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About Printmaking
Printmaking was invented to make exact copies, to allow the
distribution of information and knowledge in the sciences, in
medicine, in politics and religion so our general preconceptions of
print as 'copies' are inevitably bound up with these origins. This
is by no means a bad thing and artists can exploit reproducibility
as part of their enterprise; equally they can distort the potential
for reproducibility in many ways, through the process itself,
modifying the finished print or the printing place/block between
each impression, or by printing on a variable materials, or indeed
through a decision to limit the 'edition' to one unique piece.
Printmaking today provides a myriad of opportunities for the artist
to explore and develop its potential. A finished print exists in
dialogue with the accumulated layers of activity that contribute to
its creation.
The diversity of artworks that contemporary printmakers are creating
is both exciting and stimulating. Works which cannot be reduced or
contained by a single word, but encompass the sculptural, painterly,
ephemeral, tangible, illustrative, drawn and photographic - at times
simultaneously. Printmaking is not a peripheral artistic practice
hovering at the edges of fine art, but an embedded medium within
this paradigm that has both earned and deserves its place.
Printmaking allows for a material process of play, experimentation
and exploration, often resulting in both a finite and contained
object but also a multifaceted work that leads the viewer down a
number of different interpretative paths.
The notion of flatness can be endlessly associated with printmaking;
the flat surface, of the 2D object, hung upon the flat wall. Yet,
many of the works created by contemporary printmakers today dispel
this pejorative assumption, as the prints venture into the territory
of sculpture, playing with form, space, depth and the physical
relationship of the viewer to object.
A few of the many artists pushing the boundaries in Print making:
Cathryn Kemp, Brenda Hartill, Dawn Cole, Claire Bayliss.
What is a print? show more |
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What is a
print?
A print is an image which has been transferred from one surface to
another.
What is an original Print? An original print is an image produced
from a surface on which the artist has worked, such as a stone or
wood block or a copper plate. This surface is intended by the artist
to be a stage in the creation of the artwork. Thus the original work
of art in this case is the print itself rather than the block or
plate, from which it is printed.
Why buy prints? Because there is generally more than one 'impression' of any one printed image, it is inevitable that it is
often easier to find - and afford - an original print than an oil or
watercolour by a certain artist. For example, Rembrandt's paintings
or drawings seldom appear on the market and when they do, prices are
prohibitive as museums or established collectors seek them for their
collections. It is still quite possible to buy a Rembrandt etching.
The price will depend on the quality and the date of the printing.
The History of Printmaking Prints have played an important role in
the history of art. Before the invention of photography, it was
through engravings that many people were able to become familiar
with great works of art which would otherwise have been
inaccessible. This tradition of bringing paintings to a wider public
dates back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when many
artists employed engravers to reproduce their work.
Many of the greatest artists themselves made original prints.
Rembrandt is a notable example of a painter who was also a highly
skilled etcher and produced some of his most memorable images in
this medium.
The technical discipline of printmaking, the appearance of ink on
paper and the ability to create different 'impressions' of the same
image through different inking, has inspired artists throughout the
history of art. Hogarth recreated many of the images from his
paintings in engravings; Picasso was a prolific printmaker in the
media of etching, lithography and linocut. Some of Matisse's best
known images are his simple lithographs and stencils.
Other artists whose important works include prints are Durer,
Canaletto, Tiepolo, Goya, Piranesi, Munch, Toulouse-Lautrec,
Whistler, Sickert, Warhol, Freud, Hodgkin and Hockney.
What is an Edition? - show more |
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An edition is a predetermined number of prints at a specific size
from a single image. An edition print should be of exhibition
quality and will be individually numbered (e.g. 5/10), signed and
dated, either on the print itself or on an accompanying certificate.
Often an ‘Artist Proof’ will also exist separate to the edition and
is usually the first or last to be printed.
Printmaking Techniques - show more |
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Printmaking Techniques
There are several different methods of printmaking. Amongst the most common are
the following:
Intaglio prints. These are prints where the image is cut into a surface or plate
(from the italian intagliare, to cut into). When the plate is inked, the incised
lines hold the ink and the image is transferred to a second surface, usually
paper. The inked lines on the finished surface are often slightly raised and
there is generally a visible line around the image where the plate has been
pressed into the paper, called the platemark.
Engraving. The image is engraved directly onto a metal plate, usually made of
copper, with a sharp tool called a burin.
Etching. The plate is covered in an acid-resistant layer of wax called an
etching ground. The image is then drawn into this surface with an etching
needle. When covered with printing ink the lines hold the ink whilst the rest of
the plate repels it.
Drypoint. As in an engraving, the drypoint needle draws the image directly onto
the plate. The residue copper is left on the side of the etched lines, which
then collect the ink, creating a furry effect called burr.
Aquatint. The whole plate is covered with grains of resin called an aquatint
ground, allowing acid to bite into the entire area, creating an overall grainy,
tonal effect. This technique is often combined with etching.
Mezzotint. Like aquatint, this technique is used to create a tonal effect over
large areas. The whole plate is worked with a rocker, creating a rough surface
which will hold ink and produce an overall black velvety effect. A second tool
is used to burnish out areas which are intended to be white in the final image.
Thus this process works from dark to light.
Relief prints These are prints where the areas around the image to be printed
are cut away, leaving the image on the block in relief. These raised areas are
then inked and transferred onto a second surface, usually paper. The most common
relief prints include Woodcuts and Linocuts.
Lithograph. From the Greek lithos, stone and graphe, writing. This printing
process is unlike both intaglio and relief processes, both of which involve
cutting into the plate. Lithography relies on the principle that grease and
water will repel each other. The image is drawn in a greasy substance onto a
lithographic stone. The stone is then dampened with water and the greasy
printing ink adheres only to the drawing.
Screenprint or Silkscreen . A form of stencil printing, in which ink is pressed
through a fine-mesh screen, traditionally silk, onto a sheet of paper. A design
can be applied to the screen in various ways to produce an image. Screenprints
are often produced in colour, using different screens for each colour.
For more information go to
http://www.ifpda.org
- the International Fine Print Dealers
Association.
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