THE POWER OF PRINTMAKING

What is a print? How is it made?

A work of art made up of ink

on paper. You do NOT draw

directly on paper, you TRANSFER the image to paper. What does

this mean?

Create a design on another surface, put ink on this surface, and then press paper onto it so that the image goes onto the

paper

Advantages: you can make an

unlimited number of prints or

“impressions” with every new piece

of paper you print your image on

There are many different ways to make a print. The four best known are WOODCUT, ETCHING, LITHOGRAPHY & SCREENPRINT.

What technique did

Carlos Cortéz use in We are From the Earth—We are not

illegal! ? LINOCUT

A LINOCUT is a modern-day take on a

traditional WOODCUT

WHAT IS A WOODCUT?The earliest printmaking technique. Originally used for stamping designs onto fabric or making playing cards.

Became an important art form in the 1500s

Cutting the wood Cut away where you don’t want ink

Inking Roll ink across the raised portions of the wood block

Print Place a sheet of paper on top and rub with a wooden spoon

Astronomer, by Albrecht Drüer. 1500

What technique did Luis Jiménez use for

Crossing the Rio Bravo?

LITHOGRAPHY

What is LITHOGRAPHY?Printing from a stone with a smooth surface. Invented in Germany 1796 as a cheap method for publishing plays.

Treat the stone: wipe the image with a chemical solution

Ink the stone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHw5_1Hopsc

Draw on the stone: use an oil-based crayon or greasy ink to draw an image on a stone

Fix or bond the image to the stone: wipe the stone with a solvent that dissolves most of the image, leaving only a ghost like trace of the drawing.Dampen the stone

Print

Crossing the Rio Bravo, by Luis Jiménez

Similarities / Differences

Pros / Cons ?

Printmaking and the Mexican RevolutionMexican Revolution, 1910–1920

Convey messages of the Revolution

Images of important historical figures, Mexican people and locations. Most had political undertones because of the Revolution.

Popular because of the low cost it took to produce them: all you needed was wood or linoleum, a blade to carve, ink and paper.

Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP)

Artist's print collective founded in Mexico City (1937)

Used art to advance revolutionary social causes.

Printmaking & Mexican-American Art

Posters & the Chicano Movement (1960s–80s): inexpensive and mass-producible

From industrial skill to political and artistic tool

Mexican-American Printmaking in Chicago

Carlos Cortéz

Movimiento Artistico Chicano

Mexican Graphics Workshop

Taller Mestizarte

Instituto Gráfico de Chicago (IGC)

You are going to be a printmaker too!

Here is the printmaking technique we are going to use in class…

SAFETY-KUT BLOCK

Remember that…The lettering on your

block will be reversed!

Your image will be reversed, too!

Homework

Think of an issue at your school or in your community you want to say something about

Sketch a design that sends a message about this issue on your Sketch Worksheet

When finished with your design, draw it with pencil onto your 4” x 6” Safety-Kut block

Bring your block to class for the Printmaking with Purpose activity.