Printmaking The design and production of prints by

Printmaking The design and production of prints by an artist Washi literally means" Japanese paper" is a type of paper made in Japan. Washi is commonly made using fibers from trees and shrubs, but also can be made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat. Washi comes from wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper, and the term is used to describe paper made by hand in the traditional manner. Paul Celan reduction woodcut 48 x 22. 5 inches 5 colors hand printed on washi

What is it? Mount Fuji, from the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, color woodcut by Katsushika Hokusai ► Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. ► Except in the case of monotype, the process is capable of producing multiples of the same piece, which is called a print. ► Painting or drawing creates ONE unique original piece of artwork. ► Prints are created from a single original surface, known technically as a matrix. Common types of matrices include: plates of metal, stone, used for lithography; blocks of wood for woodcuts, linoleum for linocuts and fabric plates for screen-printing. ► Works printed from a single plate create an edition, usually each is signed and numbered to edition form a limited edition.

How to sign your prints

What will we learn? ► We are going to learn how to create prints by cutting linoleum blocks. ► Printmaking, as an art form and as a means of communication, has a long and interesting history. We will learn about and value the process of printmaking and the ramifications it has had on our current society. ► Printmaking has shaped culture in all parts of the world. We will learn how it was originally used as a form of communication, but now is valued as an artistic medium with unique technical qualities.

Paper ► The invention of paper set the stage for printmaking throughout the world, because paper was affordable and wellsuited to printing. As papermaking knowledge spread from China to the rest of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, printmaking became more widespread and technologically sophisticated.

Printing as art Printmaking has its roots in prehistoric times, when humans placed their hands on cave walls and blew pulverized pigment around them to create images. ► In approximately 500 BCE, Sumerians carved images on cylinder seals that could be pressed into wet clay, thereby creating multiple imprints to indicate the ownership of goods. ► Chinese scholars created rubbings from carved texts around 200 CE, an early form of printing that could be done on paper and silk. ►

Printing for Communication Printmaking initially flourished as a form of communication, for it enabled artists to make multiples that could be disseminated to a large number of people. ► Starting in the eighth century, Japanese artists used printmaking to make multiple editions of Buddhist manuscripts. What is a manuscript? ► In fourteenth century Europe, woodcut prints became a popular way to distribute Christian images to the common people. ► In the fifteenth century, Gutenberg’s printed Bible ushered in a whole new era of literacy. ►

The press Using the Gutenberg Press Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450. ► Europe prior to this was a place full of illiterate people: no books and no schools! ► Ok, some books, but they were owned only by priests and the rich because they were hand written either by monks or scribes (what is this called? ) ► Information traveled by word of mouth; namely priests (this gave the church lots of control over the people) and the occasional traveling storyteller, or jongleur. ►

History ► So Gutenberg invents thing, the printing press. What does it do? How does it work? ► What did the printing press allow us to make MANY of very quickly? ► What is the VERY FIRST book printed? How do you think this invention affected the illiterate European society? • Schools emerged = Literacy! • Common people had access to MUCH more information • People saw contradictions among texts and caused individual CRITICAL thinking • Traditional power structures began to be challenged (the Reformation) • Scientific knowledge expanded (the Renaissance) • The Church slowly but surely was losing absolute power • INDIVIDUALISM!! The idea spread that everyone was entitled to an opinion and could print it in a book! But how does the Printing Press affect your life, today? ? ? All these things resulted in the formation of DEMOCRACY

Famous Printmakers ► ► ► From the Renaissance onward, individual artists became known for their spectacular use of printmaking. Albrecht Dürer dazzled fifteenth century audiences with the exquisite detail and craftsmanship of his paintings, woodblock prints, and engravings. Two centuries later, Rembrandt’s mastery of the intaglio medium enabled him to create an influential group of over three hundred printmaking plates. About the same time, Japanese artists such as Katsushika Hokusai took the art of woodblock printing to new heights. Over time, the “toolbox” of printmaking techniques expanded to include etching, mezzotint, and eventually lithography, silkscreen, and monoprint. As processes became more complex, more artists began to work in printshops with professional facilities and the expertise of a Master Printer.

Albrecht Dürer's Rhinoceros, woodcut, 1515. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1497 -98, Woodcut

Hokusai ► ► ► 1839 Self Portrait Katsushika Hokusai (November 1760–May 10, 1849) was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (1831) which includes the iconic and internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820 s. 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. It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fuji in Clear Weather, that secured Hokusai’s fame both within Japan and overseas Ukiyo-e "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17 th and the 20 th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, theatre and pleasure quarters. It is the main artistic genre of woodblock printing in Japan. The "floating world" (ukiyo) refers to the impulsive urban culture that bloomed and was a world unto itself. Although the traditional classes of Japanese society were bound by numerous strictures and prohibitions, the rising merchant class was relatively unregulated, therefore "floating. "

Mount Fuji, from the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, color woodcut by Katsushika Hokusai

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Hokusai's most famous print, the first in the series 36 Views of Mount Fuji

Linocut ► The linocut is a printmaking technique similar to that of the woodcut, the difference being that the image is engraved on linoleum instead of wood. ► Since linoleum offers an easier surface for working, linocuts offer more precision and a greater variety of effects than woodcuts. ► Long disparaged by serious artists as not challenging enough, the linocut came into its own after artists like Picasso and Matisse began to work in that technique.

The Process 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The artist draws a sketch on a matirx, in our case a linoleum block, or on paper which is transferred to the matrix. The artist then uses sharp tools to carve away the parts of the linoleum that he/she does not want to receive the ink. Ink is spread onto a plate. Then the raised parts of the linocut are inked with a brayer. Then a sheet of paper, perhaps slightly damp, is placed over the linocut. The linocut with the paper on top is then run through the printing press, which applies even pressure. The print is then “pulled” from the linocut. You then have either an artist’s proof or the first print of your edition.

PABLO PICASSO, Le Peintre à la Palette, 1963, linocut. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Milton Rosenbaum

► Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881 -1973). Still Life Under a Lamp, 1962; color linocut. John L. Severance Fund 1984.

► Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Young Girl (after Cranach), 1958

► Pablo Picasso "Tête de Femme"/"Portrait de Jacqueline de face. II“ colorlinocut, IV. 1962

► Henri Matisse (French, b. 1869, La Cateau, France, d. 1954, Nice, France) Head of a Woman, 1938

Terms to know ► Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper ► Relief A type of sculpture in which form projects from a background. ► Printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring an image. The systems involved were first assembled in Germany by the goldsmith Johann Gutenberg Edition The number of images printed from the plate is called an edition. The body of the edition is numbered (for example, 1/100 through 10/100) directly on the print, in pencil. Additional proofs, such as artist's proofs, are also part of the edition. ► Artist's Proofs Artist's proofs are those impressions from an edition that are specifically intended for the artist's own use. These impressions are in addition to the numbered edition and are so noted in pencil as artist proof or A/P. The legitimate number of artist's proofs for a given edition us usually around 10% of the total. ► States Once the artist has drawn an image, he or she may pull several prints. If the artist subsequently changes the image, the first prints are called first state, and the subsequent prints with the change, second state. The artist can continue to make changes, with the number of states going as high as ten or more. These state proofs are, for demanding collectors, objects of desire. ►

Things to remember… Reverse Image Pulling a Print Brayer Contrast Texture (implied) Pattern Bench Hook Plate Positive Areas Negative Areas Registrations Self-Portrait

Beginning Studio ► You will be creating a two color reduction print. The subject is Hokusai’s wave. You will create an image that incorporates his wave. You must change it to be your own in some way. ► You must come up with 2 thumbnail sketches that explore 2 different ideas and compositions. You must add color with colored pencil. ► When you finish, at least 50% of your block should be cut away.

Studio II, Advanced and AP ► You will be creating a three or four color reduction print. You may choose your subject matter, but your piece must convey a feeling and/or emotion. You may do this through subject matter, color, or line quality. ► You must come up with four thumbnail sketches that explore different compositions.

How and why has the face, especially the self-portrait, been so prominent an image through out the history of art ?