Art Articles & Reviews

} Hand pulled prints Printmaking Series - Part 5 of 21 By Nik Semenoff In today's mass produced society, handmade objects have become a much appreciated commodity Motoji Kato for some people. To separate oneself from the "maddening crowd", collectors seek out rare objects that are prized for their creativity. Knowledgeable collectors know the difference between a hand pulled print and a reproduction done on an offset press at a commercial printing plant. Unfortunately lithographic and intaglio presses are not cheap and are beyond the reach of most dedicated printmakers, but there are cooperative workshop setup in many of the major cities in Canada. The artist can buy a membership to print their own editions or even for others who do not have the time or inclination. Most devoted printmakers are forever looking for an inexpensive used press, but these are always in great demand and hard to acquire. Lucky is the artist who has their own press and studio; they can create at their leisure without the hassle of putting up with other who want the space. Considering the cost, I am surprised how many printmakers do have some sort of press; some even the most expensive models. Michiko Hoshino In the print community and amongst collectors, the classification of a hand pulled print is a clearly defined article. One of the most important is that the artist produces all the plates and supervises the selection of paper, colors, print method and most other aspect of the image. The artist can print the edition themselves, or with the assistance of others. One can even get the lithographic plates processed at a lab from Mylars or negatives in which the artist had a major input. Most would expect intaglio plates to be done by the artists as these are more of a hands-on article. Well known artists such as Picasso used the services of professional art printers who did much of the processing and printing, but the artist always had complete control of the final look of the print. What is rejected by collectors is the reproduction of a painting or drawing by a commercial offset printshop by the 4-color photo process. One can easily see the pattern of the color dots in the process. These prints are usually done on sulfite paper that are not archival like the rag papers used by serious printmakers. Rag paper and high-quality lightfast ink is a basic requirement for fine art printmakers. The techniques used by the printer should not introduce any chemicals that will shorten the life of paper or ink; beyond that, any creative adaptation is allowed. The size of the print is not a consideration if it becomes a work of art. In the past, engraving usually were small as the time to finish a plate was to be considered. Today, etchings, lithographs, screen prints and woodcuts are only limited by the size of available paper and presses. Editions can vary from just a few to several hundred, but even the more successful artists limit their editions to under 200. Prints are signed in pencil with the year of production, the number of the total edition and a name, if there is one specified. The printer should keep a record of the creation with all the pertinent details on the print. A copy should be made available to the collector through an agent selling the work. Like most hand make objects, prints usually increase in value if they have any creative merit. Producing them with high quality materials assures their survival for hundreds of years. It is the artists responsibility to see that they meet this strict standard. ________________________________________________ Copyright © 2004 Nik Semenoff Nik Semenoff Artist-in-residence University of Saskatchewan Visit Nik Semenoff's website at duke.usask.ca/~semenoff/ for more information.