7th Grade

PRINTMAKINGPROJECT

What distinguishes a printprint from a drawing or painting?

• A drawing or painting is a direct process—the artist puts the brush or pencil directly on the paper and produces a final result.

• A printprint is an original work of art created by an indirect processindirect process:– The artist creates an image on a printing plate or

cuts a stencil. The plate or stencil is usually inked and then pressure is applied to transfer the ink from the plate to the paper. The artwork is the print – the image on the paper.

- Prints are usually made in editions – multiples of the same image (or variations on that image)

• Intaglio

• Planographic

• Stencil print

• Relief print

Types of Printmaking

Printing Plate

The surface or material prepared and inked in order to create a print

Brayer

The roller used to roll the ink on the surface of the relief printing

PRINTMAKING TERMS:

Original printA print made by an artist that is not a

reproduction but is an original work of art, even though there can be more than 1 copy.

EditionA group of identical prints.

(Editions are numbered as fractions, with the lower number representing the total number of prints

made and the upper number representing how early or late that particular print was made.)

PRINTMAKING TERMS:

What will be the subject matter of your print?

{In other words, what will your print be of ?}

The theme of your print is

THE POWER OF ONETHE POWER OF ONE Your image will convey youryour interpretation of this idea. You

can think about it on a very personal level or on a larger (or even global) level.

Think about how the figure as well as symbols and patterns in your image can express how one human being can have an impact on other people, on animals, and/or

his/her surroundings.

Consider how your use of scale (the relative size of the objects in your image) and the use of symbols

can help convey your message.

These figures are

Cave paintings from the

Stone Age from all

different continents

show human

figures in various poses.

SIMPLIFIED and ABSTRACTED.

Look at these images by this artist :

Notice how you (the viewer) is compelled to make

meaning from the imagery; to create

a narrative (a story) based on what you see.

Notice how the figures and other elements in

the images are stylized and simplified.

Notice the use of positive and negative

space.

Notice the use of scale and pattern.

He is famous for his graphic line drawings,

usually of figures, which he often

created in “non-art” spaces (like subway

platforms).

His work is highly stylized -and therefore

very recognizable.

Keith Haring (American, b.1958 d.1990)

Haring was inspired by everything from…

other artists (like Christo, who he admired for the public nature of his artwork),

and cave paintings (which, like his paintings, he felt

were “universally readable”).

cartoons (like Mickey Mouse),

Keith Haring, in Rolling Stone, August 10, 1989:

One day, riding in the subway, I saw this empty black panel where an advertisement was supposed to go. I immediately realized that this was the perfect place to draw. I went back above ground to a card shop and bought a box of white chalk, went down and did a drawing on it.... I kept seeing more and more of these black spaces, and I drew on them whenever I saw one. Because they were so fragile, people left them alone and respected them;they didn't rub them out or try to messthem up. It gave them this other power.It was this chalk-white fragile thing in the middle of all this power and tensionand violence that the subway was. People were completely enthralled."

Some of Haring’s subway drawings:

But what do they mean?????Notice his use of symbols and how they help us

make meaning from his images.

In Haring’s own words….

““The drawings are designed to The drawings are designed to provokeprovoke

people people to thinkto think and use their own and use their own imaginationimagination..

They don't have exact definitions but They don't have exact definitions but challengechallenge

the viewer to the viewer to assertassert his or her his or her own ideasown ideas and and

interpretation.interpretation. Sometimes, people find this Sometimes, people find this

uncomfortableuncomfortable, especially because the, especially because the

drawings are in a space usually reserved fordrawings are in a space usually reserved for

advertisementsadvertisements whichwhich tell you exactly what totell you exactly what to

think…”think…”

Notice Haring’s use of scale.

Notice Haring’s stylized figures – human and animal.

[From 1948-1994, the government of South Africa had a policy of apartheid (literally “separateness” ) – legal racial segregation. Blacks had to live in separate areas and were deprived of their citizenship. People who spoke out against the government were jailed.

Among them was Nelson Mandela, who was jailed for twenty-seven years. He was released in 1990 and worked to create multi-racial unity in the country. He was given the Nobel Peace

Prize in 1993 elected president of South Africa in the first fully representative democratatic election in 1994.

During the 1980’s, there was much greater awareness in the U.S. of the situation in South Africa and here Keith Haring was using his art to encourage Americans to pressure elected

officials to work to end apartheid.]

The artist’s use of text makes the image less ambiguous, but the image is still

powerful without the text.

Again, notice the use of scale, symbols, patterns and simplification.

Throughout his career, Haring devoted much of his

time to public works, which often carried social

messages. He produced more than 50 public artworks

between 1982 and 1989, in dozens of cities around the

world, many of which were created for charities,

hospitals, children’s day care centers and orphanages.

Haring used printmaking and mass production of his artwork to make it available to a far wider audience

and many more collectors than almost any other artist. He even opened stores of his work (in SoHo, NYC,

and then in Tokyo).

Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. In 1989, he established theKeith Haring Foundation, its mandate being to provide funding andimagery to AIDS organizations and children’s programs.

Haring created Silence=Death-- the motto/logo of the AIDS activismgroup ACT-UP. The group attached the words to the image of the pinktriangle* on a black background. Haring appropriated this widely knownsymbol, and added the overall "veil" of silver figures, which can be clearly seen to represent the proverb…

* The pink triangle was a symbol used by the Nazi’s to identify homosexuals,

See no evil, See no evil, hear no evil, hear no evil,

speak no evil.speak no evil.

•the visual language he created

•the barriers he broke down

•the messages behind his art

KEITH HARING’S KEITH HARING’S LEGACYLEGACY

• http://www.haring.com/calendar/macys_2008.php

• http://www.haring.com/extras/flipbooks/index.html

• http://www.haringkids.com/master_act_color.htm

COOL WEB LINKS ABOUT KEITH HARING:

Remember, The theme of your print is

THE POWER OF ONETHE POWER OF ONE

Your image will convey youryour interpretation of this idea. You can think about it on a very personal level or on a larger (or

even global) level.

Think about the images we just looked at: Consider how symbols, patterns,

scale and the use positive and negative space can help your image send a message.

Remember that your image (including the figure) will be simplified!

Printmaking Terms• Printing Plate: The surface or material prepared and inked in

order to create a print

• Registration marks: Marks created to indicate the alignment of plate to paper

• Carving tools: Tools with sharp cutting tips (nibs) that are used to carve the plate. Different tools have different nibs which allow you to change the width of the line you are carving or to create the illusion of different textures.

• Brayer: The roller used to roll the ink on the surface of the relief printing

• Baron: A tool with a flat bottom and a handle on the reverse side – almost like a shield. The baron is used to burnish (firmly rub) the paper to pick up ink that has been rolled onto a plate with a brayer.

• Printing Press: A mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink.

• Original print: A print made by an artist that is not a reproduction but is an original work of art, even though there can be more than 1 copy.

• Edition: A group of identical prints. Editions are numbered as fractions, with the lower number representing the total number of prints made and the upper number representing how early or late that particular print was made.

• Woodcut and linoleum cut: Two traditional materials that are often carved to make relief prints. We use E-Z cut blocks which are similar to linoleum but designed for students and are easier to carve.

• State: An intermediate printing of a block or plate before completion.• Color blend print: A print where two or more colors of ink are rolled

together into a graded blend.• Color reduction printing: A multi-colored print made from a single

print block from which more is cut away during each printing.• Ghost print: A second copy of a print, created without reinking it.