Two Decades of American Printmaking:
1968 - 1986

Context

What is printmaking? In simplest terms it can be defined as the production of multiple images. In the beginning it was a way to produce unsophisticated copies and make images available to the masses with little effort and minimal cost. Today, this fine art has almost nothing to do with making copies. It has become a rarefied world of collaborative studios and limited editions (a numbered set of identical prints) produced by combining new technologies with ancient techniques. This evolutionary process reached a significant highpoint in the 1960s and 70s.

In the late 1950s, the art world began to experience a radical change. The young artists who trained under the New York School of abstract expressionists began to rebel against what they perceived as a circumscribed vision that had little to do with present-day realities. New symbols and images began to emerge, unhinging a long history of traditional forms based on nature and interpreted by the artist’s imagination. Artists were now incorporating into their work ready-made images taken directly from the commercial world and mass media with the intent of avoiding any personal gesture or comment. This new approach was dubbed “Pop art” by the news media in reference to the popular culture that inspired the images. The movement impacted not only painting and sculpture but also the realm of the fine art print. Technical methods used in commercial printing were colliding with the traditional ways of printing woodblocks, lithographs and etchings. What resulted were innovative, if not experimental techniques that produced repetitive, flat and impersonal images.

Some of the artists represented in LIMITED EDITIONS: 20th Century Prints from the Ponderosa Collection, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and James Rosenquist came to printmaking by way of commercial advertising, billboard painting and screenprinting. The mechanical, repetitive nature of the screenprint and the large scale of billboard painting were each influential in their own way, allowing artists to produce large size prints that combined traditional lithography with commercial screenprinting.

These new print methods also allowed artists such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg to change the visual imagery of the twentieth century print. Their unconventional yet carefully chosen commonplace objects allowed them to explore the basic elements of lithography. They eventually utilized their skill and imagination to push the technological limits of the process, producing some of the most stimulating and thought-provoking prints of that era.

New approaches and new technologies also opened the door to the exploration of variations on a theme. Artists began to produce series. For example, Roy Lichtenstein produced a series of Bull prints: Bull I, Bull II, and so on through Bull VI. Each print within the edition is identical, but the series changes from a representational bull in the beginning of the series to an abstraction of the bull by the end of the series. Similar variations on a theme can be found in prints by Jasper Johns and Jennifer Bartlett.

It is important to note that many of the Abstract Expressionists and Color Field painters did not turn their attentions to printmaking until the 1960s, after their movements had lost impetus. Although their concentration on color and the immediacy of the gestural image suited itself to these newer techniques, only a few of these artists focused on printmaking for any substantial amount of time. LIMITED EDITIONS contains prints by some of these artists including Cy Twombly, Frank Stella, Ron Davis, and Helen Frankenthaler.

A Printmaking Primer

Many new innovative printmaking techniques were introduced in the late 20th century, but the methods used in printmaking still fall into four basic categories: relief, intaglio, planographic, and stencil. Although there are many variations within the four categories, the resulting images occur because the ink is applied:

Relief


Of all the forms of printmaking, the relief print is the oldest. The handprints found on the prehistoric cave walls of Lascaux in France tell the story completely. The high spots on the palm and fingers of an ancient human caught the wet pigment and the hand was pressed against a wall that carries the impression to this day.

In essence, any raised surface can be inked and pressed against a flat surface to create a relief print. Traditionally, the most common methods include the use of wood or linoleum blocks, but a contemporary technique called a collagraph, can be produced by inking the surface of a collage to pick up the textured surface. With each of these processes, paper is pressed against the inked block or plate to transfer the image.

Woodcut
Prints made from incised wooden blocks have been around for centuries. Fragments of printed linen have survived from a 5th century Egyptian burial cloth. The oldest known woodcut printed on paper is from 9th century China. The creators of these early woodcuts and contemporary artists of today all use the same basic technique. They cut away the areas not to be printed using a variety of sharp gouges and V-shaped cutting tools, roll ink over the raised surfaces, and press the block against an absorbent material (usually paper or cloth) by hand or with a printing press.

Woodcuts are different in style and surface quality from other prints due to the inherent properties of the wood. Because woodcuts are made on the side grain of the wood, the natural pattern and grain of the wood must be integrated with the textures and patterns made by the cutting process. The type of wood used, how hard or soft it is, all play a role in the cohesive design of the final print.

Directly related to the woodcut is the wood engraving. The process is the same except that the images are carved in end cuts, which run crosswise to the tree trunk, allowing for more detailed and precise designs.

Linocut
Although a more contemporary approach, the linocut is also related to the woodcut. Instead of wood, the plate is made of soft linoleum, a material without grain, allowing the artist to move the cutting tool in any direction. The resulting printed images are clean and crisp.

Collagraph
The principle of relief printing can be applied to the collagraph and can be done without the use of special tools. The block is assembled by hand on a flat base to form a relief block with different surface levels and textures. Some suitable materials include paper, fabric, fibers, and acrylic mediums that dry to form a hard texture. You ink the block as you would a woodcut or linocut and print it in the same manner. However, collagraph blocks can also be effectively printed using a press, although the height of the various “collage” materials should be similar so that the block will easily pass through the press.

Look for WOODCUTS by these artists in the exhibition: Jim Dine, Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Bosman, and Susan Rothenberg.

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Planographic Prints

The planographic process means that the printing and the non-printing areas are on the same level. Various lithographic techniques as well as offset printing and monotypes fall into this category.

Lithograph
The lithographic process was first developed in the late 1790s by a German playwright looking for an inexpensive way to reproduce his plays. Alois Senefelder discovered the process based on the fact that oil and water do not mix. Although Senefelder did not immediately see how lithography could be used to reproduce art, the process soon spread to art studios.

In this method, an image is drawn directly on a litho stone (limestone slab) using greasy crayons (litho crayons) or liquid tusche (a kind of greasy paint). The areas of the surface free of crayon and tusche marks are chemically treated to repel ink while the greasy areas attract it. Litho stones are expensive to buy and heavy to handle so sometimes artists will use another surface in place of the stone. Aluminum or zinc plates are common but many artists have also used mylar sheets (a kind of heavy plastic acetate). The artist draws directly on the mylar and then the information is transferred to a photosensitive lithographic plate. Lithographers who prefer the traditional use of a stone however, generally work through lithographic studios and print houses that are equipped to afford and handle large stones.

Printing of a lithograph is done by the direct pressure of a press. The stone or plate is prepared, ink is applied, paper is positioned on the plate, and the pressure of the press pushing the paper against the stone imprints the image.

Offset
In offset, the stone and paper are placed side by side. A roller travels over the stone and picks up the inked image. Traveling back, it deposits the image on the paper. Whether printing directly or by offset, the resulting print has a smooth surface.

Monotype
As its name implies, a monotype is a unique impression made by pressing paper against ink that has been applied to a flat surface. The method falls into the planographic category but it excludes one of the basic purposes of printmaking, which is to make multiples copies of the same image.

Look for LITHOGRAPHS by these artists in the exhibition: Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg, Nancy Graves, and Cy Twombly.

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Stencil

The basic stencil process is as old as the relief print. One of our ancient predecessors placed a hand on a cave wall, applied pigment around the outside of the fingers, then removed the hand and left on the wall the earliest example of a stencil.

As a technique, stenciling has been expanded to a similar but more enduring process called screenprinting or silkscreen or serigraphy, so called because the stencil is attached to a mesh screen (traditionally made of silk). As a method, screenprinting has been used extensively in textile decoration and for industrial applications. It was brought to new heights during the Pop Art era by artists Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg. Screenprinting allowed them to create broad areas of flat, textureless color and to use photographic images on a large scale. Pop artists also began combining screenprinting with lithographic processes in producing prints.

Stencil
A stencil is a sheet of paper, fabric, light-weight plastic, metal, or other material with designs cut, perforated or punched from it. Ink is forced through the openings onto the surface to be printed using a stiff brush. This process works well if you are producing a small number of images and do not expect to make exact duplicates of your image.

Screenprinting
With this process, a fine mesh fabric (traditionally silk) is stretched over a frame and transmits an even layer of ink under pressure. To create the image, parts of the mesh screen need to be blocked by a stencil so they do not allow the ink through. There are many ways to prepare the stencil. Everything from a simple paper stencil taped to the underside of the screen, to sharp photographic images adhered with special chemicals can be used. Each produces characteristically different qualities in the resulting image. To make a print, the screen is placed over the paper or cloth that will receive the image. Ink is pulled across the mesh and forced through it with a flat blade called a squeegee.

As with other forms of printmaking, to produce a screenprint in several colors, a separate stencil and screen must be created for each color.

Look for SCREENPRINTS by these artists: Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Jennifer Bartlett, Helen Frankenthaler, and Edward Ruscha.

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Intaglio Prints

Intaglio (pronounced “in-TAHL-ee-o”) printmaking is essentially the opposite of relief printmaking. You cut lines and textures into a metal plate with sharp tools or with acids or a combination of both. These incised areas catch ink that is wiped across the plate. After the surface is wiped clean, the ink remains in the recessed areas, which can then be printed on damp paper with the assistance of an etching press. The pressure of the press forces the damp paper against the plate creating an image from the ink-filled lines. Intaglio printing also affects the paper’s surface, leaving a characteristic embossing (raised area) most noticeable where the paper was pressed against the edges of the plate.

Intaglio techniques include drypoint, engraving, mezzotint, etching, and aquatint, all of which are described below. Of these various methods available to artists, the last two techniques, etching and aquatint are the processes that contemporary artists tend to use most often. Both techniques are represented in the LIMITED EDITIONS exhibition, although silkscreen and lithography are most widely represented.

Drypoint
In drypoint, the image is scratched directly into a plate (usually copper or zinc) with a sharp needle tool called a scribe. The artist holds it like a pen and makes a drawing on the plate. A burr, or thin metal ridge, is thrown up on each side of the incised line if the tool is held centered to the line. This burr makes a rich velvety line, characteristic of drypoint prints. If the incision is drawn leaning on one side of the line, it will produce a more fragile single burr. When printed, the single burr will result in a ragged edge, which is sometimes preferred. Because the burrs are fragile and break down as the plate is printed, drypoint plates are generally made for small editions.

Engraving
Engraving is similar to drypoint in that the image is drawn directly on a plate but the artist uses a burin. This solid metal tool scrapes out a curl of metal, which is raised ahead of the tool as it moves. The printed lines of an engraving vary in width depending on the pressure placed on the burin as it was pushed forward. They are also crisper than those of a drypoint. A well-cut engraving can produce a large edition of several hundred prints.

Mezzotint
Mezzotint is an unusual intaglio process. It requires intense physical labor to prepare the plate; and the image is worked light out of dark, a reversal of the typical approaches to drawing and printmaking. Before any drawing can begin on the plate, the entire surface of the metal is covered with burred dots made by a toothed tool called a rocker. If the plate were printed at this state, it would produce a rich black. The artist then creates a design by scraping and burnishing the burred surface to make a range of lighter tones. The tonal emphasis gives prints an atmospheric quality with minimal linear structure. The technique was invented to produce a more painterly effect than a line engraving.

Etching
The primary difference between etching and the other intaglio techniques described is that the marks are not achieved by directly incising or scraping the metal plate. Instead, the image is developed by corroding the metal with acid. To create an etching, the artist coats a metal plate (usually copper or zinc) with an acid-resist ground (a waxy resin) and then draws an image into the ground with a sharp, pointed etching needle, exposing the metal. When the plate is submerged into an acid bath, the acid “bites” or etches lines into the area of the plate where the ground has been removed. Once the plate has been cleaned of the acid and ground, the etched lines will hold ink and can be printed in the same manner as other intaglio processes using an etching press.

Aquatint
Aquatint enables the artist to create areas of solid or gradated tones on an etching plate. It is commonly combined with line etching to give a modeled effect to the image, but it can be used as a primary technique. The process involves laying a coating of rosin (resin dust) or asphaltum particles on the plate, which is then heated, causing the rosin to melt into tiny droplets. When removed from the heat, these harden. When the plate is etched, the acid bites into the spaces between the droplets to produce a delicate, over-all tone. Variations of tone are created by successive stages of stopping out areas of the plate and allowing acid to bite the exposed areas.

Look for AQUATINTS by David Salle. Julian Schnabel combines etching with lithography. Look for his print, A Boy from Naples.

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Print Houses


The prints included in LIMITED EDITIONS: 20th-Century Prints from the Ponderosa Collection represent the work of some of the greatest artists of the late twentieth century. They also represent a time in art history when there was a burst of interest in collaborative printmaking between sculptors, painters, and other artists, and the skilled printers who produced editions of original multiple impressions. Several print houses were established around the country at this time in response to artists who were interested in achieving effects available only in printmaking, but who wanted to avoid the repetitive work of edition printing. Although NOT represented in this exhibition, Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) and the Tamarind Lithography Workshop are two major publishers that spurred the initial interest in prints for many of the artists in this show so they are included in the brief description of publishing houses in addition to the print houses represented in the exhibition.

Universal Limited Art Editions - ULAE founder, Tatyana Grosman was born in Russia and spent almost half of her life fleeing war and revolution, finally settling in West Islip (Long Island, New York) in 1943. When her husband suffered a heart attack in 1955, she decided that she would publish illustrated books and reproduce paintings by artists such as Marc Chagall and Grandma Moses. In 1957 during a visit to William Lieberman, a curator at the Museum of Modern Art, Grosman learned that although he was impressed by the quality of the work, he was not interested in collecting reproductions. He encouraged her to consider collaborating with artists to create original prints and so she did. Until 1966, the studio focused only on lithography. Responding to artists’ growing interests, Grosman also set up an intaglio studio and an offset lithography press. Although no longer under the direction of Tatayna Grosman, ULAE continues today as a major print house publisher.

Tamarind Lithography Workshop - This workshop opened in Los Angeles in 1960 with the intent of “preserving” the dying art of lithography. Founded and directed by June Wayne, the Tamarind was funded by the Ford Foundation and as originally was planned, it functioned for ten years before it became affiliated with the University of New Mexico in 1970. Renamed the Tamarind Institute, it continues today with educational programs, research and creative projects.

Crown Point Press - In 1962, Kathan Brown set up a print workshop in the San Francisco Bay area to create her own etchings and to print those of friends. First called Crown Point Intaglio Workshop, the name was later changed to Crown Point Press. Crown Point pursued the two oldest printmaking processes: intaglio and relief. In addition to working with artists, Brown also printed for other publishers.

Multiples, Inc. - Marian Goodman, along with Barbara Kukicke, opened Multiples, Inc. in 1965 in New York City. Her original intent was to publish prints, multiples and books created by prominent American artists including Warhol, Oldenburg and Lichtenstein. By1968 she was also working with several European artists in an attempt to bring them to the attention of American audiences.

Gemini G.E.L. - In 1965 Ken Tyler, a master printer trained at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, opened his own workshop, Gemini, Ltd., in Los Angeles. By 1966, the staff was enlarged and printing methods expanded. As a result the name was also expanded to Gemini Graphic Editions Limited, thereafter known as Gemini G.E.L. Today this workshop continues as a publisher of limited edition prints and sculptures, having collaborated with more than 60 highly accomplished artists in lithography, etching, screenprinting, woodcut, and a variety of sculptural materials.

Tyler Graphics - Having relinquished his partnership at Gemini G.E.L. in 1974, Kenneth Tyler opened a new, technologically sophisticated print house in Bedford, New York under the title of Tyler Graphics. It closed in 2000 when Tyler decided to retire after serving many artists in the New York area. He was known for creating editions that were technically challenging, time-consuming and extremely labor-intensive.

Cirrus Editions - Print visionary Jean Milant founded Cirrus Editions, originally located in Hollywood, in January 1970. From that time, Cirrus has functioned as a combination print workshop, publisher and art gallery. Originally Milant chose to give priority to the publication and exhibition of work by California artists, but eventually extended his focus beyond Los Angeles. Cirrus was the very first L.A. gallery to participate in the European art fairs. Cirrus continues today as a print workshop, publisher and gallery.

A few other workshops also produced some of the prints on view in LIMITED EDITIONS. Each played a role in the success of the print revival of the 1960s and 70s, but many of them are no longer functioning.

Reproduction or Print – What’s the Difference?

With the revival of printmaking in the 1960s, prints were once again seen as an affordable acquisition; but then comes the question: if so many multiples of the same image exist, is it an original work of art?

As the technologies of printing become more and more sophisticated, the confusion surrounding "fine art" prints increases exponentially. One of the difficulties is that almost anything can be reproduced, and some reproductions are virtually indistinguishable from the original. In this environment, the original hand-pulled print tends to be misunderstood. Often, a print is judged in terms of how much it looks like a painting rather than on its unique qualities. The intent of an original print is to transfer the artist's drawing or marks as purely and directly as possible from the plate or stone or screen through ink to paper. Reproduction circumvents that aesthetic by removing the artist several steps from the production of the piece. Furthermore, the intention of reproduction often is to make a print look like a painting . . . which it isn't!

The artist-as-printer has an intimate relationship with the tools of the selected process. That relationship is no less involved than that of a painter to the canvas, paints and brushes. Each form of printmaking is an artistic medium in itself, and should not be judged on its ability to imitate another medium.

Original prints:

Reproductions:

Questions to ask when looking at prints: