Other Forms of 2-D Processes
Printmaking & Photography
- Printmaking & Photography offer an artist the opportunity to create multiple images.
- In printmaking, the artist does this by repeatedly transferring an original design from one prepared surface to other surfaces.
- In photography, black-and-white or color images are first obtained with the use of light rather than pencil, pen, or brush.
- Both printmaking and photography can then be reproduced to serve specific purposes – one of these is to accurately portray people, objects, and events in newspapers, books, and magazines.
Printmaking
Relief Printing, Intaglio, Lithography, and Screen Printing
- Printing was discovered long ago when someone realized that by pressing an inked surface of a raised design against another surface, a copy was made.
- Chinese artists were printing with carved wooden blocks over 1,000 years ago!
- Possible 1st uses – repeated patterns on textiles, paper, and in order to create paper money.
- Printmaking did not develop in Europe until the 15th century, in time to meet the growing demand for inexpensive religious pictures and playing cards.
- Later, used to provide illustrations for books with moveable type.
- This moveable type was invented by Johannes Gutenburg.
- Made it possible to create pages of books by using the same metal type over and over.
Four Basic Printmaking Methods
- Relief
- Intaglio
- Lithography
- Screen Printing
Relief Printing
- The image to be printed is raised from the background.
- 1st – The artist cut away the sections of a surface not meant to hold ink.
- 2nd – The remaining raised portion is then covered with ink and becomes the printing surface.
- 3rd – Paper is laid upon it, pressure applied, and the ink is transferred to the paper.
- Printing with carved wooden blocks originated in China and spread to Japan where it became a highly developed art form.
Intaglio
- The reverse of Relief printing.
- A process which ink is forced to fill lines cut into a metal surface. The term means “cut into”.
- Two methods – etching and engraving
- Etching – 1st – A copper or zinc plate is first covered with a coating made of a mixture of beeswax, asphalt, and resin (ground).
- 2nd – The artist uses a fine needle to draw an image through this protective coating.
- 3rd – When the plate is placed in acid, it bites or etches the lines into the metal where the ground has been removed.
- 4th - The remaining ground is then removed, the plate inked, the unetched surface is cleaned, and damp paper is pressed onto the plate with a press.
- This forces the paper into the inked grooves, transferring the image.
Engraving
- In an engraving, the lines are cut directly into the metal plate with a burin (engraving tool).
- The lines made in this way are more pronounced and clear than the fine lines produced by the etching process.
- When the prints have been made, you can actually feel the lines of raised ink on etchings and engravings.
Lithography
- There is a printing process based on the principle that grease and water do not mix.
- It is the printmaking method in which the image to be printed is drawn on limestone, zinc, or aluminum with a specialized greasy crayon.
- 1st – When the drawing is completed, it is chemically treated with a nitric-acid solution. This makes the sections that have not been drawn on resistant to the printing ink.
- 2nd - The surface is dampened with water and then inked. The surface is dampened with water and then inked. The greasy printing ink sticks to the equally greasy crayoned areas but is repelled by the wet, blank areas.
- 3rd – The surface is covered with paper and run through a press to transfer the image.
Screen Printing
- More recent
- In screen printing paint is forced through a screen onto paper or fabric.
- 1st - A stencil is placed on a silk or synthetic (man-made) fabric screen stretched across a frame.
- 2nd – The screen is placed on the printing surface, and squeegee is used to force the ink through the porous fabric in areas not covered by the stencil.
- A separate screen will need to be made if you are using more than one color.
- Serigraph – A screen print that has been handmade by an artist.
Photography
- Appear everywhere – newspapers, magazines, and books.
- A technique of capturing optical images on light-sensitive surfaces.
- Artists can create powerful images that teach others how to see, feel, and remember.
Albert Stieglitz
- He used his talent and camera to place viewers on a bridge spanning a canal in Venice.
- The viewers can share a brief, magical moment in time with the photographer.
- He was married to Georgia O’Keeffe.
- Works like this inspired other artists like Ansel Adams.
A Bit of Venice Albert Stieglitz 1894
Ansel Adams
- Stieglitz urged Adams to continue where he was forced to leave off due to age and health.
- Adams responded with thousands of photographs that marked a career covering nearly a half a century.
- He photographed everything from the unsettling stillness of a New Mexico moonrise to the majesty of a Yosemite winter storm.
Imogen Cunningham
- Her work combines a sensitivity for simple forms and a straightforward photographic technique.
- She works closely to her subjects.
- She was able to create an image that seems to pull viewers into it.
- Imogen became widely known for her portraits, flower images, and nudes. She worked as a photographer until her death at the age of ninety-three in 1976.
Man Ray
- Created immediate photographic images by placing objects directly onto the light-sensitive paper and exposing them to light.
- This was an innovation like no other in photography.
- This artist once dressed a crowd in white, set them dancing on a white dance floor, and projected movies on them.