Design History

HISTORY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

Graphic design, also known as communication design, is the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content. The form it takes can be physical or virtual and can include images, words, or graphics (hand-made or digital drawings that represent objects).

Graphic design as we know it only began in the beginning of the 19th century, with the Georgian Era. The timeline ends with the present day computer aided design that we see today. Since the advent of the computer, design has no limits. Anything that can be thought of can now be produced.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

HISTORY OF STENCILING AND GRAFFITI ART

The use of stencils dates back over 37 thousand years, as evident in Neanderthal cave art found in Spain. These paintings are outlines of hand prints; it is theorized that Prehistoric man or woman would place their hand against the wall, and then blow finely crushed pigment around it. These stencils were accompanied by shapes from the natural world and daily life: animals, hunting scenes, and ritual all figure prominently.

Over time, the use of stencils spread throughout the ancient world. Many of the detailed drawings and intricate art found in Egyptian tombs or along the walls of the city of Pompeii were results of stencils. Stenciling was a simple and well-thought-out way to reproduce the same pattern over and over again.

The Chinese were the first to develop a paper-based stencil, around 105 AD, and used the invention to advance their printing techniques. Soon, stenciling made the transition to cloth and colorful patterns were transferred onto garments. The Japanese improved upon the technique by bonding delicate stencils together with human hair or silk. Their method of dyeing fabrics with stencils is known as Katazome, and used the paste resist method. With this technique, a paste (usually composed of rice flour) is pushed through a stencil, defining a pattern on cloth. The places where the sticky paste adheres to the cloth resist color in the dyeing process, therefore creating a negative stenciled design on the fabric.

Stenciling eventually spread to Europe, thanks to the trade routes from the East. The technique of stenciling became quite popular, and was used to add color to master prints. Stencils became handy in mass productions of items, including manuscripts, playing cards, book illustrations, fabrics, and wallpaper.

Immigrants brought the use of stenciling with them to the New World, and once again the technique was employed in a variety of ways and new styles were developed. Stencils were used as decoration in the home, on furniture, and in works of art. Stenciling once again became popular for architectural designs in the early 20th century, as craftsmen took advantage of mass-produced designs from an array of periods, including Renaissance, Victorian, and Art Deco. This stenciling style can still be found in public buildings, churches, and homes.

Source: http://journal.alabamachanin.com/2015/02/the-history-of-stenciling/

The concept of spraying a quick image onto a surface via a stencil is closely attributed to the United States Army – soldiers used this tagging method in order to mark equipment belonging to different divisions. Furthermore, during conflict times, the army would mark directions and information on urban surfaces of war-torn towns, making stencils in order to enable normal functioning of the soldiers who needed to know where to station themselves. Besides marking the buildings and equipment with stencils, the World War II American soldiers would often spray tag their tanks and artillery with motifs of angels or skulls, all with goals of scaring the enemy and raising morale. After the World War II came to an end, stencils remained the most efficient tool of on-the-spot organization within the army, but also became a popular method for civilians to defy the current political situations and demand changes. Many European cities were covered with rebellious stencils, all of whom were protesting against the ruling class and displaying anti-government statements. This early form of street stencils was highly dangerous and popular, but was still far from an artistic expression – they were simply the most efficient way to protest against something with solid chances of getting away with it. The European early stencil situation eventually managed to migrate over the Atlantic and arrive on the shores of the United States in the 1960s. Back then, social turmoil could be found all over the USA , with public unrest over various civil aspects being present in middle and lower circles of society.

Banksy (b. England - )

Banksy is one of the most controversial street artists in the world and also one of the most successful practitioners of the stencil. Successfully keeping his identity a mystery for over twenty years, this artist is a genuine legend of stencils and serves as an inspiration to all of the aspiring street artists around the world. During the 1990s, Banksy was 18 years old and associated with the graffiti crew in Bristol named of DryBreadZ. He once wrote, he was painting a train with a gang of mates when the British Transport Police showed up and everyone ran. “The rest of my mates made it to the car,” Banksy recalled, “and disappeared so I spent over an hour hidden under a dump truck with engine oil leaking all over me. As I lay there listening to the cops on the tracks, I realized I had to cut my painting time in half or give it up altogether. I was staring straight up at the stenciled plate on the bottom of the fuel tank when I realized I could just copy that style and make each letter three feet high.” But he also told his friend, author Tristan Manco: “As soon as I cut my first stencil I could feel the power there. I also like the political edge. All graffiti is low-level dissent, but stencils have an extra history. They’ve been used to start revolutions and to stop wars.”

Since then, Banksy's stencils have been conveying powerful messages through vivid visuals that are often satirical, relying on dark humor to spread Banksy’s opinions on topics such as art, philosophy and politics. Besides using urban surfaces, he also uses the Internet to his advantage and many of his unique works can be found exclusively online. He also combines stencils with different mediums, such as spray-paint or found objects that someone left for good on the streets. For that reason, some have claimed that he is much better described as an installation artist.

Sources: https://openwallsgallery.com/what-is-a-stencil/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-story-behind-banksy-4310304/#sHBYDDvhl1pGjswV.99