What is it about?
This article is about the artist Rockwell Kent's method for creating many of his illustrations, especially his famous 1930 illustrations for Herman Melville's Moby-Dick: he created ink drawings in the style of woodblock engravings. Art made in one medium that looks like it was produced in another medium is called a "skeuomorph." This article explores the cultural, historical, and ideological implications of Rockwell Kent's skeuomorphism, especially in those Moby-Dick illustrations.
Featured Image
Photo by Carles Rabada on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This article combines methodologies from literary studies and the histories of art, design, and culture.
Perspectives
Skeuomorphism is everywhere in our digital lives: in the fake shutter sound that an iphone camera makes or in the disk icon that indicates a saved "file." This article helps explore the history and consequences of this now-ubiquitous design feature.
Jamie L. Jones
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Print Nostalgia: Skeuomorphism and Rockwell Kent’s Woodblock Style, American Art, November 2017, University of Chicago Press,
DOI: 10.1086/696113.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
