Here is one of my biggest “pet peeves” (well, not one of my BIGGEST- but let’s all exaggerate for dramatic effect)…. the term “prints” being used to describe “art reproductions”.
I was a printmaking major in art school. Intaglio printmaking, to be exact (but I also focused my study heavily on relief printing- woodcuts and linocuts). Intaglio is where you etch images into metal plates, ink them up, and run them through the press so that the image on the plate transfers onto a piece of paper. This is all done by hand (the etching, the inking, the cranking of the gigantic press lever to run it through)… no computers. The printing press I learned to work with isn’t much different than the one designed by Gutenberg in the 1400′s. Printmaking with plates/woodblocks and presses is a very old skill, and one that is dying quickly because of digital printmaking.
Then there are “modern” prints… ie: reproductions of paintings and already existing works of arts.. These are NOT made on a press. These are NOT true “prints” (or at least in my pretentious and fully biased opinion). These are made with a super high quality copy machine… which makes them “copies”. There is nothing wrong with these, and they’re a great way for people to be able to own artwork they love if they can’t afford the original, or if the original is no longer available. I have no problem with their existence- I just don’t like for them to be called “prints”.
Because “modern reproductions” are commonly referred to as “prints”, and because Intaglio and relief printmaking is becoming more scarce- very few people know what the fuck I’m talking about when I talk about printmaking or when I have REAL prints for sale. I even worked with one gallery where the owner didn’t know what I was talking about when I brought a bunch of Intaglio etchings and linocuts to exhibit. The conversation went like this:
Gallery Owner: How did you make those pieces?
Me: They’re prints.
G.O.: Ok… but how was the original piece made?
Me: Those are the original pieces… they’re etchings and linocuts.
G.O.: But you just said they were prints. Where are the originals?
Me: Those are the originals. I printed them myself with a press.
G.O.: But you just said they were prints… how are they the originals?
Me: I printed them MYSELF off the plates with a press.
G.O. (very confused): Plates? What kind of plates do you use with those machines?
Me: No electronic machines… just an old manual press.
G.O.: Um… ok …… but where are the originals?
Me: Those ARE the originals.
G.O.: But you just said they were prints…..
This went on for quite a while until I explained the entire printmaking process to her. Yes, this was a person who made her living in the art world, but had NO CLUE what I was talking about. That is how common the “prints” vs “reproductions” confusion is.
When I make prints, I make really really small editions (multiple pressings of the same plate, for those new to this world). Alot of printmakers make around 50 or more… I never make more than 15 or 20. Alot of folks think this is silly since the process of making the plates is very labor intensive (because each color on a print has a separate plate), and then setting it up so that when you print each color plate it has to be set up PERFECTLY so that it all matches up and is in perfect registration is a TOTAL pain in the ass. But I love the process, and by the time I finally get to the stage where I’m cranking everything through the press, I don’t really care about the piece anymore. So I only do a handful of them.
Long story short (too late!), I have opened up my vault of prints that I’ve made- and a bunch of them are now for sale on my webstore. BUT, because I have no problems with “reproductions” and I get tons of requests for “prints of my paintings”, I had a bunch of these made of some of my paintings. So there’s now the best of both worlds. Here are a couple of the original prints that are available:
AND here are a couple of the “print reproductions” that are available:
ALSO…. I got word today that my new plate sets are currently in transit to my “office” (I like saying “office” because it makes me feel official… but it’s really just my house… so I’m a total liar and NOT official AT ALL). But my new little plate sets are available for pre-order on my site. Hopefully everyone will be happy about them!! They make me giggle….
I wrote alot more than I originally planned to. And I’m tired, but still have mountains of work to do. And my husband’s band is now all in my house, and it’s getting stinky (but I love those fellas, so I’ll deal with a little stink every once in a while). Here’s a little video I took of Uncle Sturgeon, dear sweet Bill Cashman (yes, when referring to him you must always say his first and last name) and Sully playing some game they made up in the back yard…..
I like those funny funny boys.
Over and out.
