{Alexis Sweeney} Week 2 - Day 2 - Blog - What is printmaking/Why is printmaking important?

Posted by Alexis Sweeney on

USE
USE
Hokusai, The Great Wave

I notice in this print the age in expertise. If you look closely you may see the texture of wood and leveling of carving. Where the cuts have been made, you can see them, leveled  space variety from the plain surface without much added color or texture. The added realistic aspect of the crashing waves are pleasing to the eyes. The colors are meticulous on purpose to ensure the wave's integrity.

I wonder what Hokusai went through to create with picture. Because it is so beautiful, I wonder is a great deal of stress was put into preserving it or if the true story behind it is a dynamic to the aesthetic.

What if this wasn’t created at all? Would we observe another picture similar, or would we have curated a mainstream around something else made by the artist?

Printmaking is one of the world's oldest art forms dating back to 764 CE. We may not notice regularity of our use of the art form, but chances are you are in a place where the art form can be found. 
Printmaking is important because in today's culture many of the street art pieces like graffiti and wall murals involve the process. Art centered around this process and the artists who produce carbon copies, woodwork, and printing aren't acknowledged for printmaking because of how common it is. However, they are no exception to the praise for their beautiful art pieces. We use printmaking most every day, that is what marks it's importance.
Invented in 1470 by Daniel Hopfer in Augsburg Germany, the process of printmaking was first used by the inventor to decorate his armor with prints. He fancied the designs he made and saw it fit to bring it into the mainstream art societies. Traditional etching, printing done by carving of wood or other materials, uses acids or mordants to dig into the parts of the surface to create a design. Other ways of printmaking include using ink on a flat surface or rolling on designs to bleed onto a surface. Relief printing needs no printing press, only a roller and the cutting of wood for the image to appear.

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