Tuesday, 7 July 2009

The Surprise of Printmaking

It is interesting to think about why there are still designers out there who enjoy the processes of printmaking in the digital age where we live now. It is much easier to press a button and wait for the amazing new technology based printers to deliver—yet the element of expectation and surprise of hand made prints is something that thrills and that produces a feeling that cannot be experienced in such depth when a machine is producing it for you.
"One is not reproducing something so there is no model with which to compare that newly printed piece of paper... Printing belongs to the world of random". (Bernard Cohen, Printmaking Today, Summer 2009)

The ink that is chosen, the media (paper, fabric,etc) the image itself, the number of layers and combination of colours all contribute to the experience of printmaking and of making this experience a unique one. Each time a print is produced is different from the one before, it is not a mechanical repetition, but a hands on technique that can make mistakes become a special feature. This makes printmaking a process that cannot be extinguished, just like the book in relation the the internet reading: it is a complete different experience to hold a book and feel it's weight, touch the textured paper, see its presence in space and time than to scroll down an look at the same format screen each time.

Ana Rachel E.


Posted by at
Labels:

2 comments:

  1. Douglas Minei9 July 2009 at 14:04

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Douglas Minei9 July 2009 at 14:10

    Interesting topic Ana. I guess the same applies to film photography, where the results are often unexpected, but unique.

    I think 'manual processes' have something special about them. Maybe it is their lack of clinical perfection, their roughness or chance. I think the process of printmaking involves more of our senses, like the sense of smell, touch. In it, we feel the weight and texture of the paper, lay the prints out on the floor, tear them apart, superimpose them - all by hand, making use of a bigger space: a non-virtual space...

    When I read your post I thought about mass production in the 'digital age', and how things are mass produced to make them available for a wider group of people (for profit) and lose their status of original. I think it was Walter Benjamin who said that art objects lose their 'aura' when mass produced.

    I found this on the web, didn't read it all but might give you some more insight:

    The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction - Walter Benjamin (1936):

    http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm

    Good luck!
    Thanks for your post :)

    Doug

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)