Art Appreciation Chapter 8
Burin
A tool used in engraving. Lines are made by pushing the burin into the metal to carve a groove, removing a narrow strip of metal in the process.
Artist's proof
A trial print, usually made as an artist works on a plate or block, to check the progress of a work. In the print making process, artists make progressive proofs at various stages to see how the image on the matrix is developing. When a satisfactory stage is reached, the artist makes a few prints for his or her record and personal use called AP meaning artist's proof.
Photo screen
A variation of a silkscreen in which the stencil is prepared by transferring a photograph to the stencil. Also called photographic stencil. Achieved by attaching light-sensitive gelatin to the screen fabric, this allows the transfer of a photograph to the screenprint stencil. Ex. Andy Warhol
Editioned work
Any work produced in an edition, such as a print; not unique as in the case of a painting.
Screenprinting (silkscreen, serigraphy)
A printmaking technique in which stencils are applied to fabric stretched across a frame. Paint or ink is forced with a squeegee, or a rubber-edged blade, through the unblocked portions of the screen onto paper or other surface beneath. Well suited to the production of images with areas of uniform color. Each separate color requires a different screen but registering and printing are relatively simple. No reversal of the image in screenprinting. Allows the production of large, nearly mass-produced editions without loss of quality. Many social movements have allied themselves with silkscreen artists.
Linoleum cut (linocut)
A relief printmaking process in which an artist cuts away negative spaces from a block of linoleum, leaving raised areas to take ink for printing. Artist starts with the rubbery, synthetic surface of linoleum and gouges out the areas not intended to take ink. The softness of this matrix material makes fine detail impossible.
Stencil
A sheet of paper, cardboard, or metal with a design cut out; painting or stamping over the sheet prints the design on a surface. A method for making multiple works of art. Favored method of street artists who communicate political messages. Only positive and negative spaces are produced so shading is not possible. Ex. Banksy
Relief printmaking
A technique in which the parts of the printing surface that carry ink are left raised, while remaining areas are cut away. The surface is inked, and the ink is transferred to paper with pressure. Woodcut or linoleum cut. The design carved into the matrix is reversed on contact with the paper.
Woodcut, woodblock
A type of relief print made from a plank of relatively soft wood; the artist carved away the negative spaces, leaving the image in relief to take the ink for printing. Oldest relief prints are woodcuts. Lends itself to designs with bold black and white contrast. Cut along the grain. Editions are limited to a couple hundred because the relief edges begin to deteriorate with repeated pressure. Ex. Flourished in Japan favored by middle class people who lived in capital city of Edo. Color woodcuts are printed with multiple woodblocks, one for each color.
Plate mark
An impression made on a piece of paper by pressing a printing plate onto it; usually a sign of an original print.
Etching
An intaglio printmaking process in which a metal plate is first coated with acid-resistant wax or varnish, then scratched to expose the metal to the bit of nitric acid where lines are desired; also the resulting print. Put plate in acid many times means it eats more of the metal so it has more ink. Freely drawn so lines are generally more relaxed or irregular than engraved lines. Yields only lines.
Drypoint
An intaglio printmaking process in which lines are scratched directly into a metal plate with a steel needle; the scratch raises a ridge(burr) that takes the ink. Scratches shallow lines into a soft copper or zinc plate. Drypoint editions are by necessity small and rarely done. Drypoint lines are difficult to execute and almost impossible to correct. Artists more often use drypoint to put the finishing touches on already etched plates.
Aquatint
An intaglio printmaking process in which value areas rather than lines are etched on the priming plate; powdered resin is sprinkled on the plate, which is then immersed in an acid bath, and the acid bites around the resin particles, creating a touch surface that holds ink; also a print made using this process. Used to option gray areas in black-and-white or color prints. Values produced can vary from light to dark, depending on how long the plate is in the acid and how thick the dusting of powder. Not suited to making thin lines, so it is usually combined with linear print processes like engraving and etching.
Intaglio
Any printmaking technique in which lines and areas to be inked are recessed below the surface of the printing plate. Opposite of relief. Meaning "to cut into". Kinds of intaglio: engraving, etching, and dry point. Image scratched into the metal surface. First the artist daubs the plate with printers ink, then wipes it clean, leaving ink in only the grooves portions. Damp paper is placed on the ink plate, that is passed beneath a press roller. Image is reversed in printing on paper. Traditionally done from polished copper plates, but now zinc, steel, aluminum, and even plastic are often used.
Dry point
Don't file down burr, creates blurred lines.
Engraving
Done by hand, ink places cut into metal by hand. An intaglio printmaking process in which grooves are cut into a metal or wood surface with a sharp cutting tool called a burin or graver; also the resulting print. A clean line is preferable; thus any rough edges of the groove must be smoothed down with a scraper. Lines cannot be freely drawn because of the pressure needed to cut the grooves. Darker areas are shaded with various types of crosshatching. Ex. US currency
Wood engraving
A method of relief printing in wood. In comparison to woodcut, a wood engraving is made with denser wood, cutting into the end of the grain rather than the side. The density of the wood demands the use of engraving tools, rather than woodcarving tools but it also makes large editions possible, facilitating the use of wood engraving in publishing. High detail.
A multiple original impression made from a plate, stone, woodblock, or screen by an artist or made under the artist's supervision; usually made in editions, with each print numbered and signed by the artist. An artwork that exists in multiple copies. A print is one of a series of nearly identical pieces, usually printed on paper.
Lithography
A planographic printmaking technique based on the antipathy of oil and water; the image is drawn with a grease crayon or painted with tusche on a stone or grained aluminum plate; the surface is then chemically treated and dampened so that it will accept ink only where the crayon or tusche has been used. Water and ink repelling on another. Usually done on limestone. Requires no cutting of the matrix. Often difficult to distinguish from a crayon drawing. After the image is complete, the stone is chemically treated with gum Arabic and a small amount of acid to fix the drawing onto the stone. The stones or plates can be reused.
Reasons for prints
1. Wish to make multiple works that are less expensive than paintings or sculpture, so that their work will be available for purchase by a wider group of viewers 2. Wish to influence social causes. Because prints are multiple works, they are easy to distribute far more widely than a unique work of art. 3. They may be fascinated by the process of printmaking, which is an absorbing craft in itself.
Printing
Printing and paper making cane to Europe for China. Before then, (1415) every book in Europe was hand-lettered and hand-illustrated. Original artists prints are signed and numbered after each "pull". The first prints "pulled" are called artists proofs or AP. Four categories: 1.relief 2.intaglio 3. Lithographic (planographic) 4. Screen printing (stencil)
3-D printing
Printing in three dimensions from a design created using modeling software. Not a print in the traditional sense because it is not an impression.
Offset lithography
Lithographic printing by indirect image transfer from photomechanical plates; the plate transfers ink to a rubber-covered cylinder, which "offsets" the ink to the paper. Suited to rotary presses, gives uniform ink depth across an entire printing. Each image is burned onto a metal lithographic plate and then inked, but the ink is first transferred, or offset, onto a rubber cylinder before printing on paper.
Registration
In color printmaking or machine printing, the process of aligning the impressions of blocks or plates on the same sheet of paper.
Matrix
The block of metal, wood, stone, or other material that an artist works to create a print. The matrix carries ink, and artists create prints by pressing or overlaying the matrix onto the print surface.
Burr
The ridge left by scratching a dry point line in a copper plate; the burr holds ink for printing. The burr catches the ink and,when printed, leaves a slightly blurred line. The burr is fragile and deteriorates rapidly from the pressure of the printing press rollers.
Edition
The total number of prints made and approved by the artist, usually numbered consecutively. A group of images from the same matrix. Nearly all prints are numbered to indicate the total quantity of prints pulled, or printed, in the edition, and to give the number of each print in the sequence.
