Above: Diamond Sutra, the oldest known print, made in 868CE China.
Relief printing is a family of printing methods where a printing block, plate or matrix that has had ink applied to its surface, but not to any recessed areas, is brought into contact with paper. The areas of the printing plate with ink will leave ink on the paper, whereas the recessed areas of the printing plate will leave the paper ink-free. A printing press may not be needed, as the back of the paper can be rubbed or pressed by hand with a simple tool such as a spoon.
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WOODCUT - EUROPE + THE WEST
A printmaking technique that involves printing an image from a carved plank of wood. The image is cut into the wood using tools such as chisels, gouges, and knives. Raised areas of the image are inked and printed, while cut away or recessed areas do not receive ink and appear blank on the printed paper. Woodcuts can be printed on a press or by hand, using a spoon or similar tool to rub the back of the paper. (the description above is from MoMA) Click the Links Below to Learn More About Woodcut! |
LINOCUT - EUROPE + THE WEST
Linocut, also called linoleum cut, type of print made from a sheet of linoleum into which a design has been cut in relief. This process of printmaking is similar to woodcut, but, since linoleum lacks a grain, linocuts can yield a greater variety of effects than woodcuts can. Linocut designs can be cut in large masses, engraved to give supple white lines, or worked in numerous ways to achieve many different textures. The ease with which linoleum is worked makes it admirably suited to large decorative prints, using broad areas of flat color. (the description above is from Britannica) Click the Links Below to Learn More About Linocut! |
HANGA - JAPANESE WOODBLOCK
Moku Hanga simply means "woodblock print." Shin hanga means "new prints" movement. Sosaku hanga means "creative prints" Movement. The beginning of both movements can be seen around 1910.
What is the Meaning of Hanga? – artelino
Ukiyo-e is defined in different ways; literally it means pictures ('e') of the floating world ('ukiyo'), a term derived from a Buddhist concept pertaining to the fleeting nature of life. But during the Edo period (1615-1868), ukiyo acquired a more nuanced meaning: the impermanence of our existence became a justification to indulge in the pleasures and entertainments that are available at this fleeting moment (for a price). As such, the 'floating world' encompassed the pleasure quarters, houses of assignation, teahouses, restaurants, leisure boats, and the theater districts; that is to say, the playgrounds of the urban sophisticates. Ukiyo-e, images of these pleasures, were marketed to the residents and visitors in the flourishing capital city of Edo and mercantile center of Osaka. With time, the term ukiyo-e would expand to refer to a genre of art, primarily woodblock prints, produced in the 17th through the 19th centuries depicting a wide array of subjects including kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, bijin (beauties), meisho (famous places), musha (warriors), and kacho (birds and flowers).
Moku Hanga simply means "woodblock print." Shin hanga means "new prints" movement. Sosaku hanga means "creative prints" Movement. The beginning of both movements can be seen around 1910.
What is the Meaning of Hanga? – artelino
Ukiyo-e is defined in different ways; literally it means pictures ('e') of the floating world ('ukiyo'), a term derived from a Buddhist concept pertaining to the fleeting nature of life. But during the Edo period (1615-1868), ukiyo acquired a more nuanced meaning: the impermanence of our existence became a justification to indulge in the pleasures and entertainments that are available at this fleeting moment (for a price). As such, the 'floating world' encompassed the pleasure quarters, houses of assignation, teahouses, restaurants, leisure boats, and the theater districts; that is to say, the playgrounds of the urban sophisticates. Ukiyo-e, images of these pleasures, were marketed to the residents and visitors in the flourishing capital city of Edo and mercantile center of Osaka. With time, the term ukiyo-e would expand to refer to a genre of art, primarily woodblock prints, produced in the 17th through the 19th centuries depicting a wide array of subjects including kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, bijin (beauties), meisho (famous places), musha (warriors), and kacho (birds and flowers).
Japanese woodblock prints that are printed entirely or predominantly in blue. When a second color is used, it is usually red. The development of aizuri-e was associated with the import of the pigment Prussian blue from Europe in the 1820's. Some Bokashi Printing Consideration A technique used in Japanese woodblock printing that achieves a variation in lightness and darkness (value) of a single color or multiple colors by hand applying a gradation of ink to printing block, rather than inking the block uniformly. The best-known examples are works by Hokusai and Hiroshige, in which the fading of Prussian blue dyes in skies and water create an illusion of depth. Gradations can be created on the blocks themselves using the itobokashi technique, or brushed on by hand using fukibokashi.[1] They can also be done freehand directly onto a print, without using a printing block.[2]
Kappazuri (合羽摺), also known as kappa-zuri, kappazuri-e (合羽摺絵), and as katagamizuri-e (型紙摺絵), are Japanese prints printed in a single color (usually black) from woodblocks and then colored by stenciling. Prints produced entirely by stenciling, without woodblocks, are also called kappazuri. Kappazuri may be identified by the presence of visible brushstrokes, unevenness of color, pooling of ink at the margins of the stencil cutouts, and gaps or overlaps between colored areas and black outlines. Although also produced in Edo (Tokyo), Kappazuri are more closely associated with prints from Osaka and Kyoto. The most prolific designer of Kappazuri was Urakusai Nagahide, and the most abundant examples are his depictions of the annual costume parade in the Gion district of Kyoto. Sumizuri-e is a type of monochromatic woodblock printing that uses only black ink. It is one of the earliest forms of Japanese woodblock printing, dating back to the Nara period (710 – 794). Sumi-e translates to “ink wash painting,” which is a type of East Asian brush painting technique that uses black ink. The oldest example of sumizuri-e printing was discovered in the One Million Pagodas. Japanese wood-block prints hand-coloured with an orange-red tone. Tan-e were produced in the Edo period from the late 17th century through the first quarter of the 18th century by Ukiyo-e artists. These prints used tan (a pigment made from a mixture of red lead, saltpeter and sulphur, which intended to be orange, but turned to blue as it slowly oxidized), and roku (a green pigment produced from ground malachite, which turned black and often ate into the paper as it aged). The earliest coloured prints were produced with this technique. Urushi-e (漆絵 "lacquer picture[s]") refers to three different techniques in Japanese art. Though urushi-e is most associated with woodblock, the term urushi-e is not exclusive to that medium. It can also refer to pictures using lacquer as a paint on three-dimensional lacquered objects;[2] and paintings using actual lacquer on paper or occasionally silk. These prints were made using thick, dark black lines, and were sometimes hand-colored. The ink was mixed with an animal-based glue called nikawa, which thickened it and gave it a lustrous shine, said to resemble lacquer. Most often, this was used not in creating the entire print, but only in enhancing a particular element, such as an obi or a figure's hair, to give it shine and make the image more luxurious overall.[5] Prints which include urushi-e elements are likely to also feature the use of mica, metal dusts, and other elements which enhanced the appearance, quality and value of the works. The technique was most popular in the early 18th century Japan during the Edo era and can be seen in works by many artists of the time. RESOURCES
Woodblock Prints Illustrating the Process of Color Printing
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BANHUA - CHINESE WOODBLOCK
Banhua (版画) is the Chinese umbrella term for any printed art objects, and especially for those made by woodblock printing, the term used for woodcuts from Asia. Like paper, woodblock printing technique was also developed in China. The oldest book made of woodblocks known so far, is the Diamond Sutra from Dunhuang - dated to 868. In 770 the first textual print in Japan had been produced - the dharani. It had obviously been strongly influenced by China. These were Buddhist prayers that were commissioned in an edition of one million copies by Empress Shotoku. It is not known if the blocks for these prints had been made of wood or of other materials. The first woodblock prints were of religious kind. Buddhist worshippers used woodblock printmaking to copy images of Saints and religious amulets. During the Song Dynasty (960 - 1278) lavishly decorated books were produced using woodblocks. During the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) the technique was for the first time used for artistic purposes - to reproduce ink paintings, letters and poems like the Ten Bamboo Studio Collection. It had been published from 1622 to 1627 by Hu Cheng Yen (1582? - 1672?), an artist in the service of the Chinese court. He is considered to have invented the technique of color gradation. In the 1930s the writer and intellectual Lu Xun initiated a new woodblock print movement. He saw the medium as a means of political expression. Lu Xun organized exhibitions with prints by the German artist Kaethe Kollwitz and others. They had a strong influence on Chinese woodblock prints at that time, and many prints in black and white were created with subjects expressing criticism of society and social order. In the 1940s Chinese woodblock prints became an instrument of political propaganda for the Communist Party. The style was closely adopted to social realism of the former Soviet Union. RESOURCES
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BAGH - INDIAN WOODBLOCK
A traditional handicraft characterized by hand printed wood block relief prints with naturally sourced pigments and dyes. Bagh print fabric motifs are typically geometric, paisley, or floral compositions dyed with red and black vegetable-based colors over a white background, and is a popular textile printing product. Its name is derived from the village Bagh. Bagh printing – Wikipedia Bagh Printing – unnatisilks Other forms of printing in India:
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BATIK - INDONESIAN WOODBLOCK
Batik [n 1] is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth. This technique originated from Java, Indonesia.[1] Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a tjanting,[n 2] or by printing the resist with a copper stamp called a cap.[n 3][2] The applied wax resists dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water, and repeating if multiple colours are desired.[1] The tradition of batik making is found in various countries; the batik of Indonesia, however, may be the best-known.[3][4] Indonesian batik made in the island of Java has a long history of acculturation, with diverse patterns influenced by a variety of cultures, and is the most developed in terms of pattern, technique, and the quality of workmanship.[5] In October 2009, UNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.[6] – from wikipedia.org RESOURCES
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GHALAMKAR - PERSIAN WOODBLOCK
Also known as Qalamkar and Calico, Ghalamkar is a type of textile print, with motifs typical of the Iranian fabric. The fabric is printed with wooden stamps with geometric motifs. The stamps are mostly made of pear wood which has greater flexibility and density for the carving and usefulness of a long life. Motifs include arabesques, flora and fauna, geometric drawings, pre-Islamic drawings, hunting scenes, polo games, Persian poems, Armenian and Hebrew inscriptions.
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ADINKRA - GHANAIAN WOODBLOCK
Adinkra cloth is stamped and patterned with traditional Ashanti symbols. Each symbol has its own meaning. People in Ghana decorate the cloth by using a black dye made of bark. This dye is called Adinkera aduru, and it is what gives the cloth its name. Using the dye, they draw lines on the cloth to divide it into squares. Next, they carve symbols into calabash gourds, press the gourds into the dye, and stamp the symbols onto the fabric.
Other forms of printmaking in Africa:
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INUIT - STONE CARVING
While the Inuktituk language does not have a specific word for art, the Inuit have decorated garments and carved objects since prehistoric times. Contemporary carving activities were promoted by James A. Houston, an artist and government administrator in 1949, who traveled to the Arctic to explore ventures that might supplement Inuit incomes. In 1957, printmaking was introduced at Cape Dorset, Nunavut, also with Houston as the catalyst. RESOURCES |
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References (still in progress)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e
https://www.scholten-japanese-art.com/ukiyo-e.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodblock_printing
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x12042
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e
https://www.scholten-japanese-art.com/ukiyo-e.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodblock_printing
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x12042