The ancient art of printmaking and how to get involved
Written by Sevyn Michaela-Rose Waters. Photo by Sevyn Michaela-Rose Waters.
“It’s kind of like the 17th century meets the 21st century,” said Professor Curtis Bartone, one of three printmaking faculty at SCAD Savannah. He wasn’t lying because when I walked into the printmaking studio located at Alexander Hall, I was greeted with students carrying large slabs of stone from the quarries of Germany, fine Japanese paper prints pinned to the walls, heavy machinery, metal sinks and massive printing presses. The printmaking studio is truly where the modern intersects with the ancient.
Printmaking is the process of transferring images from a matrix (a template such as wood, stone or metal) onto another surface, usually paper or fabric. Some of the techniques include etching, engraving, lithography, woodblock, and screen printing––all of which have been around for centuries. When I asked Professor Bartone what keeps him teaching these ancient processes, he said, “It’s something that everyone’s afraid of, and watching people realize they can do it is rewarding.” He glanced toward the students working on their lithography prints and smiled. “It’s magical. You never know what you’re going to get.”
Born from the desire to reproduce multiple copies of the same image, printmaking created a way for people of all backgrounds to connect over art and culture. It began in China during the Han Dynasty with woodblock printing, only to spread throughout Asia and beyond. Since then, a multitude of techniques have been discovered and practiced, developed and mastered. From playing cards to devotional images to entire books, printmaking has changed the way people experience everyday life.
Printmaking is the very foundation of the modern mass distribution we’re familiar with. We have inkjet printers, graphic design, and the ability to take home a Monet print when we visit a museum––all thanks to the pioneers of printmaking. However, because the process of printmaking takes time, patience and massive effort, it can seem irrelevant and outdated. On the other hand, that’s the very reason it’s still relevant to artists all around the world.
Printmaking contains a duality that sets it apart from every other art form.
“Printmaking is vital because of its very roots,” said Sydney Cross, a part-time professor at California State University and printmaker with work exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art and the Boston Museum of Fine Art. “My students right now are setting type. It’s real old-fashioned. Each letter is its own character, and they have to learn how to set them, space them, and lock them so that they can be run through a press. And when you print that on a piece of paper, it’s not like an inkjet print. It has a physical presence because it has ink embossing the surface of the paper. There’s a physicality to it that’s very different from something that’s been run off a printer.”
Printmaking contains a duality that sets it apart from every other art form. While able to be mass-produced, it still holds an inherent quality of individuality. The matrix, whether wood or metal, is carved and developed once; however, each press to paper or cloth is separate and unique.
One of the most striking things experienced by printmakers is the physical connection to their practice. Serena Perrone, a printmaker with work exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Library of Congress, attests to this. At one point at Rhode Island School of Design, she and her classmate were worried about their desire to keep etching. What they came to realize was that they couldn’t smell the black ink. Compared to each of their undergrad programs, RISD kept the shop well-ventilated, and in turn, the smell of the printmaking ink dwindled.
“I think that speaks to the fact that there is such a physical and visceral connection to the materials and the process of printmaking,” says Perrone. “It’s a testament to the very real psychology between people and the things they do. As a writer, the feeling of a metal ballpoint pen inspires me to write just as the smell of black ink and fine Japanese paper motivates a printmaker.”
There is a moment, a pause, as you cut into the plate when your imagination hovers.
“Printmaking and a lot of these very process-based things, in a very serious way, are a way to sublimate what people are experiencing, but also to have a meditative, calming practice. It’s very grounding,” says Perrone.“I think that if for nothing else, the practice of doing it is endlessly important and rewarding as a physical and mental exercise.”
Luckily for students, SCAD provides a space to experience this by offering a printmaking minor.
SCAD printmaking student, Rebekah Farnham, discovered the art form while attending the Atlanta campus. She relayed how Professor Robert Brown described the printmaking process: it travels from your mind to the medium to the paper rather than directly from your mind to the paper (like in painting or drawing.) There is a moment, a pause, as you cut into the plate when your imagination hovers. It’s impossible to know what the cut will look like once it’s transferred onto paper, therefore, the finished print is the pure essence of your imagination.
Since her introduction to printmaking, Farnham has gone on to exhibit her work at Alexander Hall, win Best in Show Runner-Up at the Alexander Ink Exhibition and participate as treasurer for the SCAD Print Club, a student-led club that extends opportunities to students to get involved in printmaking.
“We started it for people because we knew that there was a huge interest in printmaking,” said Farnham.
The culture of SCAD’s print shop is unlike a lot of other fine arts programs for the reason that the space and equipment is shared. Unlike painting alone in a studio, printmakers have to work in front of one another. In turn, this environment fosters a very unique and intimate community.
“As an artist, it can be very easy to isolate yourself,” said Farnham, “but in the print studio, you don’t really get that alone time. It can be more vulnerable and scarier, but it also pushes you to make better art. We all have to share, and it makes you feel more connected to other people.”
With the printmaking minor and SCAD Print Club, the number of students participating in the shop has increased exponentially in the past year.
“Sometimes students are doing it because they’re in graphic design, and everything they do is in front of a computer,” said Professor Bartone. “Sometimes they just want to get their hands dirty, do something more mechanical. We also get a lot of photographers who do their whole senior portfolio in an alternative process such as photo litho. Our program is a minor program so we get every kind of major.”
For students interested in taking a class, they’re all available as electives. This means that prior to declaring printmaking as a minor, students can dabble beforehand.
“You can take any process you want,” said Professor Bartone. “They’re all introductory. The Printmaking for Non-majors class is a good place for someone to start.” Printmaking is rich with history and provides artists with a process that encourages meticulous craft, delayed gratification and community. Students who want to be a part of this ancient practice can find more information about the printmaking minor here or visit @scadprintmakers
