Blackletter, known also as Gothic miniscule, originated in Europe near the end of the 12th century. Transported from Europe to the New World, blackletter was subtly reshaped by indigenous influences. No better is this illustrated than in Mexico.
The blackletter that adorns countless small stores, shops and service providers throughout the country has a wholly Mexican twist, catering to the everyday needs of ordinary people, from cobblers to doctors. More than simply a form of signage, Mexican blackletter is a valuable gloss on contemporary Mexican culture. |
Arrival in the New World
In 1492 Christopher Columbus arrived in America and by 1521, Hernan
Cortés, on behalf of the Spanish crown, conquered Mexico, establishing
the Colony of New Spain.
Jakob Kronberger (known as Jacobo Cromberger), the most important
printer in Seville at the time, with the help of Juan de Zumârraga (first
bishop of Mexico), established the first printing press on the American
continent in Mexico in 1538.
Jacobo Comberger supplied all the materials and tools, such as press,
movable types, ink and paper and sent one of his closest technicians,
the Italian Giovanni Paoli (known as Juan Pablos) to be in charge of
setting up and running the New World’s first press.
In 1544, the fist printed book in America was published: Doctrina Breve
by Fray Juan de Zumárraga, which was set in Rotunda blackletter,
proving that movable types of blackletter were taken to Mexico and
used on the printed matter of the time. Later publications, such as the example shown on the left, also used
blackletter, although roman type was present too and widely used.
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Approaching the Structure of Blackletter
Blackletter is heavy, not weighty. Standing on a strong plane base, the
sharp angles with their diamond shaped ends sustain the heaviness
of the body of each letter on a perfect balance. The quality of these
shapes has the effect of a ballet dancer’s tiptoe on the bottom and the
navigator’s compass on the top. Every convergence of two lines in one
point –like the diamond shape of the top and bottom of the letterform–
tends to project itself as vector, as a force that is oriented. This gives
the illusion of motion. The characters seem to simultaneously project
towards the heavens and towards the ground. Compared to the kinetic
nature of these points, the robust bodies of the letters are a stark contrast,
making blackletter a kind of paradox, in which both heaviness
and lightness are conveyed in a single typographical structure.
Through the use of blackletter, the viewers are encouraged to assume
this new game of “impossible integration.” Heaviness and lightness in
blackletter is what allows us to think in ways of integration and to build
new perspectives.
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Creamery and dried
hot peppers ‘Leo Day.’
Grocery store and poultry
shop ‘Leo Dany.’ Notice the
difference in names; my
guess is that the letterer
missed the n on the left hand
sign but decided to leave it
as it is anyway.
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Why is Blackletter Popular in Mexico?
From talking to the people that decorate their body with it, or that draw
the letterform on a sign, I have discovered that Mexicans feel that
blackletter communicates “tradition,” or that “normal letters”—Roman
type—just wouldn’t be good enough for the particular message they
need to express. More so, many who elect to employ blackletter for
tattoos, signs and anything else imaginable believe that it takes the
written message to a “religious” level and therefore, implicitly, associates
the message with a kind of transcendence. In speaking with
people, words such as “tradition,” “religion,” and “historical” continually
surfaced.
For graffiti artists, the use of blackletter is a direct link to the “Cholo”
(Mexican-American) culture, given that Cholos and Chicanos frequently
select this letterform for tattoos, tags and murals. Many tend
to describe it as “elegant” and others simply state that they use it because
they “like it,” and that’s it, no need for more explanation. More
times than not, in light of my questions, many people looked surprised
and simply stated, “it’s beautiful,” “it’s different” and for them that is
all that matters. Just raising the question of why they choose blackletter
made some people uncomfortable under the pressure of having to
verbalize an un-rationalized aesthetic whim.
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Examples of extremely embellished letterforms
where legibility is left aside in favor of
the pure enjoyment of the form.
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Adapted with permission from Mexican Blackletter by Cristina Paoli. Copyright © 2006 Mark Batty Publisher.
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