7TH BIENNIAL
FOOT PRINT International Exhibition
Our mission is to support, preserve, and advance the art of original prints. The Center for Contemporary Printmaking is a nonprofit workshop and gallery recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization.
Mathews Park 299 West Ave Norwalk, CT 06850 203.899.7999 info@contemprints.org www.contemprints.org
2
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
7TH BIENNIAL FOOT PRINT International Exhibition SEPTEMBER 13 — NOVEMBER 22, 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
JUROR’S STATEMENT
5
2020 PRIZE WINNERS
7
LIST OF ACCEPTED ARTISTS
28
INDEX OF ARTISTS
29
GLOSSARY OF PRINTMAKING TERMS
32
ABOUT CCP
32
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
3
JUROR’S STATEMENT DR. JANE KINSMAN Distinguished Adjunct Curator and former Head of International Art and Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings and Illustrated Books, National Gallery of Australia.
To ‘think outside the square’ is an expression which refers to breaking out of limited and restricted spaces using qualities of imagination and talent. In FOOTPRINT 2020 artists are provided with the opportunity to be creative in a limited scale yet challenged to escape geometric confinement. In the history of western art, the power of the small image has been immense. Take, for example the lithographs of Honoré Daumier which appeared in the small scale pages of French satirical journals such as La Caricature and Le Charivari, where he examined political and later social themes of 19th century France. Daumier recognised that the newly installed King Louis-Philippe, with his paunch and heavy jowls, looked remarkably like the shape of a pear—which became the perfect motif for the artist’s caricatures to ridicule the monarch. Following Daumier’s imprisonment and the introduction of new censorship laws in 1836, the artist then turned to social satire in order to lampoon the habits and foibles of those in French society who supported the king. Such social caricature served as a rich visual repertoire for many artists associated with Impressionism in their search for contemporary themes of modern life and rejection of historical, classical, or religious subjects so favoured in French Academic Art. The FOOTPRINT 2020 prize highlights the imaginative and technical facility by many contributing artists and their evocation of disparate yet potent themes within the confines of a small image—demonstrating that large scale does not always equate with importance. The artists and the organisers should be congratulated in bringing together a wide ranging body of work, exploring many and varied creative worlds. These may conjure up different universes, some infinite, or may evoke surreal experience. Others delight the eye with their rich decorative qualities, while others are redolent with emotional power, and yet others relish in the minutiae of the world around us for maximum effect.
4
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
While acknowledging the creative qualities of all the entries, I would like to mention briefly the contributions made by the prize winners of FOOTPRINT 2020. As first prize winner, Christine Aaron has exploited the flexibility and gestural qualities of the monotype technique. In the past, this printing process has allowed artists great freedom to compose. Edgar Degas, for example, embraced monotypes to develop quite radical images, which later came to inform his painting style. For Path, Aaron has harnessed the spontaneity of the technique to create a most painterly of compositions. Path is characterised by dramatic gestural sweeps which evoke both haunting natural and abstract forms. In Muscle Memory 2, Anna Trojanowska plays on a sense of ambiguity with her abstract, yet strangely figurative formations which are laid out like some kind of procession. Her skill in lithography using Carrara stone as a matrix, emphasises the mysterious transitory nature of her imagery, highlighted by blurry shadows of darkness and light. Kyle Chaput’s Rio Bravo III-III emphasises the sometime surreal nature of our experiences, conjuring up the weird imagery of an abandoned boat in a barren location. His adoption of the composite techniques— lithography, laser-engraving, and screen-printing— highlights the stark and puzzling nature of his subject. The delicate spiraling geometric forms in Had We World Enough (Four Corners) by Joanna Anos seem to allude to an almost endless universe or universes, with its repetitive, decorative patterning and tracery. Their forms are enriched by Anos’ technique of engraving relief and further enhanced by the choice of a delicate chine collé paper support. In all these excursions, each artist has excited the imagination of the viewer—whether inspiring, delighting, or disturbing them.
2020 AWARD WINNERS FIRST PLACE & AWAGAMI PAPER AWARD
SECOND PLACE
Christine Aaron NY, USA Path (2018), Monotype
Anna Trojanowska Poland Muscle Memory 2 (2018), Lithograph
THIRD PLACE
THIRD PLACE
Joanna Anos IL, USA Had We World Enough (Four Corners), (2019), Engraving relief with chine collé
Kyle Chaput TX, USA Rio Bravo III-III (2020), Lithograph, laser-engraving, and screenprint
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
5
6
HONORABLE MENTION
HONORABLE MENTION
Sandra Cardillo MA, USA City Framework-7 (2019), Woodcut and screenprint
Chris Lawry Australia Road Trip in Western Victoria, Dust (2020), Linocut
BINNIE BIRSTEIN MEMORIAL AWARD
BINNIE BIRSTEIN MEMORIAL AWARD
Barry Goldstein NC, USA Sunset @ Kiawah (2020), Digital
Jane Cooper NY, USA Postlude (2020), Monotype on aluminum leaf with hand additions
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
7TH BIENNIAL FOOTPRINT INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION LIST OF ACCEPTED ARTISTS
Adrienne Beacham ME, USA Pink Teddy (2020), Collagraph with hand-coloring
Laura Benedetti OR, USA Fern Shadow (2020), Monoprint
Shirley Bernstein CT, USA Hovering (2019), Reduction woodcut
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
7
8
Marian Bingham CT, USA Fall (Trees) (2020), Monotype with collage
Casey Blanchard VT, USA Prayer Offerings 13 (2016), Monoprint
Jean Allemeier Boot MI, USA Rectory Park Tree (2020), Etching, aquatint, and drypoint
Georg Bothe Germany Carbona not Glue XLV (2020), TetraPak engraving
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Agathe Bouton PA, USA Reflection & Light XXXIII (2018), Monotype
Laurie D Brown WA, USA Chasing My Tail (2019), Linocut with chine collé and handcoloring
Karen Brussat Butler CT, USA Women on the March (2019), Lithograph with hand-coloring
Sandra Cardillo MA, USA City Framework-9 (2019), Screenprint
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
9
10
Diane Cherr NY, USA Yellow Primrose Morning (2020), Collagraph monoprint with chine collé and collage
Kyle Chaput TX, USA Bundle IV-I (2020), Woodcut and screenprint
Andrea Cote NY, USA Touchprint (1) (2020), Collagraph relief with chine collé
Stephen Da Lay M0, USA Not All (2020), Mokulito
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Kathleen DeMeo CT, USA Once Upon a Meadow (2018), Monotype
Katharine Draper CT, USA Twirling (2020), Monotype
Linda Dubin Garfield PA, USA Green Hills Yellow Sky (2019), Mixed media
Alanna Fagan CT, USA Le Marché (2020), Silkscreen monotype
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
11
12
Beth Fein CT, USA Quarantine Dream (2020), Photo-etching with chine collé
David Fine NY, USA Maine Shoreline (2019), Monotype
Robin Fruchter NJ, USA In Bloom (2017), Linocut
Ron Fundingsland CO, USA Almighty (2003), Etching and aquatint
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Patricia L. Giraud OR, USA foxglove (2020), Etching and soap ground aquatint
Rod Goertzen Canada Outside the Grid (2020), Collagraph
Holly Hawthorn CT, USA Buddha’s Footprint (2019), Mixed media monoprint
Carissa Heinrichs WI, USA In the Muck (2020), Reduction linocut and screenprint
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
13
14
Fran Henry - Meehan CT, USA Box of Squares (2020), Monotype with collage
Valeria Rachel Herrera NY, USA Whiteout, Episode II (2020), Screenprint
Jamie Hoffer CA, USA Petals in the Rings 1 (2020), Monoprint with encaustic
Adam Hogarth United Kingdom Dobutsu 2 (2020), Screenprint
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Claire Illouz France Under the Slope (2020), Etching and drypoint
Yukio Ito Japan Spice Stories II (2018), Mezzotint
Julianna Joos Canada Dans les Nuages (2020), Linocut
T. Klacsmann NY, USA Etude in Mauve – Pink Parrot (2020), Linocut and lithograph with hand-coloring
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
15
Melanie Kohler CT, USA Together / Apart (2020), Letterpress
Chris Lawry Australia Road Trip in Western Victoria, Silo Art after Rone (2020), Linocut
16
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Henry Korwald Germany Coffin Corner (2020), Woodcut
Andrew Lawson TX, USA Fragmentation (2020), Intaglio
Ellen Lazarus NY, USA Alone, Together #2 (2020), Monotype
Channing Lefebvre NY, USA Color Square Snarl (2020), Drypoint
Dawn Leone NY, USA Drift-scape (2020), Redution woodcut
Suzanne Lewis RI, USA Tiger Lillies and Sunflowers (2020), Reduction linocut and pochoir
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
17
18
Judith Long ME, USA Organic Schism (2020), Monotype
Ana Lรณpez-Montes Mexico Isabelle and I (2020), Monotype with collage
Cynthia MacCollum CT, USA Sunday (2020), Monotype with collage
Bernadette Madden Ireland Midnight Woods (2014), Screenprint
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Helene Manzo NY, USA Windy (2020), Monotype
Leonardo Marenghi Italy Difendi (2020), Woodcut
Andre Matyushin Russia Cherry Blossom, White (2018), Linocut
John McKaig PA, USA HHMS Mansfield (2018), Lithograph
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
19
20
Susan Miiller NY, USA Gulls 4 (2019), Monoprint
Joseph Moore MA, USA HB Garden of Earthly Delights (2020), Etching and aquatint with chine collé
Meaghan Morrow CT, USA Party Foul (2020), Lithograph rinsed print
Danuta Muszynska OR, USA FOOTPRINT Night (2016), Intaglio and embossing
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Nanako Nagai Japan TV and Sofa (2020), Woodcut
Ivan Ninov Bulgaria Fragment (2019), Drypoint
Malgorzata Oakes NY, USA Passing Horizon I (2019), Electro-etch softground and silk aquatint
Heidi Palmer CT, USA Juncos (2020), Monotype
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
21
22
DeAnn Prosia NJ, USA The Wave (2020), Line etching
Gervasio Robles Hurtado South Africa Next time be kind with them all (2018), Etching and aquatint
Agustin Rojas Canada The Broken Tree (2019), Drypoint
Christiane Roy Canada Traces (2018), Copper engraving
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Amy Sands MN, USA Astra II (2020), Screenprint and paper cut with hand-coloring
Martin Schumacher MA, USA North Country Winter (2019), Digital
Ellen Shattuck Pierce MA, USA Ironing 1 (2019), Relief with collage
Lynita Shimizu CT, USA Papa’s Farm (2020), Mokuhanga
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
23
24
Christopher Shore NY, USA Horseshoe Falls (2020), Cardboard relief rinsed print
Amy Silberkleit NY, USA Woods Road, March Snow (2020), Lithograph
Amy Silberkleit NY, USA 1918 (2020), Lithograph
Mike Sonnichsen ID, USA Future Garden (from the 1:4 bars series) (2020), Letterpress
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Pat Stevens OR, USA Crossing Catherine Creek (2020), Linocut
Roger Sutcliffe Canada Spring (2020), Collagraph
Jami Taback CA, USA Pandemic’s Box (2020), Collagraph and letterpress with collage
Gilead Tadmor MA, USA A Gloomy Angel Blowing a Horn (2020), Etching
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
25
26
Melinda Tepler NY, USA Violet and White Iris (2020), Monotype
Adrian Tio MA, USA Dinero (2020), Wooduct
Sergei Tsvetkov MA, USA Quadro I (2020), Etching
Joshua Unikel TX, USA Traces, Strata, Language (2020), Screenprint and digital print
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Jen Watson UT, USA Graft (2019), Screenprint
Carolyn Webb MA, USA What Was Scattered, 02 (2018), Drypoint and collagraph with hand-coloring
Joyce Ellen Weinstein NY, USA The Dance of Life (2019), Linocut
Yuemei Zhang CT, USA Crossing IIII (2019), Etching
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
27
INDEX OF ARTISTS AUSTRALIA Chris Lawry BULGARIA Ivan Ninov CANADA Rod Goertzen Julianna Joos Agustin Rojas Christiane Roy Roger Sutcliffe FRANCE Claire Illouz GERMANY Georg Bothe Henry Korwald ITALY Leonardo Marenghi IRELAND Bernadette Madden JAPAN Yukio Ito Nanako Nagai MEXICO Ana López-Montes POLAND Anna Trojanowska RUSSIA Andre Matyushin SOUTH AFRICA Gervasio Robles Hurtado UK Adam Hogarth
28
California, USA Beth Fein Jamie Hoffer Jami Taback Colorado, USA Ron Fundingsland Connecticut, USA Shirley Bernstein Marian Bingham Karen Brussat Butler Kathleen DeMeo Katharine Draper Alanna Fagan Holly Hawthorn Fran Henry – Meehan Melanie Kohler Cynthia MacCollum Meaghan Morrow Heidi Palmer Lynita Shimizu Yuemei Zhang Idaho, USA Mike Sonnichsen Illinois, USA Joanna Anos Massachusetts, USA Sandra Cardillo Joseph Moore Martin Schumacher Ellen Shattuck Pierce Gilead Tadmor Adrian Tio Sergei Tsvetkov Carolyn Webb Maine, USA Adrienne Beacham Judith Long
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
Michigan, USA Jean Allemeier Boot Minnesota, USA Amy Sands Missouri, USA Stephen Da Lay North Carolina, USA Barry Goldstein New Jersey, USA Robin Fruchter DeAnn Prosia New York, USA Christine Aaron Diane Cherr Jane Cooper Andrea Cote David Fine Valeria Rachel Herrera T. Klacsmann Ellen Lazarus Channing Lefebvre Dawn Leone Helene Manzo Susan Miiller Malgorzata Oakes Christopher Shore Amy Silberkleit Melinda Tepler Joyce Ellen Weinstein Oregon, USA Laura Benedetti Patricia L. Giraud Danuta Muszynska Pat Stevens
Pennsylvania, USA Agathe Bouton Linda Dubin Garfield John McKaig Rhode Island, USA Suzanne Lewis Texas, USA Kyle Chaput Andrew Lawson Joshua Unikel Utah, USA Jen Watson Vermont, USA Casey Blanchard Washington, USA Laurie D Brown Wisconsin, USA Carissa Heinrichs
GLOSSARY OF PRINTMAKING TERMS WHAT IS A HAND-MADE PRINT? A hand-made print is created by the artist who prepares the plate from which the print is printed using a variety of methods depending on the type of print involved. A digital print is made on a computer using the computer to create a piece of artwork. Most prints are printed on dampened paper. The paper is soaked from fifteen minutes to several hours. When ready to print the artist dries the paper between blotters or towels until any wet areas are blotted away. This softens the sizing and makes the paper more receptive to the ink and in the case of intaglio or embossing allows the paper to be actually pressed into the plate. These papers are heavy rag papers like Arches or BFK. Light Japanese rice papers are not dampened usually. While oil based ink is necessary for lithographs, other prints can be done with either oil or water based ink. Water based ink will dry quickly which gives the artist less time to ink the plate, especially in a monotype or any plate using several colors. However the finished print will dry within a day. Oil based ink can be worked with for several hours before printing but the finished print will take several days to dry completely. In any case the plate must be cleaned thoroughly before storing as dried ink will distort future prints. A hand made print is not a finished piece of artwork that is copied and printed by mechanical means. Many purchasers of art work buy what they think is a hand-made print when what they really buy is a photocopy of a watercolor or oil painting frequently numbered and signed by the artist. Sometimes the signature is a printed one and is valueless as such. INTAGLIO: The image is cut into the material. Intaglio methods include: ETCHING: A copper or zinc plate, well polished, is coated on all surfaces with an acid resistant ground (a type of varnish). A sharp tool is used to scratch through the ground in the manner of a pen and ink drawing. The plate is then immersed in the acid bath (ferric chloride or nitric acid) and watched while the acid eats the metal wherever the scratched lines have been made. If some areas are meant to be lighter than others the plate is removed, rinsed and dried and the area painted with an acid-resistant coating, called “stopping-out varnish”, and the plate is returned to the acid as soon as the varnish is dry. This can be done several times, as the deepest lines will hold the most ink. The plate is then rinsed, dried and the varnish removed. Etching ink is then pressed onto the plated until all areas are covered. Then the ink is wiped off the plate with tarlatan - a stiff gauze fabric, which while cleaning the plate leaves the ink in the etched lines. Wiping the plate is an art in itself; too much wiping creates a pale print and too little a dark muddy print. Further polishing of light areas can be done with a page from an old phone book or unprinted newsprint. The plate is then placed on the bed of the press and the dampened paper over it. The paper picks up the ink from the acid bitten crevices and the finished product is an etching. DRYPOINT: The bare plate is scratched with a sharp tool straight into the plate, which can be copper, zinc or plastic. This is hard work as even a plastic plate is hard to scratch very deeply. Today electric tools are often used to aid in the incising of lines. In doing this a burr is formed which gives a slightly different quality to the finished print. As the burr wears off in printing the prints will vary a little. The plate is inked and printed in the same way as an etching. SOFT GROUND: The varnish ground is softened with Vaseline and then mesh, fabric, string, etc. can be put on the plate and run through the press, creating an impression of the items in the ground. The ground can also be marked with a pencil, toothpicks, etc. The plate is placed into an acid bath like an etching and stopping out varnish can be used. The plate is cleaned, inked and printed as is an etching and the result is a soft ground etching. The resulting images are softer rather than the linear crispness of an etching. AQUATINT: Powdered rosin is sifted evenly onto a clean polished metal plate and is then heated on a hot plate to melt the rosin enough so that it adheres to the plate. Too much heat and it will melt the particles into each other. The plate is put in the acid bath and removed each time that stop-out varnish is needed to create the image from light to dark areas. There is no line drawing, just wash areas, somewhat like a watercolor painting. The edges of the areas are burnished by rubbing with a metal tool to blend them. The cleaning, inking, wiping and printing are the same as an etching. COLOR and COLORED ETCHINGS: A color etching has the color inked into the plate with colored etching inks. It can be done by applying each color separately to the plate and carefully wiping or with a separate plate for each color requiring very careful registration for printing each plate on to one piece of prepared paper. Either method is time consuming and requires endless patience. A colored etching is an etching printed in the usual way that later has color added to it with paint or perhaps pastel. It’s a quick and easy way to color an etching but is not an integral part of the print. ENGRAVING: An engraving tool is used to cut a line into a plate. The cut is very cleanly made without any burr and without the slight roughness of acid biting. It is difficult and nervewracking work that requires precision and patience and the tools must be constantly sharpened. The deeper cuts are darker as they hold more ink and as the tools are apt to slip many an error has to be burnished out (rubbed with a metal tool) before proceeding. MEZZOTINT: Special expensive tools are used in “rocking” across the plate vertically, horizontally, and both diagonals. When the surface is completely scored, which may take a day or so, and then the design image is carefully burnished erasing the scored surface. The plate is inked, wiped and printed as in an etching. The result is a rich velvety black with soft edges to the light image areas. PHOTOGRAVURE: A general term for any metal plate process in which an image has been transferred to a metal surface by photographic means. A corrosive bath is used to incise the image into the plate before inking and printing. Photo-etching is a term alternatively used. Any of the above ways of making an etching can be used in combinations to achieve very unique and interesting handmade intaglio prints.
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
29
SOLARPLATE: is a simple approach and safer alternative to traditional etching and relief printing. Since Dan Welden’s development of the process in the 1970s, printmakers, painters, photographers, and art teachers interested in multiple impressions have utilized printmaking with Solarplates. Solar plates are steel-backed, light sensitive, photopolymer printmaking plates. After exposing with U. V. light, the plate is developed with water. Solar Plate may be exposed using sunlight, but an exposure system and vacuum frame gives more consistent results. Both positives and negatives can be utilized; intaglio and relief printing techniques can be applied. RELIEF PRINTS: A printmaking process in which the design remains on the surface and the unnecessary parts are cut away. Relief prints include: WOOD CUTS: A piece of wood is carved with wood carving tools (gouges) and the remaining surface is inked with an ink roller (brayer). Often the grain of the wood is incorporated into the pattern. It can be printed on a press or by hand rubbing with a baren or wooden spoon, etc. More than one color can be used, but more often a separate wood block is used for each color. Either oil based or water based ink can be used and a variety of different papers. WOOD ENGRAVING: The wood used has no grain as the blocks are made with the grain on the vertical. The end of the block is carved and fine detail can be achieved. Separate blocks are usually used for more than one color. REDUCTION WOOD ENGRAVING: All the colors of a design are left on the block and the whole block is inked in the lightest color. More than the required number of prints are made of that first color. Then the part of the block that bears only the first color is cut away and the next color is printed. This is repeated for each color cutting the color away after each set of prints. Precise registration is very important. In the end the block is destroyed and if fifty prints were made to begin with, perhaps thirty-five or forty might successfully carry all the colors in registration. LINOLEUM and SOFT PLASTIC: These plates are carved with special tools and are softer and easier to work with and have no grain. More than one color can be inked on one block or separate blocks can be carved for each color. The printing can be done with a press or by rubbing. Various papers can be used. COLLAGRAPH: Similar to a relief print, but instead of carving into the plate, the image is built up on the surface of the plate. The base plate can be cardboard, plastic, metal, wood, or anything available. Then the design is built from cut out paper, card stock, fabric, string, netting, lace, feathers, drizzled and dried glue, etc. When everything is glued down and dried the whole plate is sprayed with spray paint or varnish so the plate can later be cleaned. Then the plate is inked with one or more colors using either water based inks or oil, and printed as a woodcut. The plate can be inked in various ways many times and cleaned for storage. EMBOSSING: A plate with a raised design somewhat like a collagraph is printed on heavy prepared paper using no ink. When displayed with appropriate lighting the embossed design can be very effective. LETTERPRESS: A relief technique for printing movable type (though blocks with images may also be used). Metal, wood, or polymer forms of a standard height are set in place in the bed of a press. Since ink is transferred from the surface of the blocks by the application of pressure, letterpress prints are recognizable for their embossed printed forms. LITHOGRAPHY: Printmaking based off of the principal that oil and water do not mix, if the plate is kept wet and the design has been done in oil, the wet plate can be inked in oil ink and printed on prepared paper. The oil based ink adheres only to the design area while rejected by the wet areas then printed on a special press. Lithography encompasses: STONE LITHOGRAPH: Lithograph translates to “Stone print” and all were originally done on specially prepared stones. The stones are heavy and expensive. The design is drawn on a stone with a grease crayon or painted with a grease-based ink (called tusche). When finished it is treated and cleaned and in appearance looks like a blank stone once again. However the design is there and while the stone is kept wet the ink is applied with a brayer. The oil-based ink adheres only to the design area and is printed on a lithography press. Separate stones are used for separate colors. ZINC PLATE LITHOGRAPHY: A specially treated zinc plate is used much as a stone, but is cheaper and easier to handle. The fine shading achieved on a stone is not quite as attainable on zinc. PAPER LITHOGRAPHY: A paper printed from a copy machine has an oil-based toner (computer ink is water based and will not work). Since wet paper is fragile the paper is sprayed with water and flattened onto a plastic plate. In order to keep the paper wet it is coated with liquid gum Arabic. A small amount is spread on the wet paper and allowed to rest about five or ten minutes. Then more water is sprayed on the paper and the ink is applied. Ordinary oil paint can be used as a substitute but must be modified. A few drops of linseed oil helps. Paint that is too stiff will tear the paper and if too soft will result in a pale print. The color is applied with a brayer and washed off. This step is repeated two or three times, after which excess water is gently blotted off, and the plate is ready to print on prepared dampened paper. An etching press works well. Any color or combination of colors can be used, but only applied with a brayer on very wet paper. The photocopied print can be constructed from anything - pen and ink drawing, a photo, cut outs, feathers, just about anything you can copy. The size is limited by the copy machine paper dimensions. POLYESTER PLATE LITHOGRAPHY: (PRONTO plate printing), a new and nontoxic form of lithographic printing was developed by George Roberts while he was Professor of Printmaking at Boise State University. Polyester Plate Printing started as a low cost yet professional form of commercial offset lithography. The medium is capable of reproducing the full spectrum of lithographic marks such as: hand drawn brush strokes, ink wash, texture, crayon and pencil marks, and is equally well suited for digital imaging. Plates can be also imaged directly with a laser printer or a photocopier. The process is more straightforward than conventional lithography as the plate does not require chemical processing in the form of etching with acid.
30
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
CHINE COLLÉ: The process of adhering one piece of paper to another by using a liquid adhesive and running them together through the printing press. Chine is French for “China,” which refers to the thin Asian paper originally used with this technique, and collé means “glued.” SCREEN PRINTING: In essence this comprises a hand-cut or photographic stencil with the silk mesh of the screen holding the stencil parts in place. A piece of silk mesh fabric is stretched onto a wooden frame. The frame is hinged on one side to a base. A drawing is placed under the silk, and any part of the silk that is not the color to be printed is stopped out with a glue or lacquer or a photo process can also be used. The bare silk that is not painted out will allow the ink to be squeezed through the silk. After the prepared screen is dry the paper to be printed is put in place. If more than one color will be used in the print, accurate placement of the paper is critical. The paint is placed on one end of the screen and dragged across the silk with a rubber squeegee. The frame is lifted enough to remove the paper and replace it with the next piece and the paint is dragged back again and so on until the full number of prints are made. The printing is very fast - a minute or so per print. The set up of the image on the screen takes a good bit of careful planning. The screen is then cleaned of the paint, thenthe stencil removed and the stencil for the next color is put on the screen. Many different colors can be combined on one print, and the stencil can be done in a painterly way or a crisp cut out stencil or with photography. Either water-based or oil-based paint can be used. MONOTYPES: A one of a kind print. A second print, called a “ghost” can be made but will look very much lighter. MONOTYPE: A plastic plate has ink applied to it with brush, sponge, brayer, etc. Any color or design can be used. Objects such as feathers, lace, string, etc. can be placed on the plate; ink on the plate can be manipulated with fingers, Q-tips, brushes, etc. Ink applied too thick will slide off in printing and if too thin, will dry out and not print. The plate is placed on an etching press and the dampened paper placed on top. After the print is made a second print can be made from the same plate, but they will look very different. Before cleaning the plate the design can be manipulated with added ink, etc., but the result is still a one of a kind impression. The CLAYPRINT MONOPRINT is an innovative process created by Mitch Lyons in the 1960’s and continually developed by him even today. The “plate” for the print is a leather hard slab of stoneware clay. The media is white slip mixed with house paint colorants and ceramic stains to produce a rainbow of colors. The colored clays in the form of slip, moist clay, and powdered chalks are applied to the slab using a full range of painterly, printmaking, and ceramic techniques. Once the image on the slab is complete, a slightly dampened sheet of Reemay interfacing canvas is carefully laid on the slab, and light pressure is applied by hand to lift a thin layer of colored clay from the surface. The colored clays bond to the interfacing to produce an archival monoprint. STENCILS: Cut out pieces of card stock can be inked, arranged on prepared paper, and printed either on a press or by hand. The CLICHÉ VERRE: Process is a cross between art and photography. It Is a method created using photography equipment but can be done on pieces of art, not just photographs. The method consists of etching, painting or drawing on a transparent surface, such as glass, thin paper, or film and printing the resulting image on a light sensitive paper in a photographic darkroom. This process originated in France in the early 19th century. Contemporary cliché verre artists also utilize scanners and editing software to produce the images on acetate or as digital prints.
WHAT ARE THE INSCRIPTIONS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PRINT? Traditionally, signifying inscriptions are written in pencil at the bottom of a print. Reading from left to right, the inscriptions indicate the edition number, the title of the artwork, and the artist’s name (and sometimes the date), e.g. 2/30 Untitled #1 A. Smith, 2012 Artist’s Proof (A.P.) A print reserved for the artist and not included in the numbered edition. An artist’s proof can be identified by the inscription “A.P.” found in the lower left-hand margin instead of a number. Printer’s proofs are reserved for the printer and are inscribed “P.P.” Bon à Tirer (B.A.T.) A print that is not included in the edition, but which indicates the standard a printer tried to duplicate for the edition. A print which is bon à tirer (translated from French as “ready to pull”) can be identified by the inscription “B.A.T.” found in the lower left-hand margin. What is an Edition? A set of identical prints made from the same matrix (or set of matrices). Often a number of other prints – artist’s proofs, printer’s proofs, bon à tirer, and hors commerce (“not for trade”) prints – are made at the same time but are not considered to be part of the numbered edition. Each print in a limited edition is usually numbered in the lower left-hand margin. The form of this inscription is as follows: number in the edition/size of the edition (i.e. 15/50). To guarantee a limited edition, the artist or printer can “strike” or cancel the plate by incising an X on the printing face after completion.
ATTRIBUTION The majority of the descriptions above are attributed to Elizabeth MacDonald, with additional material by Julyen Norman.
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
31
ABOUT CCP
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The Center for Contemporary Printmaking is a nonprofit multimedia studio and gallery dedicated to the art of the print. At CCP artists can work independently, collaborate with master printers, or enroll in workshops conducted by nationally recognized artists. We provide studios, equipment, and technical expertise. Exhibitions of original prints are held regularly in the gallery, and diverse educational programs are offered for experienced and emerging artists.
The 7th Biennial FOOTPRINT International Exhibition results from a competition for fine-art prints that are exactly one foot square. The square format was uncommon in art until the advent of 20th century abstraction. Rectangular horizontal and vertical shapes for landscape and portraiture, respectively, were, and in fact still are the norm. As a result, composing in the square becomes an artistic challenge. FOOTPRINT International presents an opportunity for contemporary printmakers to address the square in 12 inches by 12 inches (30.5 cm x 30.5 cm). FOOTPRINT International is held every other year, alternating with CCP’s Biennial International Miniature Print Competition.
THE EXHIBITION PROGRAM AT CCP Each year, the Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP) hosts a series of exhibitions in the Grace Ross Shanley Gallery, including works by established professional artist/printmakers, the Biennial Footprint International Print Exhibition (on even numbered years), the Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition (on odd numbered years), and an Annual Members’ Exhibition.
We wish to acknowledge and thank the following foundations and organizations for their help and support in enabling the Center to service the local community: National Endowment for the Arts Awagami Factory | City of Norwalk, CT Connecticut Art Trail | Low Road Foundation Norwalk Advisory Commission on the Arts & Culture Wescustogo Foundation | The Shanley Family Foundation
32
2020 INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT EXHIBITION
