Art: Printmaking and Why It Is Important
Printmaking is a form of art used to create designs. The designs are first made on special material, including blocks of linoleum or wood, and then they are pressed onto another material, usually being paper. The design can then be multiplied through the same pressing process as many times as necessary. This is one of the many reasons why printmaking is important. Being able to reproduce a piece of art helps preserve the artwork. Also, photo recreations can never be as precise as the original artwork, which makes printmaking crucial in the sharing of artwork.
One style of printmaking is known as relief printmaking. Originating from Egypt, it is a process in which ink is put on the front of a printmaking material, giving those spots color once printed. The spots that are not occupied by ink stay colorless. Through this process, a block of material can be directly placed onto a piece of paper to produce artwork.
Printmaking was first created in early AD, notably in China. The man credited for its creation is Hishikawa Moronobu. He would usually display his pieces of art to common people on the street, and most of these pieces showed off the traditions of the time. It then spread and began to be used by many.
Printmaking was revolutionary from the moment it was invented. It was originally used to display cultures of religious people, which spread these customs and ideas across the world. Printmaking also made it easy to spread this artwork without fear of losing it or damaging it, as it could be copied many times. Printmaking was also revolutionary because it helped workers like goldsmiths document the work they had done. Printmaking could be copied onto the surface of book covers, which made these books more interesting to the eye.
This print originally caught my eye because of the woman in the front. Because her body takes up most of the frame, it is easy to see her and what she is doing. This automatically drew me to this pictures. The patterns of lines seen on her dress are also very pleasing to the eye. The lines are all heading to the same direction, which gives the viewer a calm view of the image. If the lines were all over the place with no common pattern, it would interrupt the eye and make it harder to look at. However, there are problems with the art. There is more than just the woman in the design, and a lot is going on behind her. Because she is so prominent in the frame, the viewer's eyes may miss the people in the back as well as even the beautiful background.
Overall, printmaking is a very interesting art style. It revolutionized art as a whole, and helped culture and religion spread across the world. This style also makes it easier to reproduce art, and is still used widely in many places today.
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