spring 1998 / planet of the arts 21 _PRACTI Re-Installing Visual Tales Karen Myskiw 26 Looking For The Buzz Paul Williams 23 Ghosts S Gaélle Le Brec Lexposition hantée d’Edward Pien “6” — New Vancouver Modern Personal stories in photographic a Montréal. : installations. Where Do We Draw The Line? Printmaking From The Block to The Pixel By Marc Hébert rintmaking. What is it? Is it art? Is it reproduction? Is it current and contemporary? Or is it archaic and forgotten? And what about printmaking at Emily Carr Institute? Is there a place in the great beyond for graduating printmakers? This article will attempt to dis- x! pel some of the myths and mystery behind these questions. "First, let’s have a look at the medium itself. The practice of printmaking is more about the process involved than about the final result. A lot of art is like that. The true moment of inspiration or illumination is when the work is actu- ally itt process. The results themselves are left to be hing ér displayed, perhaps leading only to other discoveries. In printmaking, the process is onerous indeed. I have spent only a couple of days in the shops here at the Institute, but I assure you the work is extremely physical and has to be planned to a very high level of technical exactitude. That is to say, the process has to be tweaked and twittered throughout to arrive at, first: an image that can be physically printed through the hand press and, second: an image which stands up to the artist’s intent. ~ There are four major print media assembled under the umbrella of print- making at the Institute: (1) Relief printing is perhaps the oldest method of print- making; the non-printing areas of the image are carved out of a block of wood or jinoleum. The ink is then rolled onto the uncut wood surface, to be trans- ferred to the paper as it is pulled through the press; (2) Lithography is achieved by drawing with a grease-based substance on a stone surface which is then treat- ed with acid to make the non-image areas of the surface more resistant to grease. While printing, the stone is alternately sponged with water and rolled with ink; the water rides away from the greasy image, and the ink is attracted only to those greasy areas; (3) Intaglio involves biting a metal plate with acid to leave grooves and burrs into which ink is rolled. Next, wet paper is pressed into these grooves, soaking up the ink; (4) Silkscreen involves applying or photo- graphically transferring stencils.onto a screen, blocking out areas not to be printed. The ink is then pressed through the unmasked areas of the screen onto the surface medium. '. The commercial calibre offset printing which surfaced fifty years ago creat- ed-a new genre of printed matter. Newspapers, magazines and posters are pro- duced using this method of automatically overlapping separated colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK). For its speed and efficiency, the commer- cial printing process essentially replaced printmaking’s original niche of mass- producing high quality images. ; So, has printmaking suffered because it is no longer the most efficient way of reproducing vast quantities of printed matter? Does it still have any purpose? What would that purpose be? The search for these answers reveal some very interesting discoveries. The scale and function of printmaking certainly has changed, bringing with it definite repercussions. I spoke with Julie McIntyre, outgoing president of the Malaspina Printmakers Society, about the state of printmaking today. She sees printmaking as being as much about making art as it is about mechanically reproducing images. “The art is within the process,” says McIntyre, “in a medi- um where the artist can purposely modify the result from one printing to the next: the very same image can be imbued with subtle variations in colour, place- : : : AON, wt ney ment, size and transfer method throughout the series.” se Bs To answer the question of the benefits and drawbacks of the use of digital : . processes, McIntyre gave the example of the photocopier. When Xerox came out with this machine, they gave it to artists to see how it could be improved: enlarg- : i ing, reducing, using colour, etc. So artists. had an input into the current tech- Rachel “Anne-Marie Potatoe” Brett, Untitled, Part of the Birthing series. nology, and McIntyre believes this to be a healthy way of looking at the com- Line-intaglio with chine collé. 1998. continued on next page... spring 1998 / planet of the orts 24 PRACTICE 23 25 W 26 ‘Retnstaling Visual Tales Looking For The Bux aren My Pa Wane Where Do We Draw The Line? Printmaking From The Block to The Pixel By Marc Hébert rintmaking What isi Isit ar? sit eprodcton? It cent and contemporary? Or is it archaic and forgotten? And what about Printmaking at Emily Care Institute? Is there a pace inthe great beyond for graduating printmakers? This article will attempt to dis pel some of the myths and mystery behind these questions. Fin, let’ havea look atthe medium itself The practice of printmaking is ‘me about the process involved than about the final result. Alo of at is ike ‘hat. The true momen of inspiration o illumination is when the workis act ally in proces. The results themseves are lft to be hung or displayed, perhaps leading only o other discoveries. In printmaking the proces is onerous indeed have spent only couple of days in the shops here atthe Institute, but assure you the work extremely physical and has tobe planned toa very high level of technical exactitude. That sto say, the process has to be tweaked and twitered throughout to arrive at fi ‘he hand press and, second: an image which tands up tothe artis intent. 1 image that canbe physically printed through ‘There are four major print media asembled under the umbyella of prin oldest method of pint taking the non-printing areas of the image ae carved out of a block of wood ‘ot inoleum. The ink is then rolled gnto the uncut wood surface, tobe trans ferred to the paper asitis pulled though the press; (2) Lithographs achieved bby drawing with a grease-based substance on astone surface which s then tet ce with acid to make the non-image areas of the surface more resistant to _rease, While printing the stone is alternately sponged with water and rolled with inks the water rides away from the greasy image, andthe ink i attracted ‘only to those greasy ares (3) Italo involves biting a meta plate with acd to leave grooves and burrs nto which inks rolled. Next, wet papers pressed into ‘these grooves, soaking up the ink () Silkscreen involves applying or photo ‘making at the Istitte: (1) Rel printings pechaps fraphicaly transferring stencils pried. The inks the surface medium, “The commercial calibre offset printing which surfaced fit years ago creat c'a new gente of printed matter. Newspapers, magazines and posters are pro