The graphics of carving. (November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thomson, Ellen Mazur
• Is Part Of: Visual communication. Volume 20:Number 4(2021)
• Page Start: 552
• Page End: 576
• Publication Date: 2021-11
• Subjects: cookbook illustration -- food carving -- information graphics -- instructional graphics -- knife skills; Visual communication -- Periodicals; Popular culture -- Periodicals; Art and society -- Periodicals; 302.222
• DOI: 10.1177/1470357219891459
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1470-3572

Abstract

The Graphics of Carving is a study of infographics - images used to teach a skill. Carving was once considered a vital accomplishment because it involved issues of social status, etiquette and hygiene. Beginning in the fifteenth century books of manners, cookbooks, and instructional texts included imagery and symbols to complement the written word. Rather than a decorative enhancement, carving illustrations served as instructional devices. Carving in public was once an essential part of European elite dining culture but as this culture changed, the persona of the carver and the audience for book illustrations that recorded his art were transformed. This article examines the evolving strategies designers employed to represent a complex manual task on a two-dimensional surface.