The new rules in printmaking are 'there is no rules'
As the 20th century closed it was evident that the traditional confines of the way prints were made had changed. Printmakers were faced with a new realm that would include those traditional methods, but also many new ways of creating images by putting ink on paper.
Printmaking during the major part of the 20th century was built on those traditional processes that artists had used for decades. These traditions had been altered somewhat by the freedom that many European artists brought to prints at the end of the 19th century. Artists flirted with this freedom early in the 20th century and then in the 50s/60s broke out and began to explore innovative developments in printing technology. There was a Renaissance in the United States and it quickly spread to Europe and Japan. Printmaking flourished, etching and lithography were again very popular, the relief print, engraving, mezzotints and the screen print were seen in abundance and many artists chose the making of prints as their primary form of art.
The print world was flooded with new work in the 70s/80s. Large international juried exhibitions became popular. Printmaking was taught around the world. New processes usually included photography or some form of photo related material.
Concerns over toxic materials affected the way in which print education was conducted and this concern has led to new and safer work environments.
During the 90s things seem to cool down a bit, it was a time for reassessing what had transpired during the previous years of hectic activity. There were new players on the horizon-the computer, digital prints and number of other possibilities that would have an effect on how prints would look as we entered the 21st century.
Combined processes and digital technologies will not take the place of any traditional processes; drawing on rocks, gouging on wood and scratching on copper will always be mainstays, but there are now many other ways of expressing the vocabulary of printmaking available to artists.
As I stated in the beginning "there are no rules," and the freedom which printmakers experienced at the end of the 19th century is now evident again. It is more expansive.
All of this is based on the premise that artists are individuals with unique visions. They make works of art which define that vision and the processes become part of that definition.
It is a healthy time for prints-alive and vital with a great deal of energy. I think that Durer, Rembrandt and Redon would smile if they could look at the current trends in printmaking. The Lahti Mini-Print Triennial is a glimpse of this vitality.
Thom O'Connor
Printmaker, USA
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