Chapter 7—Printmaking

Introduction: People are fascinated by the printmaking process, yet most do not understand how it works. We do not realize how often it is used for industrial purposes apparent in our daily lives, such as printed labels on packaged food items or printed money, which has been designed to be nearly impossible to forge. But the use of printmaking to make art remains a confusing process for most, even those who collect art prints. Chapter 7 provides insight into the various steps and processes of making different kinds of prints. Quotations from this chapter refer only indirectly to printmaking itself, yet have to do with the artist's creative process. Compare and Contrast – Hiroshige's Rain Shower on Ohashi Bridge with Xiaomo’s Family by the Lotus Pond and A Closer Look – Hung Liu: Chinese Traditions Unbound lend insight to the ways that various printmaking processes can yield different forms of imagery and expression.

Chapter 7 – Why Read It? When I was a college student, I had the opportunity to study theologically and sociologically related topics for 16 weeks at the Institute of Cultural Affairs in Chicago. My interests as an artist sometimes seemed at odds with the collaborative and town meeting style of the teachings presented there. When discussing this issue with one of the pedagogues, he mentioned the fact that our age, that of the late 20^th century leading into the 21^st century, is an age of replication, rather than an age that emphasizes creativity for each individual. I resisted this judgment, but realized that, for the larger societal needs of our time, it was true. As I pursued art, though, I came to realize how even artists found ways throughout history to use replication creatively.

Printmaking as an art form seems to defy some of the notions commonly associated with the creative act: artistic intentionality manifesting in a never to be repeated, one-of-a-kind creation, such as Michelangelo’s Pietà carved in marble. With printmaking, the artist devotes his or her energy into creating a matrix, the surface from which the series of impressions or the edition of prints is pulled. The work can then be reproduced dozens, perhaps hundreds of times by preparing the matrix with ink and pressing it.

As a child, my first exposure to art was in the form of book illustrations and reproductions of famous works of art in books and magazines. Without printmaking my learning about art and most other things would have been limited and provincial.

Chapter 7 presents a basic format for understanding relief, intaglio, planographic, and serigraphic printmaking methods. When you go to an art exhibit you will be equipped to further understand how the prints you see were created. Were they printed from multiple or single wood blocks? Was the ink pushed through a screen onto the cloth or paper surface below? Is the print from a limited, signed edition?

After I left the Institute of Cultural Affairs, I came away with a deep appreciation for viewing art firsthand, since I had made many excursions on the “L” to the Chicago Art Institute; I also came away with a much deeper appreciation for the benefits of living in the “Age of Replication,” when printmaking techniques and, of course, computers have made information, music, and imagery more available to people all over the world than ever before in mankind’s history. And, of course, I came to know there is still lots of room for originality.

Understanding Concepts: Some underlying questions asked by persons discovering the art of printmaking might include:

• What are the differences between producing a print and other two-dimensional art making methods, such as painting and drawing?

• How does a printing press work, and what are the advantages to using a press rather than hand pressing a print?

• What kind of paper is used for printmaking?

• How can an edition of prints be considered as unique works of art if there exist more than one?

• How does the artist know what the print will look like if the matrix is a reverse of the final image, or if multiple impressions must be made to add color or other effects?

1. Answer some of these questions by further investigating printmaking in person. View some of the print reproductions in the chapter to see if you can tell what kind of effect the artist was pursuing.

• How does the artist affix his or her signature to the print?

• How many stages or states do you think a print went through to achieve its final appearance?

• How does the process in this image from the book differ from the way the book itself was printed? How is it similar?

2. By reviewing the chapter you can get a quick overview of most of the major printmaking methods. Select three images from this chapter and categorize them, paying attention to the specific techniques used, such as drypoint or engraving. Record your observations below:

Title Subject Print technique Distinct features

A.

B.

C.

Making Connections: This chapter is about a unique form of two-dimensional art. Several people are mentioned or quoted regarding printmaking: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Alex Katz, and Hung Liu.

1. Select one of these people whom you have not researched before, and learn more about them using available book or internet resources.

2. Find works of art in other chapters of the book by Matisse, Picasso, and others, comparing their work in printmaking to their work in another medium.

• What is similar? For example, what similarities can be found in Rembrandt’s drypoint print of Christ Crucified Between Two Thieves, (image 7-8) and his paintings in Chapter 17?

• Compare Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Seated Clowness to his poster of Le Divan Japonais (image 12-42) and his painting At the Moulin Rouge (image 19-31).

• Who was Käthe Kollwitz? What was the predominating theme of most of her prints? Did the types of printmaking methods she used work well with her subjects?

3. Compare and Contrast – Hiroshige's Rain Shower on Ohashi Bridge with Xiaomo’s Family by the Pond gives you two works of art produced by the same kind of method—or are they? Even though both are woodcuts, one was made in 1857, and the other made in 1998. There are many differences in content and technique.

• Which artist do you think had the most skill at wood block carving?

• Which one of these works do you feel has the most emotional impact visually?

• What were the cultural environments like from which these two works of art emerged?

• How did the Ukiyo-e ("floating world") prints, like Hiroshige's, from19^th-century Japan impact European artists?

4. A Closer Look – Chinese Traditions Unbound features Chinese artist Hung Liu. Liu is especially concerned with images from her Chinese heritage as a woman. Discover, through a little research, something about the printmaking traditions in China. Did you know Chinese printmaking methods and traditions date back to before the time of Greek civilization? Record your notes and research here:

Taking Notes: Even though you may be confused by differences between various printmaking methods, this is the kind of distinction you will need to make in your notes. Small diagrams may help you distinguish between a print made by relief method or by the planographic or serigraphic method. Be sure to note variations or exceptions to these methods; for example, where an artist has combined printmaking methods in one work, or has perhaps combined printmaking with collage or drawing. Artists aren't necessarily purists to one method or medium when it comes to achieving the final visual result they want. These kinds of details make life and art interesting, and, of course, create a nightmarish infinity of the kinds of test questions your instructor could create, based on what they have shown you image-wise, demonstrated, and discussed in class.

Preparing for Tests: Different types of prints have distinctive appearances, especially when one looks at them closely. For example, serigraphic prints are usually smooth, with ink distributed solidly over large areas. An etching may have a bit of a raised edge where the lines of ink were pressed onto the paper. In preparing for a test, you will be relying on information from the text and small reproductions of these prints. You will need to learn these characteristics carefully through your reading and notes from class.

Prepare yourself for various levels of questions, varying from an essay question asking you to address the success or failure of a print to convey its expression through that particular medium, to multiple-choice or matching questions confronting you with selecting the correct method used from a list. Test questions can be specific to identifying the artist, the title, or the time period in which it was created. Spend some time reviewing sample questions in the Understanding Art website (www.cengage.com/art/fichner-rathus9e), in the Student Test Packet, or on the ArtExperience Online for Understanding Art. The following sample essay question should help get you started:

• Discuss the role and importance of printmaking as an art form within a culture and specific time period. Cite and explicate two well-described examples, including specific techniques used, to support your discussion. [Extended Essay Assignment: 2 pages minimum, double spaced, 12-point font. Cite at least two research sources.]

Enhancing Your Observational Powers: In your environment, take a quick inventory of things that have images on them produced by a printmaking process; for example, currency or stamps produced by an elaborate and painstaking engraving process.

1. Try a simple printmaking process by using a ball point pen to make an image on the side of an eraser, then pressing the eraser to a piece of paper. You are using an ancient process, with a few modifications, of course.

• Make your eraser matrix “prints” here:

2. Have you ever made silkscreen greeting cards or business cards on your computer? Some processes are simple, requiring little expense or equipment, while others are quite expensive, requiring much time and space to work.

• If you have a chance, visit an art supply shop and explore the printmaking materials available, ranging from little kits for silk-screening greeting cards, to linoleum or woodcut blocks, to expensive professional grade ink rollers and zinc plates for intaglio press printing. Ask the store attendant some of the following questions:

• What do different types of printing presses cost?

• What types of paper are best for printmaking?

• How much space do you think an artist needs to create a working printmaker's studio complete with work tables, acid basins, drying racks, and the press or various presses?

3. Go to an art exhibit featuring prints. You might be surprised to find how many venues feature prints: naturalist prints in a science department of a school featuring wildlife or botanical specimens done by 19^th-century and early 20^th-century artists, book illustrations, and many works by children and young people, usually in relief or silkscreen media. For example:

• Observe one print, and try to find out how many prints of this image were printed as an edition.

• What number in the series is the print you are studying?

• If you are looking at an engraving or an etching, can you see an embossed, beveled rectangular edge where the metal plate pressed into the paper?

• If you are looking at a woodcut, can you see places in the print where the wood grain of the block printed as well as the carved image?

• What type of paper was used? Is it white or colored? What kind of edges does the paper have? Is there a "watermark" embedded in the texture of the paper?

• Did the artist sign, date, and number this print in pencil? Record your findings regarding the details of the prints you’ve seen here:

For More Understanding: As mentioned in Preparing for Tests, you have resources available to guide you in your studies. Your text contains many examples of art that relate to each other in various ways throughout other chapters, as well as a website (www.cengage.com/art./fichner-rathus9e), which features a glossary and audio pronunciation guide, sample test questions, and more.

If you want to learn more about printmaking, perhaps even try it or pursue it further, use website links to discover artists and materials available with instruction and possible projects.

ArtExperience Online for Understanding Art: Check out the video demonstration about lithography under In The Studio and answer any follow-up questions.

Learn more about the information and artwork presented in the A Closer Look and Compare and Contrast sections. A number of the images in this chapter are found in the flashcard database. Use them to create a study set for this chapter.

Notes and Links to Remember: