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Background of Printmaking. Printmaking is the process of making artworks by transferring images from one surface to another. This process is capable of producing multiples of the same image. Each print is an original.
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Background of Printmaking Printmaking is the process of making artworks by transferring images from one surface to another. This process is capable of producing multiples of the same image. Each print is an original.
Common types of printmaking include: woodblock (wood), screen-printing or silk-screening (fabric), linotype (linoleum), etching (metal), monoprinting (single image transfer) and lithography (stone).
Prints from a single plate create an edition. In modern times, each print is signed and numbered to form a limited edition.
Some forms of printmaking have been used for hundreds of years. Etching, for instance, has been a major form of European art since before the 1300’s. Asian printmaking began to become a major form of art in the 1700’s.
Printmaking has been used for many purposes: for fine-art as well as commercial functions (early book and newspaper illustrations, t-shirt and fashion designs, product design, 1800’s-1900’s advertising posters, etc.)
Important Artists to Know Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese printmaker, 1760-1849) • Hokusai is best-known as creator of the woodblock-print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji which includes the iconic and internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820s. Hokusai created the "Thirty-Six Views" both as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji.
Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese printmaker, 1797-1858) • Legend has it that Hiroshige determined to become an ukiyo-e artist when he saw the prints of his colleague, Hokusai. He continued on the tradition of this style of printing after Hokusai passed away. • It is said that Hiroshige created thousands of prints throughout his life – even after working only part time as an artist throughout his career (he also worked as a firefighter to earn extra income). • Hiroshige’s style was copied many times over, and he even had two men that called themselves Hiroshige II and Hiroshige III, after his own death.
Andy Warhol (American printmaker, 1928-1987) • Was a central figure leading the movement of Pop Art in the mid 1900’s. • After a successful career as a commercial illustrator and born and raised in Pittsburgh, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a printmaker, filmmaker and public figure known for his interest in pop culture, Hollywood, fame, celebrities and public figures. • Warhol became known for his portraits of movie stars, political figures, and his use of everyday objects as subjects for his artwork (soup cans, grocery boxes, shoes, etc.).
Printmaking Vocabulary • Artist’s proof - A print of edition quality, but separate from the numbered edition that is kept by the artist. • Block– What is carved into to create a relief print. • Composite print - A print made from a number of individual plates combining different techniques or images in the same print. • Pull - To make a print by transferring the ink onto paper either by hand or with a press. • Relief printing - The image is printed from ink on the surface of wood, linoleum, or other flat surface. Nonprinting areas have been cut away.
Steps to Relief Printing • The artist draws a sketch either on a plank of wood, linoleum, or other flat surface (block). • Sharp tools are used to cut away areas of the print block that are to remain empty or white. • The raised parts of the block are inked with a brayer. • A sheet of paper is placed over or under the block. • The paper or block is then rubbed with a baren or is run through a press. • The block is removed from the paper, showing the transferred image. • When dry, the artist signs in pencil, as follows: • Left, under print: title • Center, under print: AP (abbreviation for Artist’s Proof) or numbered series • Right, under print: Artist’s signature (usually in cursive)
Chris Keegan Composite print
Loaded Hips Press block
