Graphic Arts - Silk Screen Prints

I last wrote about graphic art techniques, specifically the intaglio print process known as drypoint. Rembrandt used the intaglio printing processes of drypoint as well as etching. Another method to reproduce artists work that became popular later was silk screen printing or serigraphy.

Silk Screening

This method developed in the United States was used by Andy Warhol, a successful graphic designer. Warhol who was known for his hard-edged graphic style perfected the silk screening process. Warhol attached a stencil to a screen of silk stretched on a frame. Ink was pushed through the stencil with a squeegee. The result was a flat and unshaded image.

Andy Warhol often referred to as the “Pop Star” of the art world perfected the silk screening technique and it became his trademark. The photo silk screen allowed Warhol to create work that he believed did not allow for manipulation.

Graphic Arts - Drypoint

In a previous article on graphic art techniques I wrote about the intaglio print process known as etching. One of the best known etchers was Rembrandt. Rembrandt also used drypoint, another intaglio printing method.

Drypoint

Drypoint allows the artist to create the plate without the use of acid. Drypoint was used at first in combination with etchings. Rembrandt included drypoint to the final touches of some of his etchings. Drypoint later became a popular medium used alone. The process creates a shallow scratched groove when printed and appears similar to a quick stroke with a pencil.

This method of making prints was limited to only a small number of prints. This method was slow and laborious and resulted in the destruction of the drypoint needle when used. Artists and collectors desiring limited editions welcomed this printmaking process.

Graphic Arts - Etchings

In a previous article I wrote about the early technique of graphic art known as lithography. This was the process using a limestone slab and a greasy crayon. This technique was mastered by many artists who were known to pay strict attention to detail in their work.

Another early technique used by artists to create an image was etching. This was an easier way of producing an image than previous methods. The first etching was in 1513.

The etching process uses acid and a plate with indentations. This allows the artists to create lines almost as freely as if drawing with a pencil on paper. Etching became popular beginning in the mid-nineteenth century.

Rembrandt was considered one of the greatest etchers. One of his best-known etchings was “Six’s Bridge”.

This medium later became a popular method for illustrating books and other commercial purposes.

Graphic Arts - Part 2

The last time I wrote about the early techniques of graphic arts which included woodcut and engraving used by the Renaissance artists. Graphic arts continued to develop with various art movements in history.

Some of the techniques later developed were drypoint and etching, lithograph and silk screen prints.

Lithograph

Lithography uses a chemical process to create an image. This process involves the artist drawing on a limestone slab with a greasy crayon. Water is applied and sticks to the nongreasy surface. Then ink is rolled on and it sticks where there is no water. The slab is applied to a sheet of paper in a press to produce the image.

Considered one of the masters in lithography M.C. Escher and has produced many of his prints using this method of printmaking. Meticulous attention to detail was characteristic of Escher’s work. Escher never printed his own lithographs.

The Beginning of Graphic Arts

After my last article on graphic artist Mary Cassatt, I started to think about the beginnings of graphic arts.

I have learned that making prints began as early as the Northern Renaissance and became a popular art form. Because making prints is the most affordable way for collectors to own art, it is as popular today as it was at its inception.

The 2 early types of techniques used to make multiple prints were woodcut and engraving.

Woodcut

Woodcut, the oldest technique for making prints originated in Germany about 1400. Albrecht Durer is often referred to as greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance was a master of the woodcut. Durer improved the primitive looking woodcuts by showing differences in texture and tone with his technique.

Engraving

This process began about 1430 and this method was known as intaglio (ink transferred from below the surface). Durer also perfected this technique and was able to duplicate on a copper plate the effects of light that resembled the Dutch in oil and Italians in fresco.

Mary Cassatt and the Japanese Influence

While reading an old magazine, I recently discovered an interesting article about Mary Cassatt, a self-taught American graphic artist. Cassatt exhibited her paintings and pastels with the Impressionist Group in Paris in 1877, but was not part of the movement.

When Mary Cassatt visited Europe she became friends of Degas. Cassatt was influenced by Degas. Like Degas, Cassatt had a dislike for conventional art. The two visited the large Japanese exhibition held at the Beaux Arts in 1880.

After the Japanese exhibition, Cassatt began working with drypoint and aquatint graphic art techniques. Inspired by the Japanese print, she allowed her own creative ability and taste to direct her work. She adopted some elements from Japanese prints and a new understanding of form and color harmony was reflected in her prints. Her work took on the appearance of a delicate watercolor wash rather than a printed surface.

Expressing Feeling with Photography

The one thing that can be said about photography practiced in the late Modernism through Post-Modernism period is that is was diverse.

Berenice Abbott’s wonderful street scenes and, Margaret Bourke-White classic photo-essays are examples of the types of photography that was practiced in the new subjective style. Bourke-White’s is known for capturing “the essential truth” with her photographs. Abbott used different angles with her street scenes to capture the true life of the city.

Ansel Adams was a leading advocate of straight photography like Steiglitz and Weston. He believed photography to be a medium of expression. Adams had a great love for the American West and spent decades capturing pictures of Yosemite.

Adams photographs have appeared in many books. He was often involved in the printing process for publication and it was said that he even checked proofs on the printing press.