Thursday, December 4, 2025

a primer of visual literacy—including basic camouflage

book cover
Donis A. Dondis, A Primer of Visual Literary. Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 1973, p. 56—

Most of our textural experience is optical, not tactile. Not only is texture faked rather convincingly in plastics and printed material and faked fur, but, also, much of what we see that is painted, photographed, and filmed convincingly presents texture that is not there. If we touch a photograph of silky velvet, we do not have the convincing tactile experience the visual clues promise. Meaning is based on what we see. This fakery is an important factor in survival in nature; animals, birds, reptiles, insects, fish, take on the coloration and texture of their surroundings as a protection against predators. Man copies this camouflage method in war in response to the same needs for survival that inspires it in nature.

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Wednesday, December 3, 2025

suspended camouflage nets / gunny sack donations

Above The Maharajah of Patiala examining 9.2-inch howitzer shells under camouflaged netting (1918). Royal collection of the United Kingdom. Public domain.

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US NAVY SEEKS OLD GUNNY SACKS in Santa Ana Register (Santa Ana CA), February 4, 1942—

Seattle—If you have any old gunny sacks laying around your house, the 13th Naval District would be glad to get them. Just be sure they're empty, turn them inside out, and ship them to the District Camouflage Officer, Navy Supply Depot, Pier 41, Seattle.

They can be used as "garlands" on camouflage nets, the navy said, for which there is a shortage of such materials.

The navy also asked commercial fishermen to donate discarded purse seine and gillnets for camouflage purposes.

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