, which were expensive to many people. On the case of functionality, I noted that the aspect of printing books in Europe provided people with new visual concerning written materials, as the books would aid them in various aspects such as learning and knowing new things. Moreover, with no doubt, I believe that printing of books was essential as it would render significant information to society and aid people understand various aspect that has happened in the past.
Importantly, I now know that European writers in the ancient period would use methods such as paleographic, intaglio, and relief printing to modify written texts. The difference between these methods relates to the use of ink. As such, I can confirm that in relief process, the ink would be transferred to the paper manually, while in the intaglio method ink was transferred to a paper under pressure. As I compare the two with the paleographic printing, I noticed that in this approach publication was made by the use of the flat surface. Although I found ink as an important aspect of printing, I found the component disadvantageous because using ink would take a lot of time to warm up the printer. I have also become familiar with the fact that William Morris played an essential role in the development of a design method that writers in Europe would use to modify their books. As such, it is true to say that Morris changed the printing industry in Europe, as through his creativity people would print books with small frames and initial letters that would show the writer and publisher of the book.
Illustrated Children Books
When I examine the topic of children books, my focus has been on the illustrated children’s books, as the type of books that provide examples of presentation that display a connection between the book’s image and the written information. As I relate what I have learned about children’s books and what I have identified from the readings on this subject, I believe that the two types of children’s illustrated books are storybooks and picture books. In this case, understanding the two categories of children’s books has helped me strengthen my knowledge concerning the difference between major types of illustrated books meant to support the learning of children and their reasoning. Thus, I would explain that a storybook is a book that is designed with the particular form of words, but with illustration done by the use of visuals features, which helps children to understand the content of the text and find the book more interesting. On the contrary, I would say that a picture book is a text that is made up of image build up, with the aim of telling a story by the use of image illustrations. Indeed, both types of children’s illustrated books are essential because teachers and parents can use these books to make children more prominent with their studies.
Of all the context that I have learned about illustrated children’s books, one of the most important areas to me is the subject of various illustrators and their contribution to the development of children’s illustrated books. In the process of researching about the most famous children’s book illustrators, I learned that Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen, and Sir William Russel Flint had done significant work in the production of children’s illustrated books. For example, from Dulac and Menges (2004) quote, I have learned that during the World War 1, Dulac was one of the most famous illustrators of children’s books, as he was recognised for his significant work including the production of books such as “Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Tanglewood Tales.” In this book, Dulac used pictures and words to narrate a story that would be read by children for gratification. Furthermore, I view Kay Nielsen as a book illustrator who would compile children books that were based on imaginary and fantasy context. The reason why I think that Nielsen is a significant artist is that of Nielsen have published different work in relation to the children illustrated books. For instance, Jones (2009) says, “Nielsen’s cross-cultural artistic vocabulary is evident not only in his illustrations for Asian tales such as The Thousand and One Nights but also in distinctly European tales.”
As books cannot be circulated to the readers without a sustainable duplication process, I view the reproduction of illustrated children books as an essential process, which is influencing the content and form of illustrated children’s books and picture books. It is obvious that reproduction of children’s books has impacts on the design of the texts, colour, and size of the duplicated book. Likewise, in the illustrated children’s books, images and texts are two essential elements and when combined the two can make the children’s book compelling. As this argument suggest, I think that during the process of duplicating children’s books, illustrators combine texts and images so that they can help children to anticipate the action that the story presents and its climax. Besides, as a reader, I am certain that illustrators use both images and texts at the same time because they need the children reading their book to see the characters used convincing and realistic. As I based my reading on both recent and ancient presentations, it is agreeable to state that recent scholars have developed ideas or theories with the aim of exploring the way picture books work. For example, Nodelman (1992) have suggested that for one to create a picture book, it would be important to consider the narrative theory, as one of the most crucial elements of literature for children. In reflection to the narrative theory, I feel that the approach makes children books that are supported by both texts and images expandable, as it makes the books more attractive to both kids and mature readers.
Artists Books
Upon visiting William Blake archive, I noted that an artist’s book is the book that people create with the purpose of showing the work of art, more than the work of other individuals in the form of writing (The William Blake Archive, 2017). As I heed on comparing different presentations done by Blake in his archive, I observed that an artist’s book is a form of text that writers create through the application of thematic and aesthetic component aimed at showing readers a mean of realisation of the relationship between texts and arts.
It seems that the history of artist’s books can be based on the process that was applied by different artistic contributors, especially printmakers who created art that has text as a characteristic of the artist’s books. In the evaluation of major publications that have touched on the topic of the history of artist’s books, I acknowledge Matisse as one of the most famous practitioners who has played an imperative role in the revolution of artist’s books. For example, in 1932, Matisse produced a number of illustrated books by the name livre d’artiste with most of these books being a key contributor to the evolution of artist’s books in Europe, especially in France. “These books were deluxe, limited editions, meant to be collected and admired as works of art, as well as, read,” (Matisse, 2012). In line with the history of artist’s books, I have also identified that Pablo Picasso was an outstanding individual to the spread and development of artist’s books. In reflection to information presented by The Art Institute of Chicago (2013), I now understand that from 1881 to 1973, Picasso was a prolific individual, as he contributed importantly to the creation of artist’s books. As a person who was involved to the creation of livres d’artiste, Picasso produced illustrations that would complement text and portraits to make artist’s books. As the same time, as I see Picasso as a person who is part of the evolution of livres d’artiste, I have also realised that the artist formed more than 156 illustrated books, with each book containing some artistic drawings to create an artist’s book.
In an attempt to understand the meaning of the term artist’s book, I use idea highlighted by Drucker. As the name suggests, an artist’s book can refer to the type of a book that links the text in the book together with the aspect of art. In my opinion, artist’s books have been part of the life of many people, as the setting of such text appears in every movement that involves art and literature. “There is no doubt that the artist’s book became a developed art form in the 20th century,” (Drucker, 1995). With my focus on the meaning of an artist’s book getting deeper, I reviewed Bodman and Sowden (2010) work to note that an artist’s book is a work of art that is presented in the form of a book. In the comparison of the argument that Drucker, Bodman and Sowden displays, I think that the presentation of the three individuals portrays an actual artist’s book. This is mainly because the scholars demonstrate that artist’s books are mostly published in small editions, and they are often one of a kind with specific objects about arts.
As I continued learning about artist’s books, I have identified that artists’ books have an exceptional genre, as they are designed in a unique form. From Tom Phillips’ book, A Humument, I now apprehend that artist’s books take on a particular genre, due to the aspect of being progressive in nature. Personally, I consider Phillips’ book, as a significant genre of artist’s work, simply because the book has been in progress for many years since 1966, whereby Philips aims at creating a new version of a book that will present a progressive art of painting (Philips, 2017). Significantly, I found out that people such Barbara Hodgson have played a significant role in the creation of artist’s book. Hodgson is known for her work on the illustrated novel referred to as The Tattooed Map, with the design, and genre of the book having characteristics that make it viewed as an artist’s book.
Books in the Digital Era
Apparently, no one can deny that technology has come to change the current world. I think that the internet has brought remarkable benefits to the modern authors, as it simplified the publication of books prepared by different practitioners. Interestingly, I came to understand about the modern era of digital books is the use of hypertext to present books and its advantage over the tradition form of books publication. Hypertext is an exciting concept that has implication because it gives readers an opportunity to access information that provides a connection to their field of their studies. My understanding on the concept of hypertext has been educative, as I now know that hyperlinks, has books qualities such as textual description and the use of digitalized picture to illustrate the meaning of particular concepts presented by printed books.
From the texts posted on the internet, I have learned that hypertext has brought significant changes that relate to the physical appearance of some of the artists’ books. I think it is evident to say that using the electronic medium to publish books has changed the relationship between the image of the books and text used to explain the ideas behind the creation of art. As such, I can affirm that through the electronic medium the pictures used in books to show the art are of high quality and the text used by the authors to discuss the art correlate with the images clearly. Although I have noticed that when an artists’ book published on the internet loses their physical form, this does not mean that a book loses its form because readers can scroll a book to access any information that pleases them. Finally, I think that physical books will continue to exist in the future, but they will look different. Printed books remain the most popular form of readings and for them to survive; authors are making sure that physical books are set to be looked at for art or exhibition collection.
Conclusion
In essence, this journal presents a reflection to demonstrate how different readings have been fundamental to my academic growth. As discussed above, it is apparent that the readings have strengthened my understanding of how art and text are linked together in order to produce an artists’ book. From the content that I present in this discussion, it is clear that an artists’ book is anything printed with written texts and images to explain a particular component. The readings have also made me gain a better comprehension of the role of ancient practitioners to the development of artist’s books within different timelines. For instance, I would argue that if one wants to understand more regarding artist’s books and their physical appearance, it would be essential to visit William Blake Archive. Throughout the readings on the illustrated books, it is evident that children illustrated books are more substantial just like other types of books. Besides, from the reflection on the topic about children books, it can be suggested that illustrators of children books play a significant role in the creation of books set to be read by children. At the end of this journal, I disclose my understanding about the role of technology in the production of books. Undoubtedly, technology is changing the production of books in a positive manner. Today, the e-book has become one of the most popular methods of publishing books, as technology is making both readers and authors opt to use the internet (hypertext) over printed books. Indeed, published books are important, but with technology emerging as an element that is changing the way readers comprehend the written words, it is more likely for authors to use the internet to present their text to eligible readers and researchers.
References
Bodman, S. L. and Sowden, T. (2010) A Manifesto for the Book. University of the West of England, Bristol: Impact Press.
Clement, R. W. (1997). Medieval and Renaissance book production. Library Faculty & Staff Publications, 10.
Drucker, J. (1995). The century of artists’ books. Granary Books.
Dulac, E., & Menges, J. A. (2004). Dulac’s fairy tale illustrations in full color. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications.
Dyer, S., (n.d.).Evolution of the book: A historic timeline. Retrieved from: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5452b6dae4b0c4d5c0fc9721/t/54f886f2e4b0e9aec8275be7/1425573618947/Dyer%2C+Sarah%E2%80%94Evolution+of+the+Book.pdf
Époque, B. (2009). Kay Nielsen: Orientalism in illustration during the Belle Époque. Doctoral dissertation, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
Febvre, L., & Martin, H. J. (1976). The coming of the book: the impact of printing 1450-1800 (Vol. 10). Verso.
Kenny, S. L. (2011). Gold: A cultural encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
Matisse, H., (2012). Matisse French poetry and the livres d’artiste Retrieved from: http://www.henri-matisse.net/poetry_french.html
Middleton, J. H. (2010). Illuminated manuscripts in classical and mediaeval times, their art and their technique. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nodelman, P. (1992). The pleasures of children’s literature. Longman Pub Group.
Philips, T., (2017). A Humument. Retrieved from: http://www.tomphillips.co.uk/humument
The Art Institute of Chicago, (2013). Library exhibition. Retrieved from: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/Ryerson/Published-Picasso
The Illuminated Age, (2002). History. Retrieved from: http://www.illuminatedpage.com/history.html
The William Blake Archive, (2017). Gallery mode. Retrieved from: http://www.blakearchive.org/
Waronowa, T., & Sterligow, A. (2014). Illuminated Manuscripts: Mega Square. New York: Confidential Concepts.
