Printmaking
Printmaking is a process for producing multiple original pieces of artwork; painting, on the other hand, is a process for producing a single original piece of artwork. Prints are created from a single original surface, most commonly linoleum, metal or wood. Each print is considered an original work of art, not a copy. Works printed from a single plate create an edition, usually each signed and numbered. A single print could be the product of one or multiple presses. Printmakers work in a variety of mediums, including water based ink, water color paint, oil based ink, oil pastels, and any water soluble solid pigment such as Caron Dache crayons. The work is created on a flat surface called a plate. Depending on the process used to lift the print, artists either carve or draw into their surfaces. Printmaking techniques that utilize digital methods are becoming increaingly popular and in many markets are the chosen method. Surfaces used in printmaking include planks of wood, metal plates, a pane of plexiglass, shellacked book board, or lithographic stones. A separate technique called screenprinting makes use of a porous fabric mesh stretched in a frame, called a screen. Small prints can even be made using the surface of a potato.
Techniques
The four most popular printmaking techniques are woodcut, etching, lithography, and screen-printing. Other printmaking techniques include chine-collé, collography, monotyping, engraving, drypoint, mezzotint, linocut, aquatint and batik.Monotyping is not a printmaking technique in strict sense so it does not produce a matrix in wich multiple artworks can be produced; it is more a printed painting than a proof of print. These techniques can also be combined.
Digital processes include giclée, photographic mediums and combination of both digital process and conventional
Woodcut
Woodcut, a type of relief print, is thought to be the earliest printmaking technique, dating back to 9th century China. The artist draws a sketch on a plank of wood and then uses sharp tools to carve away the parts of the block that he/she does not want to receive the ink. The raised parts of the block are inked with a brayer, then a sheet of paper, perhaps slightly damp, is placed over the block. The block is then rubbed with a baren or spoon, or is run through the press. Separate blocks are used for each color.
Georg Baselitz, Willie Cole Helen Frakenthaler, Paul Gauguin, Erich Heckel, Horst Janssen, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Frans Masereel, Edvard Munch, Emil Nolde, A.R. Penck, Margaret Preston Olga Rozanova, and Joel Shapiro.
Etching
File:Goya print.jpg|thumb|"The sleep of Reason creates monsters", etching and aquatint by Francisco Goya
Etching is part of the intaglio family (along with engraving, drypoint, mezzotint, and aquatint.) Etching prints are generally linear and often contain fine detail and contours. Lines can vary from smooth to sketchy. An etching is opposite of a woodcut in that the raised portions of an etching remain blank while the crevices hold ink.
A waxy acid-resist, known as a ground, is applied to a metal plate, most often copper or zinc. After the ground has dried the artist uses a sharp tool to scratch into the ground, exposing the metal. The plate is then completely submerged in an acid that eats away at the exposed metal. This process is known as biting. The waxy resist protects the acid from biting the parts of the plate that have not been scratched into. The longer the plate remains in the acid the deeper the incisions become. The plate is removed from the acid and the ground is removed with a solvent such as turpentine. The entire plate is inked. The ground can also be applied in a fine mist, using powdered rosin or spraypaint. This process is called aquatint, and allows for the creation of tones, shadows, and solid areas of color.
A piece of matte board, a plastic "card", or a wad of cloth is often used to push the ink into the incised lines. The surface is wiped clean with a piece of stiff fabric known as tarlatan and then wiped with newsprint paper. The wiping leaves ink only in the incisions. You may also use a folded piece of organza silk to do the final wipe. This leaves the plate surface very clean and therfore white in the print. A damp piece of paper is placed over the plate and it is run through the press.
Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Francisco Goya, Whistler, Jim Dine, Otto Dix, James Ensor, Lucian Freud, Paul Klee, Edward Hopper, Horst Janssen, Käthe Kollwitz, Mauricio Lasansky, Brice Marden, Henri Matisse, Giorgio Morandi, Pablo Picasso, Paula Rego and Cy Twombly.
Lithography
Lithography is a technique invented in 1798 by Alois Senefelder and based on the chemical repulsion of oil and water. A porous surface, normally limestone, is used; the image is drawn on the limestone with an oily medium. Acid is applied, transferring the oil to the limestone, leaving the image 'burned' into the surface. Gum arabic, a water soluble substance, is then applied, sealing the surface of the stone not covered with the drawing medium. The stone is wetted, with water staying only on the surface not covered in oil-based residue of the drawing; the stone is then 'rolled up', meaning greasy ink is applied with a roller covering the entire surface; since water repels the grease in the ink, the ink adheres only to the oily parts, perfectly inking the image. A sheet of wet paper is placed on the surface, and the image is transferred to the paper by the pressure of the printing press. Lithography is known for its ability to capture fine gradations in shading and very small detail.
A variant is photo-lithography, in which the image is captured by photographic processes on metal plates; printing is carried out in the same way.
George Bellows, Pierre Bonnard, Vija Clemins, Stuart Davis, Ellsworth Kelly, Willem de Kooning, Joan Miró, Edvard Munch, Emil Nolde, Elizabeth Peyton, Pablo Picasso, Odilon Redon, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Terry Winters,
Screen-printing
Screen-printing (also known as "silk-screening" or "serigraphy") creates bold color using a stencil technique. The artist draws an image on a piece of paper or plastic film can also be used.) The image is cut out creating a stencil. (Keep in mind the pieces that are cut away are the areas that will be colored.) A screen is made of a piece of fabric (originally silk) stretched over a wood frame. The stencil is affixed to the screen. The screen is then placed on top of a piece of dry paper or fabric. Ink is then placed across the top length of the screen. A squeegee (rubber blade) is used to spread the ink across the screen, over the stencil, and onto the paper/fabric. The screen is lifted once the image has been transferred onto the paper/fabric. Each color requires a separate stencil. The screen can be re-used after cleaning.
Josef Albers, Chuck Close, Ralston Crawford, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, Julian Opie, Blinky Palermo, Robert Rauschenberg, Bridget Riley, Edward Ruscha, and Andy Warhol.
See also
Printmakers
References
- What is a Print?, from the Museum of Modern Art
- Bamber Gascoigne: How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Inkjet (ISBN 0500284806)
Suggested Reading
Ivins, William Jr. Prints and Visual Communication. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1953. ISBN 0262590026
External links
- Judging the Authenticity of Prints by The Masters by art historian David Rudd Cycleback