Front cover to the Meopta Axomat 4 manual

THE MEOPTA AXOMAT – A FINE ENLARGER AND A FINE COVER IMAGE TO BOOT!

The darkroom I run is full of Meopta enlargers – they are a fairly standard piece of college equipment – built out of solid metal, so very hardy!

I was trying to establish the maximum wattage bulbs for the Axomat enlargers – that’s the sort of excitement my days can be filled with.  Upon searching through piles of manuals, hap-hazzardly arranged in a filing cabinet – something glistened at me from the bottom of the pile.

I plunged my hand through the jumbled array of other grey papers, and dragged a dusty booklet to the surface – probably its first fresh air in decades!

I was greeted with this little beauty!  What a design, what a photograph!  Its amazing.

WHO ARE MEOPTA AND WHAT IS AN AXOMAT?

First thing to point out is that Meopta were a Czechoslovakian company that made basic and highly usable photographic equipment.  The enlargers themselves are not the greatest in the world, but they are solid and fairly robust – and for basic darkroom printing, they fit the bill perfectly.  For schools – they are ideal as they are also really cheap!

The Axomat was a range of enlargers they produced, from the 70’s onwards I guess.

I could go into a full on review as to the Meopta enlarger range – but from fear of boring 99% of the readers, I won’t!  However, feel free to ask if you want some fascinating information on them!!!

BACK TO THE IMAGE…

I guess this must be how the Czechoslovakians chose it best to promote their enlarger – with an elegant lady, daintily raising her hand to the enlarger controls!  What I like best is the fact that when in their meetings about the design and promotion for this piece of kit – a collective decision must have been made that this image best reflected the image they wished to portray.

Rodchenko's advert for the Red October Biscuit Factory (1923?)

HANG ON – WHY ISN’T EVERY DESIGNER AS GOOD AS RODCHENKO?

Thought I would stick this in as an interesting comparison!  Now, I know that Czech was not formally a part of the USSR and they are not strictly neighbours.  Czechoslovakia were communist post WWII for many years and, as I understand it a sort of independent satellite state of the Soviet union – so perhaps my link here is a weak one.

But, on with the point – check out this amazing poster for a biscuit factory, crafted by Alexander Rodchenko, for the Red October Biscuit Factory in around 1923.

So, that’s about 60 years earlier than the Axomat, for biscuits and is infinitely better designed and crafted than the Meopta marketing.

Many people would argue that an enlarger was a more exciting product than a biscuit (I am not sure I could ever agree with that), yet Rodchenko managed to make the poster much more dynamic and exciting.

Constructivism is an amazing and fascinating bi-product of Communism in Russia and it’s interesting how it did not filter down to all of the associated countries.

Now I am sure that Graphic Designers out there can point me in the direction of many amazing Czech designs – and they may also point out that the Meopta artwork is from the 80’s not 20’s.  But humour me and lets all have a few cheers for the genius of Rodchenko (and Popova of course!) and how most graphic designers owe their entire style to these pioneers and are still not doing as well as they did back then!

Inside back cover image from Meopta Axomat 4 manual

LIFE IN A DARKROOM – THE MEOPTA WAY

Apologies.  I went off topic, I shall pick up the story seamlessly…then I came across this beast on the inside cover.  I can confirm it is exactly what life is like in a darkroom!

Now – ignore what I said earlier about Constructivism being great and once again humour my change in direction!  I don’t know what it is, but there is something I really love about this sort of Graphic design – it seems really naive and basic, but endlessly appealing and amusing!  I guess that’s the way things always go as cultural visual language moves on.  In a few more decades, no doubt we will be looking back at current design and thinking how dated and simplistic it appears.

As far as I know, the Axomat 4 was produced int he early 80’s – yet this artwork seems to scream 70’s at me!

Jesus Is Risen (2009)

Church Messages

I have been interested in the marketing campaigns of religion for ages – especially the posters you get outside of a church, for example:

CH_ _ CH Whats Missing?

U R

There are countless examples and I will try and remember to start photographing to put up here.

This one at a local city church round the corner from me, particularly caught my eye as the wording of it can be completely mis-interpreted.  To my eye, it is stating that Jesus will ACTUALLY be risen from the dead, at THIS church at both 11am and 6.30pm on Easter Sunday.

Now – if a promise like that is not going to make you go to church, I don’t know what will!

Now, round the corner from my house – I noticed another poster in someone’s window portraying a similar message:

He Is Risen (2009)

This time, no promises of actually rising Christ, but a declaration that it is Holy week and He is risen.

Religion fascinates me, I am curious about what draws people to it, what gains they receive from it, the power that religion can have over people (also the benefits it can brign to individuals).  But most of all, I have always been interested in why people who have ‘faith’ are so keen to try and convert others to their way of thinking.

Whilst studying for my degree, I did a project called ‘Dismount Your Donkey at the Summit’.  It was the start of an investigation into religion (churches in particular) and how they fit in the modern community.  It was also a way of me working through my thoughts and feelings about religion.

Years ago, I was a die hard Atheist and would veirmentally argue againt God as much as someone ‘with faith’ would argue for God.  However, as I got more interested in Theological debate, I decided that my extreme views were a bit nieve and probably more a tool for getting a good argument or being controversial than necercarily based on fact.

So, I decided I was more a reluctant Agnostic.  Now – many people would say that is sitting on the fence, but that is why I would brand myself as reluctant!

1. Reluctant because I do not really like the pigeon holing of most things – let alone something as complication as the theories of life!
2. Reluctant because whilst I accept I do not know what the answers are or whether there is a 100% certainty there is no God, I do not believe a God exists in the form portrayed by most organised religions.
3. Reluctant because the term Agnostic would suggest the wrong impression to most people.

I would describe my views more as having absolutely no idea and not really caring.  I am INTERESTED in different theories, but not really bothered about subscribing to one!  I completely accept and enjoy the fact when I die, either something will happen that will give me enlightenment, or nothing will happen!  My heart of heart’s says nothing will happen, but who can really say for sure until they die?

Anyway – I am diverting from my original point.

These posters made me think of two things,

1. Why do you never see posters in peoples windows declaring that others should not believe in Christ?  Why is having faith in an organised belief system hold more weight in society that the opposite?
2. It always makes me think about what this country has inherited from our religious past.  Its a fact that a small percentage of people still go to regular church services.  But compare that to the number of people who, when asked, state that they are religious or assign themselves to a particular religion and the numbers are much greater.  There is a discrepancy between people actually practising a faith and bringing themselves to admit they don’t have one.

To most poeple – I guess the inheritance of our religious past is the fact we all get to enjoy a 4 day weekend at certain points of the year and endulge in family and feasts.  Those who practice a religion I guess feel they should remind others why they get those 4 days off.

Perhaps I will re-start my project on church and religion and certainly try to post some more co-herant thoughts about ths subject on the blog, rather than this rather quick stream of thought!