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“Why would it not think of its typographic form already from its birth!”: a genetic approach to the typography of Aaro Hellaakoski’s “Kesien kesä”

2014; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 30; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/02666286.2014.951166

1943-2178

Veijo Pulkkinen,

Graphic Design and Typography

Abstract'Why would it not think of its typographic form already from its birth!': a genetic approach to the typography of Aaro Hellaakoski's 'Kesien Kesä'The study of visual poetry often focuses solely on the iconicity of the poem, i.e. the interplay between expressive typography and the linguistic text, leaving the possibly existing genetic documents and the processes they witness with little or no attention. The article shows how genetic criticism (critique génétique) can enrich our understanding and interpretation of visual poetry by examining the manuscript, proofs and published versions of the poem 'Kesien kesä' (The Summer of Summers) from the typographically experimental collection Jääpeili (1928) (Ice Mirror) by the Finnish poet Aaro Hellaakoski (1893–1952). The genetic approach to the typography of 'Kesien kesä' reveals a multiphase process of trial and error, where Hellaakoski strives to achieve a satisfactory visual rendering for his poem. Besides trying out different typefaces and sizes, Hellaakoski is especially concerned with the use of white space on the page, especially with indentation and stanza breaks. Based on the semiotics of Charles S. Peirce, the article proposes a genetic conception of typography as a more abstract entity, albeit that the interpretation of the genesis of typography is characteristically material.Keywords: Aaro Hellaakoskivisual poetrygenetic criticismtypographyavant-gardesemiotics ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis work was supported by the Academy of Finland (project number 251025); the Finnish Cultural Foundation (grant number 00110730); and the Finnish Literature Society, SKS.Notes1 – Aaro Hellaakoski, Runon historiaa (Helsinki: WSOY, 1964); Jääpeili (Helsinki: Otava, 1928).2 – Hellaakoski, Runon, 61, 63. Translated by the author.3 – The typographic arrangement of my rough translation of "Kesien kesä" is an interpretation based on the version printed in the first edition of Jääpeili. For want of the original typefaces I have had to settle with Gill Sans light in the title and Garamond in the body text, where it is used in both the roman and italic.4 – The manuscript and proofs of "Kesien kesä" are deposited in the Literary Archives of the Finnish Literature Society, SKS.5 – See, for example, Word & Image 13 (1997) a special issue devoted to genetic criticism; Genesis 14 (2000) a special issue devoted to architecture; Genesis 28 (2007) a special issue devoted to cinema; William Kinderman and Joseph E. Jones, eds., Genetic Criticism and the Creative Process: Essays from Music, Literature, and Theater (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2009), passim.6 – For a more theoretically elaborated account of this genetic approach to the study of typography, see Veijo Pulkkinen, "A Genetic and Semiotic Approach to the Bibliographical Code Exemplified by the Typography of Aaro Hellaakoski's 'Dolce far Niente'," Variants 10 (2013): 163–86.7 – Fredrik Herzberg, Vesa Haapala, and Janna Kantola, "The Finland-Swedish Avant-Garde Moments," in A Cultural History of the Avant-Garde in the Nordic Countries 1900–1925, ed. Hubert van den Berg, Irmeli Hautamäki, Benedikt Hjartarson, Torben Jelsbak, Rikard Schönström, Per Stounbjerg, Tania Ørum, and Dorthe Aagesen (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2012), 445–61, here 445–59.8 – Kai Laitinen, Suomen kirjallisuuden historia [The history of Finland's Literature] (Helsinki: Otava, 1997), 389; Markku Envall, "The Period of Independence 1, 1917–1960," trans. Ritva Poom, in Histories of Scandinavian Literature, 5 vols, ed. Patricia Conroy, Eric Johannsson, Harald Naess, Sven H. Rossel, and George C. Schoolfield (Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1993–2007), vol. IV: A History of Finland's Literature, ed. George C. Schoolfield (1998), 145–207, here 154–55; Satu Grüntahl, "Vapautuva runokieli" [The unbending poetic language], in Suomen kirjallisuushistoria [The literary history of Finland], 3 vols, ed. Yrjö Varpio (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1999), vol. II: Järkiuskosta vaistojen kapinaan [From rationality to the uprising of the instincts], ed. Lea Rojola, 202–209, here 208; Hertzberg, Haapala and Kantola, "The Finland-Swedish Avant-Garde Moments," 445–461, here 456.9 – Envall, "The Period of Independence 1, 1917–1960," 157; Hertzberg, Haapala, and Kantola, "The Finland-Swedish Avant-Garde Moments," 456–57.10 – Pertti Lassila, Uuden aikakauden runous: ekspressionistinen tematiikka 1910- ja 1920-luvun suomenkielisessä lyriikassa [The poetry of the new era: Expressionist thematics in Finnish language poetry of the 1910–1920s] (Helsinki: Otava, 1987), 75, 109.11 – Aulimaija Viljanen has found a well-thumbed copy of Ordkonst och bildkonst in Hellaakoski's library. See "Nykyaikaa etsimässä Apollinairesta Paavolaiseen" [In the search of modernity from Apollinaire to Paavolainen], Kirjallisuudentutkijain seuran vuosikirja [The annual of the Finnish Literary Research Society] 26 (1972): 210–20, here 215.12 – Pär Lagerkvist, Ordkonst och bildkonst (Stockholm: Bröderna Lagerström, 1913), 21, 24–25, 44–50, 56–60; Rikard Schönström, "Pär Lagerkvist's Literary Art and Pictorial Art," in A Cultural History of the Avant-Garde in the Nordic Countries 1900–1925, van den Berg et al., 435–44.13 – Aaro Hellaakoski, "Vieraitten kulttuurien plastiikka," Aika [Time] (1921): 343–54; "Kubismista klassisismiin," in Taiteilijaseuran joulualbumi [The Christmas album of the society for artists] (Helsinki: Suomen Taiteilijaseura, 1925), 61–77.14 – Elias Lönnrot, Kanteletar: taikka Suomen kansan vanhoja lauluja ja virsiä [Kanteletar: or old songs and hymns of the Finnish People] (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1840); Keijo Holsti, "'Hauen laulu' — yhteyksiä ja tulkintaa" ["The song of the Pike" – Connections and intepretation], Kirjallisuudentutkijain seuran vuosikirja 24 (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 1969): 68–75, here 69.15 – For the relation between nineteenth-century print technology and visual poetry see, for example, Alain-Marie Bassy, "Forme littéraire et forme graphique: Les schématogrammes d'Apollinaire" [Literary form and graphic form: The schematograms of Apollinaire], Scolies: Cahiers de recherche de l'École normale supérieure [Annotations: The research journal of École Normal Supérieure] 3–4 (1973–1974): 161–207, here 163–65; David Cundy, "Marinetti and Italian Futurist Typography," Art Journal 41, no. 4, Futurism (Winter 1981): 349–52, here 349; Edward Kasinec and Robert Davis, "Russian Book Arts on the Eve of World War One: The New York Public Library Collections," Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts 14 (Autumn 1989): 94–111, here 103–05; Jean-Gérard Lapacherie, "Typographic Characters: Tension Between Text and Drawing," trans. Anna Lehmann, Yale French Studies 84, Boundaries: Writing & Drawing (1994): 63–77, here 76; Linda Goddard, "Mallarmé, Picasso and the Aesthetic of the Newspaper," Word & Image 22, no. 4 (October–December 2006): 293–303, here, 298–99; Johanna Drucker, "Book Production of Russian Avant-Garde Books 1912–1916," Journal of Artists' Books 26 (Fall 2009): 39–45.16 – Aaro Hellaakoski, "Kirjojen ulkoasusta ja koristamisesta," Iltalehti [The evening paper] (March 5, 1923). The essay was republished in Aaro Hellaakoski, Kuuntelua: Esseitä teoksista ja tekijöistä [Listening: Essays on works and authors] (Helsinki: WSOY, 1950), 11–19.17 – The concept of media purity also detemined Hellaakoski's view of painting. For example, in his essay "Kubismista klassisismiin" Hellaakoski states that the Cubist collage transgressed the medium of painting because it did not settle for applying paint on a canvas with a brush ("Kubismista," 69–70).18 – For example, the poem "Sade" (Rain) is obviously influenced by Apollinaire's "Il pleut" (It's Raining) not only by its title, but also by its use of diagonally ascending letters to represent rain (see figure 3).19 – Cundy, "Marinetti," 350; Willard Bohn, The Aesthetics of Visual Poetry 1914–1928 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 50, 62–64; John J. White, Literary Futurism: Aspects of the First Avant Garde (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990), 128–29; Johanna Drucker, The Visible Word: Experimental Typography and Modern Art, 1909–1923 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 118, 137–38, 153.20 – Drucker, The Visible Word, 176; "Book Production," 43–44.21 – K. Malmström, Kirjapainotaidon oppikirja, latomis-osa [Textbook of the art of printing, the typesetting part] (Helsinki: Otava, 1923), 581; Lauri Hendell and V. A. Vuorio, Kirja ja kirjapainotaito [The book and the art of printing] (Helsinki: Otava, 1942), 135; Drucker, "Book Production," 43.22 – Hellaakoski, Runon, 57.23 – Bohn, The Aesthetics of Visual Poetry, 3.24 – Kirjakenäyte kustannusosakeyhtiö Otavan kirjapainosta (Helsinki: Otava, 1926). The type specimen book is held in the archives of Otava Publishing Company.25 – Yrjö A. Jäntti, Kirjapainotaidon historia [A history of the art of printing] (Helsinki: WSOY, 1940), 431–32; Karl-Rudolf Gardberg, Kirjapainotaito Suomessa [The art of printing in Finland], 3 vols, trans. Eino Nivanka (Helsinki: Helsingin Graafillinen Klubi, 1949–1973), vol. III: Turun palosta vuoteen 1918 [From the great fire of Turku to the year 1918] (1973), 464–66; Sirkka Havu, "Suomalaisen kirjan tyylihistoriaa" [Style history of the Finnish book], in Kirja Suomessa: Kirjan juhlavuoden näyttely Kansallismuseossa 25.8.–31.12.1988 [The book in Finland: Jubilee Year of the book exhibition in the National Museum 25 August–31 December 1988], ed. Esko Häkli (Helsinki: Helsingin yliopiston kirjasto, 1988), 119–36, here 129.26 – Unto Kupiainen, Aaro Hellaakoski: Ihminen ja runoilija [Aaro Hellaakoski: The man and the poet] (Helsinki: WSOY, 1953), 195–96.27 – Yi-Fu Tuan, "Sign and Metaphor," Annals of the Association of American Geographers 68 (1978): 363–72, here 366–67; Crétien van Campen, "Artistic and Psychological Experiments with Synesthesia," Leonardo 32 (1999): 9–14, here 9; Sean Allen-Hermanson and Jennifer Matey, "Synesthesia," in Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/synesthe/ (accessed October 10, 2013).28 – Van Campen, "Artistic and Psychological Experiments," 11.29 – Edward Aiken, "The Cinema and Italian Futurist Painting," Art Journal 41 (1981): 353–57, here 354.30 – Anne Toner, "Introduction," Visible Language 45 (2011): 7–19, here 7.31 – Paul C. Gutjahr and. Megan L. Benton, "Introduction: Reading the Invisible," in Illuminating Letters: Typography and Literary Interpretation, ed. Paul C. Gutjahr and Megan L. Benton (Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2001), 1–15, here 1–3.32 – R. A. York, "Mallarmé and Apollinaire: The Unpunctuated Text," Visible Language 23 (1989): 45–62, here, 45.33 – Charles S. Peirce, Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, 8 vols, ed. Charles Hartshorne, Paul Weiss, and Arthur W. Burks (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1931–1958), 2:305.34 – Ibid., 2:248, 4:447. See also James Jakób Liszka, A General Introduction to the Semiotic of Charles Sanders Peirce (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1996), 38–39.35 – Daniel Ferrer, "Le Matériel et le virtuel: Du paradigme indiciaire à la logique des mondes possibles," [The material and the virtual: On the indexical paradigm in the logic of the possible worlds], in Pourquoi la critique génétique? méthodes, théories [Why genetic criticism? Methods, theories], ed. Michel Contat and Daniel Ferrer (Paris: CNRS Éditions, 1998), 11–30, here 12–18; "The Open Space of the Draft Page: James Joyce and Modern Manuscripts," in The Iconic Page in Manuscript, Print, and Digital Culture, ed. George Bornstein and Theresa Tinkle (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998), 249–67, here 251.36 – Aaro Hellaakoski, "Kaksi runoa," Aitta 7 (July 1928): 47.37 – For a discussion about missing documents of genetic stages, see Daniel Ferrer, "The Interaction of Verbal and Pictorial Elements in the Genesis of Eugène Delacroix's Sultan of Morocco," Word & Image 13, no. 2 (April–June 1997): 183–93, here 184.38 – For a fascinating instance of Hellaakoski's cut and paste method, see an examination of "Dolce far niente" [Delicious idleness], in Pulkkinen, "A Genetic and Semiotic Approach."39 – Bornstein, Material Modernism: The Politics of the Page, 6, 9–13.40 – Jerome J. McGann, Textual Condition (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991), 12–15, 56–62.41 – Armas Pajatti, "Painotuotantomme ulkoasun vaiheita vuosisatamme aikana" [Phases of the appearance of our print production during our century], in Suomen kirjapainotaidon historiaa 1900–1942 [History of Finland's art of printing 1900–1942], ed. Einari Teräskivi and Olavi Suominen (Helsinki: Helsingin Graafillinen Klubi, 1942), 93–148, here 112–28; Markus Itkonen, Kadonneet kirjaintyypit: Suomalainen kirjainmuotoilu 1920–1985 [Unknown typefaces: Finnish type design 1920–1985] (Helsinki: RPS-yhtiöt, 2012), 34–39.42 – According to Robert Bringhurst, the concept of font designated the unit of a typeface and type size in metal type typography. The Elements of Typographic Style. Version 2.5 (Vancouver: Hartley & Marks, 2002), 291.43 – Max Nänny, "Iconicity in Literature," Word & Image 2 (July–September 1986): 199–208, here 202–03.44 – To save space I have not included pictures of the third proof and first edition versions of "Kesien kesä" because of the minimal amount of variance between them and the second proof of the poem.