Descriptive Analysis/ Contextual Analysis
· Inverted/super imposed image of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy
· diagrams from the book
·
· black lines on white background
(where Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris saw the design
· artist Peter Saville
· The image was computer generated at
the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico
The radiation
seems to come from local objects within the galaxy, and may be associated with
oscillations of white dwarf or neutron stars.
· Diagram first appeard with turquoise
background in January 1971 issue of Scientific American, and is credited to Jerry Ostriker
· made a second cameo in Graphis Diagrams in 1974
The pulsar
itself was first discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Saville describes it as a “comparative path
demonstration of frequency from a signal of a pulsar.”
Each horizontal line, reaching a series of
peaks close to the middle of the graph, is observed data from a this pulsar,
and there are several of them stacked together.
Saville goes on, “What you’re seeing is a
comparative chart of the frequency and the accuracy of this signal.”
So this image, perceived as so simple, is not
really simple at all but the result of astronomical readings that led in part
to humanity’s understanding of this one component of the cosmos.
release on Manchester’s Factory Records in June 1979
has captured the imagination of a
diverse audience, ranging from reclusive adolescents sulking in their bedroom
to celebrity scientists socialising with friends
At the time Saville created the
album cover, he had recently graduated from Manchester Polytechnic with a first
class degree in graphic design and was art director and co-founder of Factory
Records.
subtle combination of graphic
techniques and typography to express sonic qualities of the album in addition
to its enigmatic title, song lyrics, and stylistic choices made by members of
Joy Division.
Saville’s elegantly understated
design work and the emergence of post-punk aesthetics, it is worth taking a closer look at specific ways in which the
album cover casts light (and shadow) on scientific culture and practice of
radio astronomy.
based on a scientific diagram of
an astrophysical object known as a pulsating star or ‘pulsar’.
the repetitive features of the
pulsar diagram reminded him of Morris’ machine-like drumming style.
originally referred to as ‘CP
1919’ before being dubbed ‘pulsar’ by science journalist Anthony Michaelis, was reported in 1968 by the astronomer James Hewish and his colleagues
in the scientific journal Nature.
the article in Nature visualized the regular pulsar
radio emissions acquired with a radio telescope using diagrams that consisted
of two or three jagged lines or pen traces of the pulses.
The composition and colour pallete
(or lack of colour) created the impression of a black background that
accentuates the ambivalent feature made up of recursive white lines. Again, the
reverse cover is completely black except for minimal text printed in small
white typeface.
During his studies as an
undergraduate design student, Saville developed a keen interest in typography,
particularly the work of European typographers
The front cover is completely
devoid of text, adding to the anonymity of the pulsar image, and minimal text
is featured on the reverse side of the cover, inside cover, and record labels.
Interestingly, the Helvetica
typeface on the Unknown Pleasures album was introduced in the 1950s. Helvetica has been used by
designers to because it lacks ornamentation or overt reference to other fonts. Swiss
It is ironic that Ian Curtis
experienced episodes of depression and the typeface used on the cover of
Unknown Pleasures was the same as packaging used for the drugs widely used to
treat depression. Minimalist graphic design and typography used by
Saville on Unknown Pleasures are
consistent with the clinical precision and functionality of packaging designed to
convey information without ornamentation or overt
reference to other graphical styles. In many ways the typeface is an ideal
choice for the sombre and introspective post-punk era, worlds apart from the
furious annihilation of mainstream culture and commercial packaging unleashed
by designers such as Jamie Reid with his album cover design for the 1977 Sex Pistols single God Save the Queen.
en.oxforddictionaries.com
Pulsar " A celestial object, thought to be rapidly rotating neutron star, that emits regular pulses of radio waves and other electro-magnetic radiating at time of up to one thousand pulses per sencond'
en.oxforddictionaries.com
Pulsar " A celestial object, thought to be rapidly rotating neutron star, that emits regular pulses of radio waves and other electro-magnetic radiating at time of up to one thousand pulses per sencond'
No comments:
Post a Comment