5 PERSONAL OBJECTS: SYSTEMS AND HISTORY

TAPESTRY:

Although the specific date when the very first tapestry was created is unsure, it is known that it was around the 14th century in Europe. The Idea came about when an artist though of an alternative way to present stories rather than painting. Although the two are very similar, the system of art is large and it takes many different forms. Just as any other art form is meant to stimulate, puzzle and relate to the human mind and its senses, a tapestry does the same. The very first tapestries were made through a very technical and precise weaving pattern. Because the first tapestries were so easily transportable in comparison to a framed painting, noble and wealthy people would carry them with them on travels. A lot of  the tapestries were used for religious worship.

 

PILLOW:

Pillows have been around since 7000 BCE, in early mesopotamian cultures. Interestingly enough, these first pillows were not very comfortable and although they were created to improve the sleep system, it was a lot different than one might think. These early mesopotamian pillows were made of stone and were primarily used to keep bugs from crawling into the ears of wealthy citizens. Throughout all human civilizations, pillows seem to evolve and be used for different things. It is interesting to see how very different cultures all came up with a similar object to improve their daily habit of sleeping. Some cultures,  such as the ancient greeks and romans used pillows made of cotton for comfort, while others such as the japanese, simply used the pillow to keep their head off of the ground and their hair in order.

 

COTTON SWABS:

The cotton swab or “Q-tip” was invented in the 1920’s, by a man that noticed that his wife would clean their baby’s ears with a toothpick and piece of cotton. The cotton swab was invented to do the sole job that it does- to clean ears. Somebody noticed that the hygiene system was missing something, a safe and clean way to clean out our ears.

 

HEADPHONES:

From what information I could gather, the electrophone first introduced headphones in the late 1890’s or early 1900’s. The electrophone was a device in which a listener could dial in, and listen to live music being played on a channel in London. Later on, headphones for at home listening were invented and picked up by the Navy. From my understanding, headphones were meant to improve the system of privacy, military grade communication and of course listening to music.

 

POSTERS:

In 1880, Cheret’s “3 stone lithographic process” was invented, which allowed for artists to achieve every color in the rainbow using only the primary colors being printed. Back then, artists were using the printing method to make art, but it later on became useful for mass marketing and advertisements and propaganda.  Although the method was meant to improve the system of art, it ended up improving many systems, communication, marketing, propaganda and communication/talking to the public.

 

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