How Technological Changes Aesthetically Defined Pre-1900s Maps: A Stylistic Look at Woodblock, Copperplate & Lithograph Maps

Vanessa Knoppke-Wetzel, University of Wisconsin Madison
In art, stylistic means of identification that allow for defined and teachable reproduction methods exist for art styles that have occurred throughout history (such as Cubisim, Impressionism, etc). No such specific encompassing stylistic definitions of past aesthetics in Cartography exist. My MS research hopes to begin a movement to define cartographic styles so that cartographers, whether learning or working, have stylistic references as sources for moments when they wish to reproduce a specific style they have seen. This research stylistically defines woodblock, copperplate, and lithograph print map styles based on the investigation of how technological changes in production aesthetically affected map prints.

Transcript

1. Vanessa Knoppke-Wetzel How Technological Changes Aesthetically Defined Pre-1900s Maps: A Stylistic Look at Woodblock, Copperplate & Lithograph Print Maps Vanessa Knoppke-Wetzel vknoppkewetzel@github.io
2. What am I talking about?  Why?  Research • questions • background • methods Findings • Styles! Questions?
3. Why?  Why am I talking about cartographic styles? You might be thinking: they don’t already exist? After all…….
4. Guernica, Pablo Picasso, 1937 Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
5. Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh, 1889 Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
6. Whaam, Roy Lichtenstein, 1963 Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
7. Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
8. Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
9. Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
10. Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
11. Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
12. Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste” Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
13. Reference map G O O G L E
14. N E W YO R K T I M E S Informative/news map
15. Viral map W I R E D .C O M
16. MacEachren, 1992 Brewer, Harrower, Penn State Krygier & Wood, 2005 B E R T I N B R E W E R M A C E A C H R E N
17. Aesthetics: “a set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place”
18. Style: “a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression or taste”
19. cartographic production & design is dependent on available technologies, as are the technical skills and media choices (?)
20. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. Were the general aesthetic styles of maps produced within the different printing technologies dissimilar enough to say that styles were dependent on the technology? 2. If aesthetic styles were dependent on technology (1), what are the notable aesthetic elements that combine to define these respective styles?
21. 3 Printing Methods Woodblock  Ink  Lines and tools  Wood  Type • Black letter • Handcut, slot, stereotype Copperplate  Lines and tools  Pressure border http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20195/20195-h/images/imgfp5.jpg Lithograph Detail and type http://1.bp.blogspot.com/- n0yaIir2dyc/T2HxAiOjqMI/AAAAAAAAAFI/Op3eGe_zoDo/s1600/oldpress.jpg http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/20900/20909/cprpltprint_20909_sm.gif
22. Sampling  20 maps from each Technology Era • Technology Era: or period of time in history characterized by a dominant technology and the resulting aesthetic styles of maps produced during this period  9 digital archives • Antiquariat Reinhold Berg, Historic Cities, Osher Map Library, Afriterra: The Cartographic Free Library, Hemispheres: Antique Maps and Prints, Princeton University Library, David Rumsey Map Collection, Barry Lawrence Ruderman: Antique Maps Inc., and Paulus Swaen Old Map Auction and Galleries.
23. Research methods: Qualitative Map Aesthetics Key Codes  Define key code based on aesthetic  Placed within categories relating to technology (tool, ink, etc), & in relation to map element  Total of 111 key codes  Same key code recorded once per cell, but potentially multiple per map
24. Research methods: Quantitative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA)  A tree diagram visual output of the clustering calculations  The dendrogram ordered the maps along the horizontal axis according to their relative distance in attribute space and then uses vertical lines of varying length to indicate the distance between two maps  The farther the distance between two maps, the less similar they are Dendrogram
25. Aesthetic Element’s Dendrogram
26. Aesthetic Element’s Dendrogram  Cluster A: woodblock maps (20/20)  Cluster B: primarily lithograph maps (16/18)  Cluster C: primarily copperplate maps (18/22)  only 6 of the 60 maps, or 10%, were incorrectly clustered, providing further evidence that aesthetic elements coincided closely with Technology Era.
27. 10 Most Frequently Clustered Key Codes clustering results matched the Tech Eras closely, it was useful to inspect the aesthetic elements most commonly key codes per Cluster Technologies Key Codes woodblock grainy, light_i, ink_squeeze, non_circular, partial, book, stereotype, slot, calligraphy, tittle, angular, handcut copperplate press, pressure_border lithography _g_, gradient, relief, spongy, pattern, contours, curved, kerning Unique key codes per Tech Era
28. Combined Technology and Cluster Key Codes
29. Defined Styles
34. woodblock copperplate
35. Questions?? vknoppkewetzel@github.io