Cultura 1 VA UK

Felipe Marquez

Printing as the origin of graphic design in Venezuela

he first printing press that came to Venezuela was brought by General Francisco de Miranda during his expedition to Ocumare and Coro in 1806, which disembarked; the printing press had to be deposited in the English Island of Trinidad. It was later acquired by the North Americans (sic) Matthew Gallagher and James Lamb, who established it in Caracas in 1808." (Felipe A. León, Printing Houses in Venezuela, 1895).
"Possibly no other professional during our century exerts such an influence on the public as the graphic designer, and possibly no other professionalþs performance is as obscure as his. Each and every day, by means of emblems, signals, billboards, signs and typesetting, graphic designers have inexorably changed -for better or for worse, depending on their creative ability and power- our criteria of visual appreciation." (Miguel G. Arroyo C., Gerd Leufert Designer, 1996)

The above are statements written by men who represent their time. Such statements may constitute the draft of a History of Graphic Design in Venezuela, currently unpublished, incorporating factors such as communication, technological media and the creative element focused on esthetics.

We may reestablish a dialog between successful Venezuelan graphic design and its natural origin. There is a deeply ingrained graphic arts tradition in our country, notwithstanding its late arrival.

As of its establishment in 1808, 1808 it underwent a vertiginous development throughout the Nineteenth Century up to part of the Twentieth Century. During this process, there were achievements that enable us to compare Venezuelan design of the past Century with their contemporary works published abroad.

In these pioneering stages, eminent foreign technical lithographers participated in local production, such as Müller and Stapler, Lessman and Laue, or H.G. Neun. Although during these early times the functions of printer and designer were not wholly differentiated, today there is a clear definition, and graphic design has flourished as a clearly distinguishable discipline. I suggest comparing old printers such as Gallaguer and Lamb, Juan Baillío and Valentín Espinal, with present-day companies: Cromotip, Editorial Arte, Armitano or Ex-Libris, which have been driven by the creative work of designers such as Gerd Leufert, Nedo M.F. Alvaro Sotillo, among others, who, perhaps unknowingly, have sustained a close relationship with our first graphic artists and designers. Designers and artists may be rescued from a supposed orphanhood generated by baseless judgments and impossible perspectives.

Our country should be proud of its development in graphic arts and printing, both for its past achievements as for their correspondence with current works.

The majority of testimonial pieces: Venezuelan incunabula, loose sheets, books, booklets, posters, maps, magazines and museum catalogs, etc., are housed in the different collections of The National Library (Biblioteca Nacional): Newspaper Library, Map Library, Rare Editions and Manuscripts, and in a department exclusively created for graphic design. The remaining works are in other institutions, private collections or simply lost in paperwork. Such dispersal encourages partial and fragmented approaches that tend to yield confusion. One chance question: ¿What difference is there, from a photostylling and design standpoint, between a double typographic page made in 1832 by Valentín Espinal, and another page photostylled by a young Pro Diseño graduate for remittal via Internet? The visual result is similar in spite of vertiginous technological development. Currently, texts are drawn up by means of computerized procedures; but the sensible and conceptual factor implied in the selection of the appropriate letter size, the typographic family of the optimum stain for the sheet are decisions inherent to any situation, which surmount 150 years of printing history (1808-1996). Suddenly, coincidences arise that are often surprising and significant. Valentín Espinal, Venezuelan printer (1808-1866) had limited available typographical material; additionally, his publications were directed at a most limited Venezuelan reading public, in an agrarian country. However, his organizational attitude is similar to that of a contemporary designer, who works based on the requirements of a much more extensive and competitive market. It is interesting to point out that the Spanish designer Eric Satué, in his book "Graphic Design. From its Origins to the Present", published in 1989, quotes in one of his chapters Venezuelan designers such as Alvaro Sotillo, Oscar Álvarez, Santiago Pol, Andrés Salazar and Waleska Belisario, placing their work within international standards. In his text, Satué states the following: "One may notice the active mastery of pioneers Gerd Leufert and Nedo M. F., who both arrived in Venezuela, one of the countries whose economic growth was late though spectacular in the early fifties". In another paragraph, he mentions: "One of the most encouraging initiatives for the normalization of contemporary Venezuelan graphic design was the desire of the Post Office Administration to improve the quality of its seal design... this project was assigned in 1975 to a first-class group of Venezuelan designers and artists (or Venezuelan residents). This must be considered as a decisive step in the recent history of this discipline. It may be said that Venezuela is the country were graphic design has reached a most distinguished level in its new generations of designers.

In their particular case, German, Italian or English designers naturally draw impulse from their own European typographic tradition, from Gutemberg and the forty-two line Bible to Aldo Manucio, Plantino, Bodoni and Baskerville, up to Eric Grill or Jan Tsichold at the beginning of our Century. This fruitful review of printing history or of the history of books in each European country, has caused many current artists to seek inspiration in antique volumes, including manuscript codes. The Venezuelan graphic designer may do the same by approaching his historical roots, buried in the beginnings of the Nineteenth Century or in the first half of the Twentieth Century, in order to acquire greater awareness of this valuable referential tool. Unfortunately, such information has been handled almost exclusively by researchers, university dissertation candidates, bibliographers or librarians. Nonetheless, I consider that therein lies for our designers a rich source for retaking and renewing old elements and proposals. The impetus of Venezuelan printers, and their direct offspring, graphic design, may be compared with and even exceed other artistic disciplines such as painting or music, when recognized within a solid and prodigal tradition.

Perhaps an overall view has not been possible due to the heterogeneous nature and dispersion of published bibliographic material. However, the significance of the research work on printing and design by authors such as Manuel Segundo Sánchez, Pedro Grases, Agustín Millares Carlo, Julio Febres Cordero, Manuel Pérez Villa, Alfredo Armas Alfonzo and Iván Drenikoff must be mentioned. The lack of precise data on the structure and origin of old printers encumbers any totaling or unifying effort. In any case, the project of relating the old Venezuelan printing house with the contemporary printer is a most engaging challenge, where unexplored territory abounds. Any effort in this regard seems to be a beneficial contribution, so as to provide material for more comprehensive works (perhaps a book), in which are methodically analyzed each aspect of the development of our graphic industry and its prolific artists.

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION?

As emphasized above, Venezuelan graphic design seems to have sprung out from nothingness, or at least there its precise inception is ignored by most. Usually, the "origin" of modern Venezuelan graphic design is set during the period in which the first advertising agencies were established, and when the names of men such as Carlos Cruz Diez, Larry June, Gerd Leufert or Nedo M.F., who initially worked in this area, began to be taken into account.

This story (or history) brings us to the present, when excellent professionals abound, trained in graphic design schools, and the discipline has achieved a solid standing in the Venezuelan cultural environment. Yet one cannot help but wonder when questioned on which was the first print made in terra firma ("La Gazeta de Caracas", 1808), or what was the date of the publication of our first book ("Calendario Manual y Guía Universal de Forasteros 1810). Usually, the student or experienced editorial designer faces "horror vacui", quoting mistaken dates and titles. Such lack of knowledge is clearly understood, since, as mentioned above, the old or antique material has been the privilege of a select group of researchers and bibliographers, who often do not (nor should they) realize the graphic value that underlie such prints, their esthetic quality, and their close ties with current graphic design. Although the establishment of our printers was considerably delayed (1808), in comparison with countries such as Mexico (1539) or Peru (1584), our printing excellence will soon be manifested in the work of Antonio Damirón, Devisme or George Corser, with a special mention of the foreigners who catalized this process (this situation will be repeated during the mid-Twentieth Century).

As illustrative background data, it must be mentioned that J.J. Franco made the first chiseled engraving in 1811. Around 1823, Comandant Francisco Avendaño carried out the first local lithographic experiences. There is also the first newspaper illustrated by the litographer Carmelo Fernández (El Promotor, 1834). Simón Rodríguez, Tutor of Simón Bolívar, created circa 1840 a "Musical Tipography", emphasizing his expressions by means of capital letters, itallics or brackets, generating an original sort of typesetting which, without resorting to exageration, may approximate the poetic intent of Guillaume Apollinaireþs "Calligrammes". Other noteworthy publications are "El Oasis" (1856) (1856), edited by the Bolet Peraza brothers in Barcelona, State of Anzoátegui and "El Zulia Ilustrado" (1888), a periodical publication that used plates made in New York. Another landmark is found in writer-printer Don Julio Febres Cordero, who in 1880 made his tipographic portraits of Simón Bolívar, Sucre or Henry Ford entitled "Imagotipos" in Mérida, and whose texts are still totally legible.

Also notable is his vast "Foliografía de Plantas de Los Andes" (Foliography of Andean Plants) (1895), an unprecedented publication, including over one thousand illustrations made with prints of specially-treated leaves.

Since its arrival in our country, graphic art evidences natural influences of fashion of styles such as Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Art Nouveau or the Art Decó. The extensive number of titles and graphic achievements are proof of the sophisticated craftmanship and high artistry of little-known printers.

Lastly, I wish to affirm that a venerable printing tradition exists in Venezuela, closely linked to the artistic proposals that characterize Venezuelaþs contemporary graphic design. I also propose redeeming a history that often conceals itself behind our day-to-day rush, the ephemeral quality and immediacy of our daily life.

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